By Michael Fabatz, Hannah Swain & Zeinab Torabi
Fentonian
Fenton HS
Division 2, Yearbook
Academic Writing
Assembled in the square, Honors American Studies students bundled up in their winter coats and gloves and made their way outside to board the buses. In less than an hour, the 70 students would be transported back to the early 20th century to the 1936 Berlin Olympics and World War II to watch a story about a man who went against all odds and survived in unfathomable conditions.
“‘Unbroken’s’ plot was about Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete and American soldier who fought in World War II,” sophomore Jack Hall said. “His plane crashed and he was lost at sea for 47 days until Japanese soldiers found him and his friend and took them to several different prisoner of war camps. The director, Angelina Jolie, did a great job portraying the characters on screen and kept the movie well paced.”
Already familiar with the movie’s plot, the students watched as the 473 pages of the novel transformed in front them during the 137 minute long motion picture.
“Although the movie left out some major parts that were in the book, the scenes it did show were well done,” sophomore Meaghan McArdle said. “It showed how appalling the camps were and how the people suffered; you could just tell through the actor’s emotions how bad the conditions were.”
From Zamperini’s early life as an Olympic track star to his military experience as a prisoner of war, the movie allowed sophomores to compare the book to the film, evaluating them both and analyzing the parts they did and did not like.
“It’s one thing to read the book, but when you see the hardships and horrors Louis Zamperini faced during his time in the military, it really starts to open your eyes,” sophomore Madeleine Welch said. “Because I read the novel, as I watched the film it felt as if the book was coming alive. The scene that impacted me the most was when Zamperini was forced to hold a wooden plank above his head all day; it showed how courageous he had to be in order to survive the Japanese internment camps.”
As the credits rolled on the screen, students remained idle in their seats. Comprehending the horrors of World War II, the class eventually filed out of the theater and once again boarded their bus. Seeing the story of Zamperini’s hardships come to life on the big screen, the AMS students returned to the their A Day schedule after having watched a film that focused on the strength of the individual and endurance of the human spirit.