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Men Of Honor Film Analysis

Satisfactory Essays

In the film Men of Honour, the ideas of racism, determination and acceptance are a key aspect of the film because they show us how blacks were discriminated against in the Navy, how Carl got to his professional position due to his ongoing determination and hard work and how Billy grew to accept Carl and other black individuals.

Determination was a large part of Carls success in the Navy. Carl was passionate to become a Navy diver since he was young. Carl was a young African American trying to work his way to a master diver in the Navy. In the opening scene of the film, Carl had fallen asleep with a flyer for the US Navy in his chest, showing us that diving has been Carl’s dream since a very young age. When Carl got into diving school, he …show more content…

We also see the idea of racism through the verbal feature of dialogue when Master Pappy says to Billy Sunday “There may be a day when a coloured graduates from this school, but it won't be tomorrow”. This shows that Pappy wouldn’t pass a coloured diver even if he knew they were the best in the training program. This idea made me realise how poorly coloured individuals were treated during the 1960’s in South America and how skill wasn’t even considered in positions of superiority, but instead race. This type of racial discrimination still happens today as many people still believe that African Americans are nothing compared to the white population, and the same for Maori people compared to Pakeha in New Zealand. The use of props and dialogue shows the idea of racism.

Acceptance was an important theme as it showed us how Billy changed throughout the film, growing to accept Carl for who he is and understanding that he should be treated the same regardless of him being a negro. An example of Billy showing acceptance was at the start of the film when a flashback was shown of Billy waiting for disciplinary actions after going AWOL. When the tv in front of him and many other Navy divers shows a rescue mission involving a black diver, known to Billy as Carl, the other sailors made crude racist jokes but Billy stood up for Carl and put the sailor into a choke hold

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