Lord of War

Lord Of War is a movie about the business of selling illegal artillery to different Countries at war. The main character, Yuri Orlov, played by Nicholas Cage, starts his business after witnessing a gunfight between mobs. He realized that there would always be the need for guns and weapons. The movie follows him through his career and takes the viewer through many tense scenes in different countries and opens the world of war to the viewer. There are many business transactions within Africa, which attributes to the mass genocides and the multiple wars between countries. More specifically the war and chaos in Sierra Leone, where many innocent people were murdered by the very guns Yuri provided. Yuri never takes the blame for the killings and always looks at it as a necessary business. After lying to his family and continuing his illegal business, in the end he is left with nothing. Power, race, gender and religion all play a role in the message of the movie.

Power was a very large theme in the movie. In general money equaled power. The entire business of selling artillery was based on the bribery of people. People were paid off to allow access, provide transportation, and soldiers to keep their mouths shut. Ordinary people would do things they would not normally do or even consider morally right if they are making money. The main characters whole purpose of selling artillery was to make large amounts of money. He convinced himself that it was the right thing to do even though it causes the death of many.

As for race, there was not one positive role of the Africans in the movie. All Africans were either a dictator or soldier killing innocent people or a helpless victim. They were never portrayed as people who would know what’s right and wrong, they only know the “kill or be killed” motto. There was a scene when a plane was down in Africa and over a 24-hour period it was completely gutted and broken down to only a skeleton. It gave the allusion of a corps being eaten away by animals. This gave the people of Africa an animalistic persona.

All of the women in the movie were a prostitute, a stereotypical wife, or a helpless victim. Most of the women played sexual objects throughout the film. For example, the main characters wife was a super model he pined for before they were married. Also, there was scandalous prostitutes, easily paid off, always accompanied the younger brother as an accessory. The women were never included in any business, only used for their pretty face. They were offered as gifts to do whatever the man wanted and then were disrespected without thought.

The movie had a very strong message showing the evils of war. The exploitation of women to the power of money all have a role in the unforgiving life of war. Dehumanizing the women and Africans in the movie gave Yuri Orlov more of a reason to make money off of them. Lord of War was a profound movie that showed one of the illegal international businesses that continue today and the horrifying impacts on the war.