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by The Web Archive
March 12, 2025
from
WayBackMachine Website
'The Fog of War'
is a 2003 American documentary film
about the life and times of
former
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara,
illustrating his
observations
of the nature of modern warfare...
Details
Source
Decades after the fact, the Vietnam War occupies
a dark space in the collective conscience.
The legacy of former U.S. Secretary of Defense
Robert S. McNamara is intrinsically tied to the events of this war,
and in many minds his decisions during this time define him as a war
criminal...!
Having protested against the war, director
Errol Morris detested
McNamara.
So, with questions to be answered, he set out to
make The Fog of War...
Faced with Morris's unique interviewing technique, the ingenious "Interrotron
device" - wherein the interviewee stares directly into the lens,
creating the sensation of a "first person" conversation - McNamara
expounds on the situations he encountered and the tough decisions he
made.
But rather than encountering a hardened war
criminal, a belligerent know-it-all out to set the record straight,
Morris met with a reflective, intellectual, teary - eyed old man.
With fresh statements from McNamara, who has given thousands of
interviews over the course of his career, The Fog of War brings raw
feeling and new truth to the screen.
Superbly cut alongside archival war footage and
confidential audio recordings between Presidents Kennedy and
Johnson
speaking with McNamara at crucial turning points in history,
composer Phillip Glass contributes his own brilliant form of
"existential dread" for the soundtrack.
The resulting work of art is a moving biopic of
one man's life and a substantial block of world history.
Bookmarked with 11 lessons Morris garnered from 23 hours of
interviews with McNamara, The Fog of War expounds upon the
shortcomings of humanity and the havoc wreaked through unhinged war.
As McNamara declares,
"I am very sorry that in the process of
accomplishing things, I made errors," he strikes a dissonant
chord of universal infallibility and leaves us all with much to
contemplate.
FILM THEMES
With the benefit of hindsight and the trajectory of 85 years,
Robert S. McNamara reflects on both the good and bad, that
director Errol Morris parcels out in the format of 11 life
lessons:
1. EMPATHIZE WITH YOUR ENEMY
A major conflict, the Cuban Missile Crisis, was diverted through
an understanding of the enemy's intentions, while the Vietnam
War is sad proof that blind miscomprehension leads to
irreparable destruction.
2. RATIONALITY WILL NOT SAVE US
Our rational minds take us far, and yet some of the greatest
truths and mysteries that our lives revolve around exist outside
of the rational.
3. THERE'S SOMETHING BEYOND ONE'S SELF
As members of society born into a global community, we have a
responsibility to one another and not only to ourselves.
4. MAXIMIZE EFFICIENCY
Find the most efficient way to complete a certain task and
approach it accordingly, in order to make the most of available
resources.
5. PROPORTIONALITY SHOULD BE A GUIDELINE IN WAR
Killings should be proportional to a nation's objectives in
times of war, and the fine balance between these two must be
strictly monitored.
6. GET THE DATA
A stickler for information, McNamara spent his life collecting
facts and applying them onwards, stressing the empowerment
offered by data.
7. BELIEF AND SEEING ARE BOTH OFTEN WRONG
What are the factors that drive decisions?
McNamara stated,
"We
see only half of the story at times,"
...while Morris concluded
that we only see what we want to see, and contorted sight leads
to unnecessary loss.
8. BE PREPARED TO REEXAMINE YOUR REASONING
It is never too late to reverse a decision, especially when it
appears to be a unilateral mission, as in the case of the U.S.
War in Vietnam.
9. IN ORDER TO DO GOOD, YOU MAY HAVE TO ENGAGE IN EVIL
Opposing forces are the building blocks of existence. We cannot
shy away from the evil required on our path to the greater good.
10. NEVER SAY NEVER
Sometimes the seemingly impossible option is the only one that
works, and unbelievably unpredictable events rewrite the history
books.
11. YOU CAN'T CHANGE HUMAN NATURE
In McNamara's mind war is a natural facet of the human
experience, and he says,
"I'm not so naive or simplistic to
believe that we can end all war."
Video
Video also
HERE,
HERE and
HERE
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