Friday March 5 was no
ordinary day for the junior class. The
juniors received a break from the monotony of the Marian school day with an
opportunity to enhance their knowledge of important issues concerning just
war.
The juniors left Marian at
11:20 A.M. in student carpools and were instructed to eat lunch on their
own. They were to be at AMC Oakview
Movie Theater by 12:20 P.M. to check in and see the movie The Fog of War.
The Fog of War, a documentary by Errol Morris, recently won an Academy Award for Best
Documentary Feature. It is a look at
America as seen through the eyes of former Secretary of Defense Robert
McNamara. Through means of archival footage,
recreations, newly declassified White House recordings, and an original score
by the Oscar nominated composer, Philip Glass, the film portrays such
major 20th Century events as World War II, the Cuban missile crisis
and the Vietnam War.
The Fog of War examines the psychology and reasoning of the government decision makers
who send men to war. It explores how
the decisions were made and for what reasons, as well as what can be learned
from these historical events.
Ms. Kathy Tocco, Mr. Tom
Baker, and Ms. Pat Travis planned the trip and it was used to add to the
teaching curriculum in Morality and AP Government.
“We thought it would be a
good cooperative learning and teaching experience,” said Tocco. “It gives a first-hand look at how a person
deeply involved in war can change their perspectives.”
“In AP Government we are
studying the Vietnam War. This was an opportunity
for students to obtain a wealth of information about a topic that they had
limited information on,” said Baker.
Junior Stephanie Brady
enjoyed the overall experience. “It was
a great opportunity to create class unity and educate ourselves together,” said
Brady. “It was a wonderful way for us
to learn about what we might not already know about. I liked how it was presented. It showed how in the beginning,
McNamara agreed with the Vietnam War, but as he grew older he realized that war
was not really what he wanted.”
Brady had a change in
outlook from seeing the film. “I
usually do not have a pacifist opinion about war, but this movie changed how I
see war because I am not used to seeing people die,” said Brady.
Tocco found the
film remarkable. “I thought it was an
interesting retrospective look at the wars in the 20th century. McNamara’s quotes were very interesting,”
said Tocco.
“The parts of
the film about how decisions were made were valuable to the students, such as
during World War II and the decision to use nuclear weapons. However, the
problem was that it became an apology of McNamara for him to interpret history
for his own purposes. Some parts of the film just were not clear to the
students,” said Baker.
Students were
then asked to do a follow-up assignment in response to seeing the film. Tocco’s Morality classes were given a
handout pertaining to the film and were given a choice between different
writing assignments regarding their own opinions and thoughts on issues of just
war. In Baker’s classes, the students
discussed the film on a regular basis in order to draw closure on the topic.