Paths to Glory?

     (11:11:11)

Last night I watched 'Paths of Glory' on BBC 4 recounting a true and terrible event from WW1. Even though it dates from 1957 (when I was only eight) it was the first time I had seen it. It too was sombrely moving and a reminder how in war, individual lives are given scant regard, in contrast to the pomp and ceremony of remembrance celebrations. It is good to remember the self sacrifice but also the stupidity and evil of warfare in general, often powered by human conceit and hubris. The film was both written and directed by the famous Stanley Kubrick. He summed up his view on the true nature of man as follows: "Man isn't a noble savage, he's an ignoble savage. He is irrational, brutal, weak, silly, unable to be objective about anything where his own interests are involved – that about sums it up. I’m interested in the brutal and violent nature of man because it's a true picture of him. And any attempt to create social institutions on a false view of the nature of man is probably doomed to failure." He continued this theme in his later films which included, 'Dr Strangelove', 'A Clockwork Orange' and 'Full Metal Jacket', amongst others. Kubrick (1928 - 1999) was always controversial and thought provoking. His films are often said to have hidden meanings and some claim he was intimately involved in a moon landing fraud, utilizing the techniques perfected in his 1968 science fiction epic '2001: A Space Odyssey'. Some think his 1980 horror film 'The Shining' is an allegory of it. Whether true or not, I believe the past century will go down in the annals of human history as probably the most brutal and deceptive ever!

We can only be ambivalent about Remembrance Day. It evokes mixed feelings, the juxtaposition between militarism and pacifism. Militarism with its attributes of self-respect, self-sacrifice, discipline, order and comradery, set against the inevitable violence and cruelty, the subjection of individuality to the common purpose. The one day when the public gets an impression of the huge and complicated commitment in men and resources to the process of defending the UK and its interests. It is a snap-shot of the past and present, within the context of an extinguished empire and a fading world role, in a war-dominated century and the shifting tectonics of economic power. For the first time in over seventy years the monarch was notable for her absence, despite continuity being maintained by members of the Royal Family. A state ritual, that combines elements of religion, tradition and emotional gratitude to those who gave their service, suffering and even lives, in what were considered justified wars, was back in all its splendour after the depredations of a supposed pandemic. Hearing from men who lost close colleagues, limbs, eyes or sanity, can only be deeply moving, despite all the reservations we have regarding unjust wars and the brutal effects of them. So-called victory comes at a price to the defeated. Innocent civilians always suffer and are given scant regard by the victors. They too are notable in their absence from the grand parade. Politicians take centre stage in the commemorations and amazingly are not booed by the passing veterans. It seems a spirit of "We were all in this together", and "Let bygones be bygones" is the predominant ethos, as those that paid with their lives are rightly remembered. Thousands of marchers, thousands of observers, representing millions of others of a certain generation. But in another sense unrepresentative of a swiftly changing demographic and philosophical outlook. Will the cohesion and sentiment survive? Will the nation maintain its militaristic pretensions around the world as it struggles to meet its commitments at home? Can this almost unique exercise in sympathetic nostalgia withstand the predations of time and loss?