Into the Beast

Madalyn 2021-12-17 08:01:08


"God, let us pray, let us fulfill this justice...Are you watching what we are doing? This is all for nothing."——Excerpt from the film "Beasts of no nation" (无界之兽)

I want to be Agu in When these words surfaced in the continuous memories, perhaps it was full of despair.

In the end of the film, when Agu rushed towards the "normal" children who were playing in the water on the beach and planned to join them, I did not see any peace and tranquility from his jumping back, but on the contrary only the general Everything about me is deeply hidden in my inner fear and indifference. After experiencing the impact of a pleasant life being instantaneously shattered, and then deeply involved in the spiritual discomfort brought about by the war, the trauma caused by these ups and downs, dizzying tragedies is enough to make an adult crazy, forget it. Is impossible. Agu paid for the fragmentation of the bonfire deep in the heart of hope for the future before dragging his tired body to a decent end. What one thinks is hope is shattered one after another, and the experience and feelings of the change of identity in the process from the victim to the perpetrator, to the perpetrator, and then to the survivor are condensed into a person's spiritual life. Therefore, when the people in the asylum tried to open Agu’s heart, they were indifferently rejected. A person who has gone through great sufferings will no longer be emotionally moved by anything. He sees the world in the cold, but now he only yearns for peace. Happy Sunshine, unwilling to mention those past events. At this moment, it is also a sign that he has grown into an "Old man".

All qualitative changes are indispensable for the process of quantitative change. Agu's growth as a carefree boy has also been lured step by step to return to human nature-violence and killing. As early as Golding's "Lord of the Flies" book, a group of teenagers who were left on the tinkering were the protagonists, proving that the collapse of civilized social order in people's minds and the awakening of beasts in humans require only a few conflicts and chaos. Is enough to achieve. Agu in "Beasts Without Borders" is also in the hatred of himself and his surrounding NDF (local defense combat forces), his enthusiasm for war, and the commandant who is full of passion and speech ability enough to gather people together ( Commander), these three elements together created Agu's surrender to violence, moving from light to darkness, awakening the beast in his heart. As in Christianity, human beings are born with original sins, and they are born with aggressive animality. This is not only reflected in past wars, but also in today's society: open and secret battles in officialdom, defeating others at work The sense of accomplishment we have gained is our love of violent games...and Agu just returns to his nature at the right time. As a person, this is a return to innocence, an expression of growth, and a step towards Agu from "Baby" to "Adult".

And one of the characters I have to mention in the film is the core character of NDF as Commandant. He mobilized the passions of his subordinates through speeches on the legitimization of NDF actions, so that they can join the battlefield for the "wealth", "peace", and "right to speak" that they believe in. They also open up a path for their own cause by the way; He planned all kinds of war rituals to confuse people's thoughts, obscure their concepts, and wash away all distracting thoughts from their minds. In the sound of shouting "Victory", pull the trigger at the "enemy" designated by Commandant. Young soldiers who have not yet civilized their minds will easily receive this kind of brainwashing education, allowing them to devote themselves to the pleasure of violence, attacking and plundering everything they see. This horrible cohesion can't help but make people think of the French film "The Wave." The same speech ability, discipline, collective mobilization and some "rituals" have awakened the seemingly unresurrected fascist concept among the higher education students. . The destructive power brought about by dictatorship is shocking to the heavens. He obliterated all personal thoughts and led people to follow the dictator and his war arbitrarily.

In addition, I have to mention the director's selection and control of the screen. Most of the story in the whole film takes place in clear daylight, and the scenes are mostly in green forests or jungles. Even if there is a war in the city, most of the buildings are white all over, and the smoke of the war is as clean as white fog. The solid color surrounds the scene. The tone of the film's picture is a symbol of light. This kind of reflection makes me feel that "all evils happen in broad daylight" in my mind when watching the film. The bright colors also add to the legitimacy of Agu's organization after joining the NDF, but their ignorance of the social order and indiscriminate slaughter, this vicious behavior, unintentionally makes it difficult for people to notice. Perhaps this sense of picture is like the world in the eyes of young Agu: all the distinctions between good and evil are in a fuzzy stage, and thoughts can easily be taken away. This way of presentation and the Ugandan dictator's brutality and final outcome implied by the director's extensive use of yellow, a symbol of dilapidation and poverty in "The Last Dictatorship," each have their own unique implications. From this point of view, the application of coloring in the film screen can also play a key role in the viewing effect, allowing the audience to appreciate the protagonist’s heart, and the understanding of the film’s story can also be achieved. Deeper resonance.

From "Young" to "Old", although psychological growth cannot be observed with the naked eye, it can have the most profound impact on us. The return of animality is a young age when we have shed our deciduous teeth and grow sharp fangs, and after going through the bloody storm, people often yearn for peace without controversy. Perhaps the stage of growth is a process from physical growth to spiritual growth. I think that only when a person is mentally dead, when the unconscious brain drives just a walking dead, that person is truly old and dead.

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Extended Reading
  • Joana 2022-04-21 09:02:20

    Children can be shaped very high, and what they can be shaped into depends on the conscience of adults. This one is slightly more merciful than "City of God", the beheading part is a turning point, and it is also the most violent part, the rest is fine.

  • Gia 2022-03-27 09:01:09

    Civilization consists in having boundaries. Civilization degenerates into barbarism if human beings are displaced and siloed. Human dignity lies in having choices. If there is no choice in life, or if every bad option is only in competition with death, then man becomes a beast. The story is fictional, the setting is real, and the socialized child turns into a beast of nowhere in the blink of an eye.

Beasts of No Nation quotes

  • Preacher: Come and tell him how much we are suffering in here. Come! Everybody come.

    Commandant: So, you... You are the big man now, huh? Where will you be going? Huh? Will you surrender to the other NDF camp? No. they will eat you. And what of ECOMOD? Huh? That might be better, but what next? Jail? War crimes? Huh? You think you can just go and do what you want in peace? You will go back to your village and your family will not associate themselves with you. Huh? You will be nothing. You and your uneducated, poor mind, you'll be NOTHING. Nobody will care for you. Huh? Look at you. And you will wake up and you will rise and see the sun rise and see the sun set, and you can just wait all day ALL DAY with thousands of men just like you, waiting for somebody to give you a job. Huh? that's what you want to go and do? You are stupid! You have Nothing! No future! I am your future.

    Preacher: [Points gun to Commandant] You fucking die here, sir.

    Commandant: What?

    [Points Gun to Preacher]

    Commandant: How are you going to shoot me if you don't have bullets?

    [Agu points gun to Commandant]

    Commandant: And you, Agu? You wanna kill Commandant? Hey, Agu, I want you to kill Commandant. Come. Push it.

    Preacher: [Whispers] Do It.

    Commandant: Come, Agu, come. Put It here. Here! A-ha! Aha! Wanna Kill Commandant?

    Preacher: Do It, Agu. Do It

    Commandant: Kill Commandant! You wanna surrender? Huh? You wanna surrender? You wanna surrender?

    Agu: Yes.

    Commandant: Hey, Agu. Just get out. Just Remember, when you are all poor and hungry, you'll remember me! You'll remember your commandant. Just go! Just go!

    Preacher: Come on. Everybody, let's move!

    Commandant: And know that I will be calling for you one day. Go and drink gunpowder tea and playing draughts. No, no, no. You remember me. You remember your Commandant. You're gonna say, Yeah.

    [Points to Agu]

    Commandant: Remember, I will call for you again... and you'll come. Remember.

  • Commandant: What is this thing doing in here?... Who is responsible for bringing this thing? Strika, is it you that is bringing this thing?... Strika, untie him. So all of you grown men, it is Strika, the small boy, that is finding this prisoner. Where is 2 I-C?

    [Soldiers scream 2IC]

    2nd I-C: Commandant, Sir!

    Commandant: 2 I-C, What are we to be doing with this thing?

    2nd I-C: This thing? It is just a boy

    Commandant: A boy? A boy is nothing. A Boy is harmless?

    [Young soldiers -Harmless no, Sir!]

    Commandant: Does a boy have two eyes to see?

    [Young soldiers -Two eyes, Sir!]

    Commandant: A boy has hands to strangle and fingers to pull fingers. Why you saying a boy is nothing? huh? A boy is very, very dangerous. You understand me? Very dangerous, you understand?

    2nd I-C: Yes, Sir.

    Commandant: Strika, are you hungry? Are you wanting to be eating this thing?

    [Strika shakes head]

    Commandant: Let me see your hands... Oh, you have hands like a baby. What are you doing here?... You should be telling me. If you are telling me, I will be helping you. You see, Strika is hungry. He will eat you. Huh? What are you doing here?

    Agu: The Government army killed my father... And my big brother and my father told me to run into the bush.

    Commandant: Everybody here is calling me Commandant.

    [Young soldiers -how is the Commandant look?]

    Commandant: [all Right, Sir!] Now, what are they calling you?

    Agu: [softly] Agu

    Commandant: Oh, you must say like you are prouder!

    Agu: Agu

    Commandant: Uh-huh. Well, Agu that is what I be calling you then, eh? Leave this one under my charge. I will be training him to be a Warrior. So you can be fighting the army that is killing your father. Is that what you want ?

    [Agu shakes head confirming]

    Commandant: You must be saying yes! Say yes!

    Agu: Yes

    Commandant: YES, SIR!

    Agu: Yes, Sir

    Commandant: [Saluting] YES, SIR!

    Agu: [Stand up and Salute] YES, SIR!