Taps

In 1981, the movie Tap’s directed by Harold Becker, was released. This film follows a group of students who take over their military academy in order to save it from being closed down. In my mind, Taps is one of those interesting movies that never got the fame and recognition it deserved. Taps helped many young stars get their big break. Two names of stars that debuted in Taps are Tom Cruise and Sean Penn. Cruise plays a hotheaded cadet who is willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure everyone holds down the academy while under siege from the National Guard. A young Timothy Hutton plays Cadet Major Brian Moreland. An incident, which ends up with the cadets general being arrested, triggers a cadet take-over of the school, which is in jeopardy of being closed down. Hutton and his fellow cadets seize all the weapons removed from the armory. Armed, the cadet’s state their terms to the dean of students, demanding the school stay open. The movie shows the extremes a few cadets are willing to go to in order to save their school and the trauma they experience fighting for what they believe is right. They do all this with a militaristic mind set and not one of teenage boys. The film accurately shows Hutton’s character rise from a cadet in training to the young man with the mentality of a general. It portrays young boys turning into men over night and I believe foreshadows what can happen to a soldier’s mind in the midst of war. The film also shows how the military breeds young men to think as if everyone is the enemy and never to let anything of importance get taken from you. To always stand up for what you believe and never turn your back on a fellow soldier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob2DIURBXts&feature=related