I recently watched a good film that I saw earlier too, possibly not only once. I think many people know this film called “Troy”. I watched it again following the logic of the masterpieces that can and should be watched again at particular intervals of time. At a certain moment, I turned off the TV set.
When the invaders entered the fortress, I was afraid to see a lot of blood, mangled bodies, ruined buildings and mass violence scenes that I earlier watched and even considered them very artistic and convincing. These images in my mind probably overlapped the images I now see on TV and in the Internet about the terrors of the war in Ukraine. Or I probably imagined how those images looked like in the eyes of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees who witnessed even more terrible events several hours or days ago and also in the eyes of millions of people who remained in their country and who continue to witness those horrors that are much more dreadful and terrible than in the antique world.
I thought that the Ukrainians should be now protected even from such masterpieces, not to mention films with much greater violence and bloodshed. Or possibly not only the Ukrainians and not only in times of real war? Maybe the war movies should be put into a separate category and should be broadcast accompanied by at least the traditional TV advertisement: “Beware as the next images can affect you emotionally!”. This warning could be extended to also include „…can affect you emotionally, mentally and morally”.
Surely, war movies can give some useful lessons to humans and humanity, but they also suggest that the war and mass bloodshed were, are and will be a component part of human cohabitation as they form part of the human essence. Dressed in artistic or ostensibly artistic clothing, these films imbed the idea that place for love, virtue, generosity, faithfulness and other sacred human qualities exists in times of war too, but these qualities are actually destroyed mostly or fully by war, as this destroys life itself.
The war movies pose a real danger primarily when their making, based chiefly on the idealization and glorification of war, is turned into state policy in some countries. Maybe here we can find a part of the response to the abnormal situation for humans and humanity when most of the people in the Russian Federation support the terrible and destroying war waged by their country on Ukraine? Maybe the attitude of a part of the Moldovans who are under the influence of the state policy of another country day and night through communication channels also derives from here?
Possibly, alongside the foreign news and political “analysis” programs that are broadcast free in the Republic of Moldova, war movies should also be regulated? What do experts say? What does the new Audiovisual Council say?
