Beasts of No Nation Analysis

BEASTS OF NO NATION

            Cary Fukunaga’s 2015 film, Beasts of No Nation, tells the story of a fierce warlord training a young orphan to join his group of guerilla soldiers. It presents the audience with the plight of a child-soldier.

When watching the film, along with common sense, one can easily recognize that having children serve as soldiers is a heavy-handed slap in the face to Human Rights. When people with so called “normal” lives think of childhood, they think of innocence and positive growth. All across the globe, human rights groups fight for children to have access to an education so as to afford them some life opportunities. In addition, children ought to feel safe and allowed to discover themselves without having to fear immanent death. These rights, along with many others, are taken away from vulnerable children with little other options. The Commander takes advantage of these orphaned children by offering what appears to be a new family through the brotherhood of a guerrilla force, “All of you that have never been listened to before and have seen your family killed, huh, you now have something that stands for you. You now have something that stands for you!” The Commander teaches and indoctrinates the children to hate the enemy government and teaches them how to kill. Children in any case are easily impressionable, especially when they do not have a family unit’s support. Thus, the Commander takes advantage of their situation to have the children serve him for his own evil gain. This violation of Human Rights has large sociological implications in the child soldiers’ lives. For one, as stated earlier, their life chances are greatly reduced. Because they do not get the opportunity to receive a formal education, they already stray away from the path of a happy, stable life. In addition, their experience is emotionally scarring and leaves them unable to cope with the world outside of guerilla warfare.  As Agu, a child soldier and the film’s protagonist, expresses, “I saw terrible things... and I did terrible things,” “... I just want to be happy in this life. If I'm telling this to you... you will think that... I am some sort of beast... or devil. I am all of these things... but I also having mother... father... brother and sister once. They loved me.” It is evident that these child soldier’s rights and childhood innocence are being stolen away from them by the evil grips of war.