Analysis of Eastwood's Film Flags of Our Father

Introduction

The American adaptation, Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood and based on a book written by James Bradley, delineates the crucial and costly battle of Iwo Jima. Eastwood's film follows the journey of the three US servicemen who raised the flag on Mount Suribachi and Joe Rosenthal, who took the famous photograph of the flag raising. Clint Eastwood’s portrayal of the battle on Iwo Jima includes substantial historical accuracies, clearly showing that thorough research was conducted, contributing to the justification for the positive evaluations from critics. Even so, the film contains minor shortcomings, causing slight deviations from the actual reality of the battle that occurred on Iwo Jima. Many conflicting details can be found between the actual battle and Eastwood's film, such as the roles of African Americans in the battle, the raising of the flag, alongside the representation of warfare and combat, and The War Bonds tour itself.

Analysis of Eastwood's Film Flags of Our Fathers

Clint Eastwood’s decision to not sufficiently account for African Americans and their roles in the war, relegating them to the background, has sparked heated discussion regarding the accuracy of his judgment. Despite nearly 900 African Americans fighting in the battle of Iwo Jima, Eastwood’s film does not include a single African American, even though historic documents confirm their participation. Spike Lee criticized Eastwood’s work for ignoring the presence of African Americans in the battle, stating, “there was not one Negro actor on the screen,” referring to how in Eastwood's version, Negro soldiers did not exist (Lee, 2008). However, Eastwood can be excused for this omission since the primary focal point of the movie is the flag bearers, and historically, the initial raising of the flag did not involve a single African American. This was confirmed when a list of flag bearers was released. Eastwood’s decision to exclude African Americans in the flag-raising scene creates a more accurate representation of that specific historical moment. Nonetheless, African Americans did play roles in the battle of Iwo Jima. Although African American soldiers were restricted from front-line combat and relegated to support roles, they held essential noncombat roles, such as unloading and transporting ammunition to the front lines, burying the bodies of dead soldiers, and assisting in defensive actions. Despite their auxiliary roles, African Americans were present in the war. Therefore, while Eastwood’s decision not to include African Americans creates some historical inconsistencies, his work remains largely accurate overall.

The portrayal of the flag raising was very accurate and remained faithful to the actual events, showing no obvious disparities. The depiction of events on Mount Suribachi was extremely accurate, staying as close as possible to the historical events. Eastwood ensured to depict two flag-raisings and showed Joe Rosenthal arriving only after the first flag was already raised. It is evident that Eastwood conducted thorough research, as he paid close attention to the controversy surrounding the photograph, with many speculating that the flag raising was staged to boost war bond sales (Rosenthal, 1945). Overall, the depiction of the flag raising was very accurate, providing significant depth and staying close to the historic events of Iwo Jima.

Eastwood provides a somewhat misrepresentation of the battle with some smaller, insignificant changes in combat details and how the fight occurred on Iwo Jima. Eastwood displays how the Japanese soldiers used their bunkers, waiting for U.S soldiers to come within close range before opening fire. This tactic was indeed used by the Japanese and accurately portrayed. However, he neglected to demonstrate the use of the long defensive tunnels employed by the Japanese during the battle. Although this is not an extremely critical detail, it still highlights an inaccuracy. The tunnels extended over 18 km and were dug by Japanese forces, proving crucial for their defense. This was evident when an American Commander stated, “Miles of interlocking caves, concrete blockhouses, and pillboxes proved to be one of the most impenetrable defenses encountered by the Marines in the Pacific” (Nimitz, 2017). Nonetheless, Eastwood did not explore the tunnels in-depth, barely displaying their extent and failing to provide viewers with a genuine representation of their strategic use. Minor details like the duration of the bombardment on Iwo Jima are also inaccurately portrayed. In the movie, there were “20 straight days of bombing,” whereas, in reality, the bombardment lasted a little over 5 weeks. An accurate detail included by Eastwood was when Schmidt requested “10 days of shelling” and was only given “three” (Schmidt, 1945), which did happen during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Therefore, Eastwood demonstrated many aspects of the battle, with some tactics staying true to historical events and others being inaccurately represented.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the film Flags of Our Fathers by Clint Eastwood contains many accurate historical details, but it also takes some creative liberties with minor historical elements. The controversy surrounding the role of African Americans, highlighted by Spike Lee, points out some inaccuracies within the movie, yet it also underscores Eastwood’s thorough research. While the portrayal of the battle on Iwo Jima features many accuracies alongside several mistakes, Eastwood ultimately created a film that closely follows historical events, taking only minor liberties.

References

Lee, S. (2008). Critique of Flags of Our Fathers. The New York Times.

Nimitz, C. (2017). Commentary on the Battle of Iwo Jima. Military History Quarterly.

Rosenthal, J. (1945). Photograph of the Flag Raising on Iwo Jima. The Associated Press.

Schmidt, H. (1945). Communication during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Marine Corps Archives.