Journal Six By Max Balderson

Journal Six

            The movie Beasts of No Nation is about the story of a boy who loses his family in the midst of a civil war in an unknown African country. This movie is an extremely eye opening experience that gives you an idea of what the life of a child soldier is like. This movie does very well at keeping the viewer emotionally engaged, and I highly recommend watching it. One of the main ideas shown in this film is the process of how children were so effortlessly turned into bloodthirsty killers. When the main character of this film, Agu, first finds the rebel troop, he would later join, he tells them that his family had been killed. The commandant of the troop then uses this information and tells Agu that fighting with his troop will give him revenge of the one who killed his family. This shows how leaders are using loss and bloodshed to recruit children to fight for their factions.

A picture of Agu's troop, completely full of child soldiers

           This movie has draws many similarities to Beah’s A Long Way Gone. When you watch Agu’s story in this film, you witness the three key elements of his life in the war. The first being the loss of his family. The second key element being him becoming a child soldier, in order to exact revenge on his enemy, and lastly, Agu being rehabilitated so that he can once again become a normal child. These same key points are in Agu’s life are major plot points in the story of A Long Way Gone. Having a visual medium to show us what these experiences allows us to further understand emotionally Beah’s life in the civil war of Sierra Leone. Watching this film has given me the benefit of better understanding the harsh realities of children in war.