read (Kirsten Dunst) is determined to show what is happening on American soil in the midst of a devastating civil war. In a dim future, North America has exploded and the entire territory has become the center of a large-scale armed dispute. Moreover, one of them is quickly becoming more violent as the army, police and paramilitary forces confront each other. In such circumstances, this war photographer tries in every possible way to capture every scene that can tell the world about the tragedy. And this at the cost of his own life.
Civil WarThe film, written and directed by Alex Garland, was a critical and public success thanks to its brilliant production. This is a story about armed civil conflict without resorting to apology or political accountability. Before this, the director devotes time and effort to demonstrating that in such a confrontation the victims have no skin color or political party. The plot is strictly neutral, thanks to Garland placing a group of photojournalists at the center of the story. In particular, the one that Dunst interprets, the moral purpose of which is: tell the world about the horrific violence in which the United States is mired.
With camera in hand, Lee moves from one place to another, trying to capture what is happening and document future atrocities that further worsen the conflict. In the company of a group of hardworking photographers, the character must try to reach the American capital. That is, if he can survive the rain of bullets and attacks that have spread across the country. This point of view allows the film to move away from any political perspective and focus on the idea of a broken country and its victims. Which gives journalists the position of exclusive witnesses to a brutal event. But is the journalist played by Kirsten Dunst based on a real person?
The photographer to whom “The Civil War” pays tribute
Actually, yes, it is. Main character Civil War, is loosely based on the figure of the historical photojournalist. Lee Miller (1907–1977) was known for her photographs of World War II and her message for peace through them. But much more, touring Europe – and especially Berlin and Germany – during the most difficult moments of the conflict. This earned her a reputation for being reckless as well as having strong ethical beliefs regarding war.
Chronicler of a brutal historical event
Miller is credited with some of the most striking photographs of the tragedy of the war. In particular, everything connected with small stories away from the great epicenters of battles. Thus, much of his images depicted casualties—German or Allied—as well as soldiers on both sides killed in the midst of the confrontation. What brought him recognition in the journalistic world of his time and a privileged position in analyzing the consequences of what happened.
The photographer was a correspondent for Vogue and was first sent to France. Once there, he photographed the battlefield, as well as the first use of napalm on Allied and German territory, and the liberation of Paris. However, his most famous work, he is the one who took her through the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps in Germany..
Thanks to his recording efforts, some of his images were used at the Nuremberg trials to show the horror of the Third Reich’s military siege. Likewise, his work is considered one of the most important in the study of World War II. Also, part of the historical archives of museums around the world is devoted to this topic.
However, some of her most famous photographs move her away from the objective register and are more experimental in nature. In fact, Lee Miller’s most famous image is a photograph of her bathing in Hitler’s bath on the day he committed suicide. A provocative photo that broke stereotypes and caused controversy and criticism. his work comes at a time full of changes in the world of images.
A tough and brutal view of war
From Miller, the Lee of fiction, she inherited the need to tell a story by any means available to her. The same thing that the real photographer did and made her one of the most famous figures in modern photojournalism.
A moment that Civil War pays homage to by not only naming its main character after a photographer. Moreover, perpetuating his determined spirit andfront against violence using a photo tool.
Source: Hiper Textual
