Movie - essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Movie - - Essay Example It also provides difficult lessons that Robert McNamara learned about modern war when he was the United States’ Secretary of Defense. In addition, it involves a study of moral complexities in conflicts. The documentary can explain common contemporary issues happening in the modern world, especially the Israeli-Palestine war. For example, it focuses on one of the most significant and controversial figures in the government of the United States in the 20th Century (Grothaus 1). The documentary focuses on the war involving Cuba, United States and United Soviet Socialists Union (Grothaus 1). Cuba almost engaged in war with the United Soviets Socialists Union. In addition, the documentary provides methodologies that can be adopted in times when one has to make a quick decision (Grothaus 1). Moreover, Robert McNamara claims that some war situations might be hard and dilemmatic. However, learning is not possible when dealing with nuclear weapons because any mistake made in the process would be highly consequential.As directed by Errol Morris, the film focuses on eleven lessons that can be learned from Robert McNamara’s life. Some of the lessons learned are decisions concerning critical situations in events of war. The first lesson is to empathize with your enemy. Consequently, it is necessary for the Israelis to sympathize with Palestinians and vice versa. Empathy will allow leaders from both divide to acknowledge that civilians are the most affected (Merip 1). The lesson analyses the need to view the world according to enemies’ perspective. The situation help understand their opinions concerning certain conflict situations. The approach also helps in comprehending their thinking and decision making process. For instance, McNamara illustrates one of the major events that took place when he was the Secretary of defense. The Cuban Missile Crisis illustrates the increased likelihood of Cuba exchanging nuclear weapons