snoop1130 Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 'The stupidest thing humanity ever did to itself': Sam Mendes and Colin Firth on 1917 by Catherine Shoard War of nerves: George MacKay as Lance Corporal Schofield in 1917. Photograph: François Duhamel/AP When Sam Mendes was small, he would laugh at his grandfather’s habit of forever washing his hands. His father took him to one side. “It’s because he remembers the mud in the trenches,” he said, “and never being able to get clean.” Sam stopped laughing. Full Story: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/03/the-stupidest-thing-humanity-ever-did-to-itself-sam-mendes-and-colin-firth-on-1917 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew65 Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Contrary to what a lot of Brits think, it was never unavoidable or unthinkable for Britain to not get involved in WWI. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman34014 Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Sadly ''The War to end all Wars'' didn't end anything ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Barry343 Posted January 3, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted January 3, 2020 4 minutes ago, trainman34014 said: Sadly ''The War to end all Wars'' didn't end anything ! Not while America keep interferring with other countries, since they became an Independent in 1776 country have been free of war for only 17 years. 2 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7fish Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 (edited) Humanity are like docile sheep, it's the wolves among us that were responsible for that and all wars. The masters of propaganda and fear mongers Edited January 3, 2020 by 7fish clarification 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus123 Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 "But war's a game,which,were their subjects wise,kings should not play at" William Cowper. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IAMHERE Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 15 hours ago, Barry343 said: Not while America keep interferring with other countries, since they became an Independent in 1776 country have been free of war for only 17 years. It is a 'stretch' to blame all wars since 1776 on America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyezhov Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 Looks like a good movie. I'll check the historical accuracy after I see it. By the way if you are Amazon dude, there are some awesome WW1 memoirs available that are a must read, and free or cheap. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus123 Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 1 minute ago, IAMHERE said: It is a 'stretch' to blame all wars since 1776 on America. Agreed-this one was a 100% European...the USA came in much later. But it is interesting to see how many English (and to a lesser extent German) aristocrats had wed American heiresses... A very cosmopolitan world in 1914. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AhFarangJa Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 I have many memories of my Grandfather who was in the trenches at Aisne and Oise. He lost a lung to mustard gas, and strangely drank tea with salt, not sugar. When we used to visit he would sometimes just stare into the distance. One thing he never did was talk about his experiences. Such a tragic waste of so many young lives. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillyflower Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 2 hours ago, Odysseus123 said: Agreed-this one was a 100% European...the USA came in much later. But it is interesting to see how many English (and to a lesser extent German) aristocrats had wed American heiresses... A very cosmopolitan world in 1914. Because the younger sons of aristocrats had small allowances and were looking for rich wives (to keep them in the style to which they were accustomed). The heiresses were looking for poor aristocrat sons who would certainly be available. A very good example is the father of Winston Churchill. A younger son of the Duke of Marlborough. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HannahD Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 While WW1 may well have been "the stupidest thing humanity ever did to itself" the warring parties in Europe rather than negotiating a truce to end it took advantage of US President Woodrow Wilson"s towering ego and convinced him that he alone could save the world by sending 1,000,000 US troops to the war and resoundingly defeat the Hun. Of course England and France took advantage of the German surrender to impose such onerous terms that WW2 was made inevitable. There was surely plenty of stupidity to go around. Yet in the midst of this stupidity there was a beacon of sanity. The French speaking people of Quebec argued that this was a European war and had nothing to do with Canada. Further, why should they send their sons, brothers, uncles and cousins to fight under incompetent British officers many of whom had bought their commissions? Since draft boards were local, exemptions were very freely granted. Now, more than a century after the horror that was WW1, who made the correct decision? Those who blindly followed the "mother country" or those who saw that it had nothing to do with Canada? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin case Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 young mean lied into dying for more LIES ... does anybody think about the fact that UK, France & the Netherlands had colonies all over the world and ruled them and locals as slaves ??? did Germany not want to expand their realm but the 3 powers decided that would be against their interest of the rich kings & queens ? a fake assassination (inside job ?) blamed on for starting this war, come on ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiBunny Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 4 minutes ago, justin case said: does anybody think about the fact that UK, France & the Netherlands had colonies all over the world and ruled them and locals as slaves ??? I certainly don't but then I've never been fond of fiction 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HannahD Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 On 1/3/2020 at 6:37 AM, Andrew65 said: Contrary to what a lot of Brits think, it was never unavoidable or unthinkable for Britain to not get involved in WWI. It was absolutely imperative that the British Empire entered the war. How else to steal the German colonies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Grumpy Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 On 1/3/2020 at 7:19 PM, Barry343 said: Not while America keep interferring with other countries, since they became an Independent in 1776 country have been free of war for only 17 years. Simply protecting the liberty and freedom of their people. That live 1000's of miles away from everyone else, on the other side of the planet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpoint Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 The history of the first half of the 20th century should be well studied by all. The world power (UK) challenged by a would be usurper (Germany) while the new largest economy in the world (USA) initially waited it out before stepping in to leapfrog them both. It was inevitable that the US would become the leading power, but it took two wars, and millions of lives lost, before Europe finally realised that. The parallels with today, where the US and Russia play with their Middle Eastern pawns and try to out weaponize each other while China's economy makes its inexorable rise to the top, are scary at times, and I fear that the US will be just as stubborn as old Europe was - with the same tragic results, when its turn comes to be overtaken. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpoint Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 One interesting fact about WW1 is that Kaiser Wilhelm II was the son of Queen Victoria's eldest child - her daughter Victoria, who married the son of Kaiser Wilhelm I - Crown Prince Frederick. Had the UK succession laws been the same then as they are now - where the eldest child of the monarch takes the throne, regardless of their sex, he would have been King of England at the time of WW1, inheriting the throne from his mother, who died in 1901. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpoint Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 Using restored footage of original black and white film, lip readers to work out what people were saying, and interviews with the few surviving veterans of WWI, Peter Jackson and his Weta Digital team came up with an amazing documentary just over a year ago. This is just the trailer, but everyone should watch the full movie if they get the chance: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlandtday Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 16 hours ago, HannahD said: While WW1 may well have been "the stupidest thing humanity ever did to itself" the warring parties in Europe rather than negotiating a truce to end it took advantage of US President Woodrow Wilson"s towering ego and convinced him that he alone could save the world by sending 1,000,000 US troops to the war and resoundingly defeat the Hun. Of course England and France took advantage of the German surrender to impose such onerous terms that WW2 was made inevitable. There was surely plenty of stupidity to go around. Yet in the midst of this stupidity there was a beacon of sanity. The French speaking people of Quebec argued that this was a European war and had nothing to do with Canada. Further, why should they send their sons, brothers, uncles and cousins to fight under incompetent British officers many of whom had bought their commissions? Since draft boards were local, exemptions were very freely granted. Now, more than a century after the horror that was WW1, who made the correct decision? Those who blindly followed the "mother country" or those who saw that it had nothing to do with Canada? And don't forget the Belfour Declaration and how it influenced America's involvement in that war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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