The War; it may seem like an unrelated title given what actually occurred in the movie. An underprivileged family in Mississippi deals with money problems, and childish conflicts over a tree house. Doesn't seem much like a war does it? There were no gun shots, firefights, or explosions except in the brief flashbacks Stephen, the father, periodically had. It seems rather odd that this particular movie would be called
The War from the classic war story point of view, but this movie is more realistically about war than most gung-ho military blockbusters.
The War beautifully illustrates the effect of a war, even for those in the uninvaded country. In the 1970's PTS was not considered a problem, and if you had it you were considered weak. Today it has been shown through years of psychological studies that it is one of the biggest problems a person can have, and it's possible for even the strongest of people to get. It's because of this misunderstood problem that Stephen can't find, or hold a job to help his family get on their feet even though his is more than willing to do the work. the simple fact that he had been in a mental hospital for a condition he attained fighting for his country made him ineligible for most lines of work. though he had to go through unnecessary hardship the war, and his experiences after it made him a more enlightened man, and introduced many more themes and lessons to the film.
Through out the movie the theme that violence only makes things worse is portrayed. From Stephens friend dying in Vietnam, to the minor conflicts that escalated to near homicide with the kids violence clearly never ends well. Stephens friend died in Vietnam during a battle that amounted to nothing. regardless of who won the battle, neither side really won the war, and got what they were fighting for. it was just a waste of thousands of lives, and billions of dollars by both sides for a promised ending that never came to fruition. though that was never actually focused on in the movie they portrayed it through a similar situation with the conflict between the Simmons, and Lipnicki children. it started off as a sort of school yard rivalry vying to show dominance, but it escalated to much more than that. the Simmons kids took material from the Lipnicki estate to build a fort with. many of said items came from the old Simmons house that was torn down, and later scavenged by the Lipnickis. in short order the two groups began launching all out assaults on one and other. everything from fists to smoke grenades to Molotovs were used. amazingly no one died, though lethal force was definitely being used, and the conflict didn't end until someone almost had. none of this fighting was necessary, and it served no purpose but to destroy the thing they were fighting for, much like the Vietnam War. throughout the movie Stephen advised his son against escalating to violence, and it turns out his advice rang true. violence did have a way of ruining everything.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for I am the baddest mother fucker in the God damn valley"- Jarhead. due to the socioeconomic status of the area, and the two families in general this quote is very applicable. both the Simmons and Lipnicki kids want to the king of the valley, and you prove you're king by dominating the other contenders. because schooling ends at 6th grade, and none of the families have enough money to move the chance of getting out of that rural town was pretty low. and if your staying for life, you might as well be the top dog. this is one of the roots of the major conflict in the film, and this quote shows a glimpse of the mindset for the kids in question. they were always challenging each other to dares, and fighting to prove who's boss, or in Jarhead terms "the baddest mother fucker in the god damn valley." even during the auction when Stephen fights the Lipnicki father they are trying to assert their dominance, and power over their counterpart.
