Is the horse real or imaginary in Jarhead?
There is a horse scene in Jarhead, in which a horse comes around among the oil raining down from the sky.
I am wondering if this horse a real horse or it is imaginary and carries a message?
During wartime, and oil wells are burning, it is unlikely for a horse to walk around in the desert.
Best Answer
The horse is likely to be real.
1. Checkhov's gun
Chekhov's gun is a dramatic principle that states that every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed; elements should not appear to make "false promises" by never coming into play.
If the horse was a hallucination, then it should have been addressed as a hallucination at some point in the plot. It wasn't.
2. Some horses do live in the desert
The Namib Desert Horse is a rare feral horse found in the Namib Desert of Namibia, Africa. Despite the harsh environment in which they live, the horses are generally in good condition, except during times of extreme drought. The horses have been the subject of several population studies, which have given significant insight into their population dynamics and ability to survive in desert conditions.
This is about African horses, but the same appears to be true for Arabia:
The proto-Arabian horse may have been domesticated by the people of the Arabian peninsula known today as the Bedouin, some time after they learned to use the camel, approximately 4,000–5,000 years ago. One theory is that this development occurred in the Nejd plateau in central Arabia.
it is unlikely for a horse to walk around in the desert.
Given that horses live in the desert, it's not that unlikely.
I am wondering if this horse a real horse or it is imaginary and carries a message?
It's both. The horse is real, but it still carries a message.
A horse is a peaceful, kind animal, which is in stark contrast with the war zone and military mentality that the main character has been living by.
The main character is put into a situation of mistrust. When they come across locals, they are suspicious of them. Are they civilians, or maybe insurgents in disguise?
Again, the horse creates a sharp contrast here: amidst all the chaos, it still approaches the main character calmly, trusting that he won't be harmed.
The interaction with the horse reminds the main character that peace and trust still exist, even if not in his current environment (in the middle of a war). It grounds him in reality.
Pictures about "Is the horse real or imaginary in Jarhead?"
What was Fowler digging Jarhead?
Before they can finish them Sykes orders the squad to move to where the wind prevents the oil from raining on them. While digging new sleeping holes, Swoff discovers Fowler has defiled an Iraqi corpse which drives Swoff to the point of wanting to fight him. However he merely takes the body and buries it somewhere else.Is Jarhead 2 a sequel to Jarhead?
Sequels. The film was followed by three direct-to-video sequels: Jarhead 2: Field of Fire (2014), Jarhead 3: The Siege (2016) and Jarhead: Law of Return (2019). Unlike the original, all three sequels are entirely fictional and have no connection to the original.Are the Jarhead movies connected?
Jarhead2005Jarhead 2: Field of Fire2014Jarhead 3: The Siege2016Marine Reacts to Jarhead Movie - FACT OR FICTION
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Answer 2
The horse is 100% real as I am the one who almost shot it that night when it scared the crap out of me. Here is a picture I took of it at the airport the next morning.
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Images: Юрий Лаймин, Pavel Bak, Pavel Bak, Андрей