Sahara - Steffon Swenson
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked Sahara. I thought that the movie was extremely interesting. It is probably more interesting today in that we are able to look back at the time it was made and more understand the message more thoroughly. Sahara is very apparently a war propaganda movie. I can see how in the 1940’s when this movie was made, it would make people want to commit themselves to the war effort. After watching that movie, I could have probably been convinced to fight!
Sahara definitely adhered to the guidelines set by the OWI. The two sides of the war were clearly depicted. The Allies were represented as compassionate. They were committed wholeheartedly to their cause. This was the part that would make people want to get involved. The fact that the handful of soldiers would give up their lives to defend against a much larger German force was extremely inspiring. On the other hand, the evil axis was represented as haughty, ruthless and dishonest. This is seen in the German pilot sneering as he attempts to kill Sergeant Gunn and his soldiers and again when he is uncooperative after being captured.
Joe Gunn is the character that really made the movie. His character was so inspiring to the other soldiers. He was able to conceive off and install a plan to trick and hold off the German soldiers from the “well full of water” until reinforcements arrived. He was willing to die to defend his country and his cause. But, if he was going to die he was going to do it in a way that would help the rest of the war, by holding off the Germans from other fronts.
Also, the fact that nine men from all different countries and backgrounds would stick together and fight for their cause under a soldier that they didn’t know was so inspiring. Most of these men had families at home and they still stayed to fight when their chances of staying alive were slim.