Humanity is an idea that has been studied for thousands of years. It is the way humans interact, the way they grow, and how they elegantly fall. It is the ideas that create human nature, and gives the qualities that no other species on this planet can accurately portray; the ability to love, and to hate equally. A question arises that has plagued the mind for decades; what does it mean to be human? The movie Troy is a good example of this question. The movie focuses on the desire for love and for war that seem to come hand in hand, and the blindness that comes from overconfidence.
Behind any known war there is always a love story told; how the hero falls in love with the damsel, only to be struck down valiantly in battle, or how two opposites that found love in a crisis. It was demonstrated in famous war movies, such as Pearl Harbor, and Gone with the Wind, and is demonstrated in Troy. The battle of Troy started because Helen eloped with Paris, and went to Troy. After Menelaus discovers Helen left with Troy he is determined to bring her home by any means, even war. The love between Paris and Helen is strong enough for a war to develop. This idea however is not one sided. Achilles, on the other hand, found love in this war that he had no desire to fight in. After the Greeks destroyed the temple of Apollo, a priestess by the name of Briseis is captured and brought to him. At first it seems if they both just plain hate each other, but as the story develops their relationship changes from hate to love that ultimately ends in Achilles’ death. This is also seen in the relationship that Achilles has to his cousin, Patroclus. As stated before, Achilles has no desire to be in the war between Troy and Greece, however, with the death of his cousin his ideals change and he fights not for Greece, but in vain. The examples above demonstrate how love and war walk alongside one another, and how it is demonstrated by several characters in the movie.
Another common theme seen...