Flags of our Fathers

The popular movie today, Flags of our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood is based on the book by James Bradley and Ron Powers, 2001. Bradley writes about his father, John Bradley, a Navy corpsman who a few days before had braved enemy mortar and machine-gun fire to administer first aid to a wounded Marine and then drag him to safety. For this act of heroism Bradley would receive the Navy Cross, an award second only to the Medal of Honor.

Bradley, who died in 1994, never mentioned his feat to his family. Only after his death did Bradley's son James begin to piece together the facts of his father's heroism, which was but one of countless acts of sacrifice made by the young men who fought at Iwo Jima. Flags of Our Fathers recounts the sometimes tragic life stories of the six men who raised the flag that February day--one an Arizona Indian who would die following an alcohol-soaked brawl, another a Kentucky hillbilly, still another a Pennsylvania steel-mill worker--and who became reluctant heroes in the bargain. The book and movie presents a dark side to war as politics and heroics come together to taint and "spin" war heroics for the purpose of raising money or endorsement and the psychological havoc it plays on young soldiers.

Stephen King's Movie Successes

Despite his horror scripts and flicks, King's manuscripts were successfully adapted to the screen by Frank Darabont in 1994 with Shawshank Redemption and 1999 with the The Green Mile. While Shawshank was not instantly successful it's success came later with DVD sales to be the top-grossing DVD in resales. Both prison movies developed themes based on male friendship, hope, and suffering through adversity.