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The 2006 film Blood Diamond, directed by Edward Zwick, promotes this depiction and works to endorse western methodologies, beliefs and ideologies counter to the controversial issue of child soldiers in Africa. The film writers and directors position viewers to agree with dominant interpretations pertaining to child soldiers and their severe loss of innocence. (Play video of boy killing guy without knowing while blind folded) As seen in this extract, the loss of the child’s innocence is foregrounded and is further intensified by the reactions of the rebel leaders. Furthermore, this example exacerbates assertions of guerrilla military leaders exploiting children and their rights to an innocent childhood for their own selfish political schemas simply stating, “It is for a good cause”. The aforementioned examples, which are privileged and mimicked in many similar texts, align with western mindsets on the theme of child soldiers. The relevance of these portrayals is as significant as the argument of this issue itself; subsequently, representing a violation of human rights and compelling us to question our humanity. As a result, we see that these children are conscripted to become instruments of war, to kill and be killed; child soldiers are forced to give the same violent expression to towards their communities that the rebel adults give
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These perceptions work to highlight and further problematize the prevailing ideologies regarding child soldiers. The Article Stolen kids turned into terrifying killers, By Ann O'Neill CNN, further depersonalises these child soldiers by telling us that there very vulnerability makes them attractive to the men leading militias, manipulating them to do the unspeakable without question or protest, because their morals and value systems are not yet fully formed. This verifies western beliefs and ideologies relating to guerrilla military leaders exploiting children and their rights to an innocent childhood for their own self-centred political agendas. In additional, some children are kidnapped from their schools or their beds, some are recruited after seeing their parents slaughtered, and some may even choose to join the militias as their best hope for survival in war-torn countries. Once recruited, many are brainwashed, trained, given drugs and then sent into battle with orders to kill. The relevance of these depictions are crucial as the confrontational subject of child soldiers indeed does represent a breach of their human rights and degrades our humanity. As westerners we cannot begin to comprehend the psychological and physical pain child soldier’s face each
These perceptions work to highlight and further problematize the prevailing ideologies regarding child soldiers. The Article Stolen kids turned into terrifying killers, By Ann O'Neill CNN, further depersonalises these child soldiers by telling us that there very vulnerability makes them attractive to the men leading militias, manipulating them to do the unspeakable without question or protest, because their morals and value systems are not yet fully formed. This verifies western beliefs and ideologies relating to guerrilla military leaders exploiting children and their rights to an innocent childhood for their own self-centred political agendas. In additional, some children are kidnapped from their schools or their beds, some are recruited after seeing their parents slaughtered, and some may even choose to join the militias as their best hope for survival in war-torn countries. Once recruited, many are brainwashed, trained, given drugs and then sent into battle with orders to kill. The relevance of these depictions are crucial as the confrontational subject of child soldiers indeed does represent a breach of their human rights and degrades our humanity. As westerners we cannot begin to comprehend the psychological and physical pain child soldier’s face each