The Last Samurai Reflection

Image Source:
1: Screenshot of Last Samurai
2: Screenshot of Last Samurai

Reflection on: The Last Samurai

According to the movie Captain Algren used to be a soldier who fought Native Americans. The fight in Japan is a natural transition because they need help in fighting a "savage" army, the samurai. They think that all they need is guns and they should be ok because the samurai are looked down upon, however, the samurai are still highly effective against the untrained soldiers. Algren views himself as a killer and a drunk who is pretty useless, he also suffers from depression and alcoholism, acting in some ways suicidal. Through working with the samurai he regains a sense of honor, and pride for a soldier. Japan's main form of modernizing is to change their army to use guns and infantry tactics to try to stay relevant with their military power. This is a crucial move because the samurai are shown to be able to beat infantry with guns if they are not trained, however in the last scene of the movie when they all are trained and have 200 rpm Gatling guns they destroy the samurai, who were once very powerful. This modernization allows for a country to be more powerful on a global setting, but it also lets them keep hold of japan and secure Japan.