Last weekend I saw Dunkirk, which pays homage to the Battle of Dunkirk in WWII. For those who do not remember, Dunkirk was a disastrous battle for the Allies and resulted in the fall of France. However, the Allies were still able to fight the war because British civilians helped evacuate millions of soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk. I thought the movie was a good representation of how involved the evacuation was and how ordinary citizens can become pivotal to the war effort.
To start, Dunkirk, is not a dialogue-heavy movie. There are a lot of air battle scenes between the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe, and numerous ship sinking scenes. Throughout the movie, the fate of British soldiers seems sealed—they cannot get far from Dunkirk without their ships being sunk by U-boats. The British soldiers also face German bullets when they attempt to seek refuge in an abandoned ship on the beach. At the same time, British civilians are sailing across the English Channel in their personal boats to save the troops. Luckily the civilians manage to avoid being hit by torpedoes and successfully evacuate millions of British soldiers, allowing the Allies to fight another day.
The most profound element of the movie was the heroism of civilians in an extremely high-pressure and dangerous situation. WWII called for everyone to contribute to the war effort however, British civilians gave one of the greatest contributions to the war. They risked their lives to prevent certain defeat by the Axis powers. The message that should stick with you is that ordinary people can make a difference in conflict. WWII was not just a war between militaries, it was a war between societies and ideologies. It was because of these civilian’s heroism that Britain did not surrender to Nazi Germany. Had the citizens not responded to the call to evacuate soldiers, WWII would have ended with an Axis victory instead of an Allied victory.
Although the movie centers on a single event in WWII, its message is still relevant to modern political affairs. Many of us are not happy with current political developments, and some of us feel that we are unable to change them. Some of us feel that we can only watch them happen. But we can and should heed calls to action because as Dunkirk demonstrates, we are pivotal in making a difference. We can turn the tide on our current political situation just as British civilians helped turn the tide in WWII. We can offer hope to those who have been adversely affected by the repeal of DACA. Even if you do not care for the amount of violence in Dunkirk, you should be able to take this positive and powerful message with you.
