War as a Theme
War provides the ultimate catastrophe. Typical ideas include:
| 1. |
The Hero. Able to win out where others cannot, or to
sacrifice themselves where others would not. Heroes existed up to
World War 2 but after that, there were few heroes, no war songs,
and little glory. This is partly because the wars following WW2
were not world threatening; were reported live, and in general,
were not supported by the general public. |
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| 2. |
The Spy. Wars offer a huge scope for spies. These
can vary from the beautiful woman spy through to the cold blooded
professional spy. |
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| 3. |
The Scientist. Saving the world with the secret weapon,
or finding a better way to kill people is always a good story. The
'bouncing bomb', 'Midget submarines', the 'Atom bomb', the 'Spy
satellites' are good examples, as was being able to crack the enemies'
codes with computers. |
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| 4. |
The Traitor. How many missions have set out only to
discover that they have a traitor in their midst? The mission itself,
and the detective aspect of discovering the spy double the drama. |
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| 5. |
The Lover. The person separated from the one they love
by war. Alternatively the people who find love in war. |
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| 6. |
Rites of passage. The boy who grows up quickly by being
in a war and forced to face the realities of manhood. |
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| 7. |
The Coward. The person having to face themselves and
others after failing to face up to demanding situations. |
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| 8. |
The Profiteer. Those that cash in on the chaos and
distress of others. |
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| 9. |
The Helpers. Those that help care for others in chaos
and distress. |
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| 10. |
The Visionaries. Those that see war as a stage towards
a new world. |
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| 11. |
The Politicians. Those whose decisions can win battles
or lose lives unnecessarily. |
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| 12. |
The Victims. Those who suffer and bear the brunt of
it. These will be on both sides. |
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| 13. |
The Observers. These are the neutral sides that play
their part in subtle and surreptitious ways. |
What war does is heighten the situation so that everything has more urgency,
more definition, and more immediate response than it would have otherwise.
There is also a dramatic change of values. An aircrew hitting their target
with a bomb can get away with a 'thumbs up' and victorious grin, while
a terrorist doing the same would be considered mad.
There is also a change in values regarding gender. A WW2 plot would not
have a woman fighter pilot, whereas today that would be possible. Space
wars stories will commonly have women in these warrior roles.
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