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Johnny Got His Gun

 Johnny Got His Gun
type
TVTItem
 Johnny Got His Gun
label
Johnny Got His Gun
 Johnny Got His Gun
page
JohnnyGotHisGun
 Johnny Got His Gun
comment
A 1938 novel by Dalton Trumbo that became a rallying point for the political left after World War II. It follows a young man named Joe Bonham, who, after becoming grievously injured during World War I, is left deaf, blind, dumb, and without any limbs. Throughout the book, Joe reminisces about the life he lost, waxes philosophical on war and conscription, and tries desperately to communicate with the doctors keeping him alive.A film version was written and directed by Trumbo himself in 1971 and starring Timothy Bottoms as Joe, Jason Robards as his father, and Donald Sutherland as Jesus Christ (as dreamed or imagined by Joe). The screenplay stayed fairly close to the source material but with new scenes added (we see more of what's going on around Joe in the hospital, for instance). The film was reintroduced to the mainstream in the late 1980s when clips from it were featured in the music video for "One" by Metallica, who later bought the film's rights in order to re-publish the video without paying royalty fees.
 Johnny Got His Gun
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2023-05-23T14:13:10Z
 Johnny Got His Gun
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2023-05-23T14:13:10Z
 Johnny Got His Gun
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DBTropes
 Johnny Got His Gun
sameAs
http://data.linkedmdb.org/resource/film/11405
 Johnny Got His Gun
sameAs
http://data.linkedmdb.org/resource/film/30023
 Johnny Got His Gun
sameAs
http://dbpedia.org/resource/Johnny_Got_His_Gun_(film)
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_10072b2
type
Helpful Hallucination
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_10072b2
comment
Helpful Hallucination: In one of his fantasy sequences, Joe's father reminds him to use the Morse code for communication.
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_141a6acb
type
Madness Mantra
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_141a6acb
comment
Madness Mantra: Just before fading to black, "S.O.S. Help me".
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1.0
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Johnny Got His Gun / int_141a6acb
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_1b5c9c48
type
The Blank
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_1b5c9c48
comment
The Blank: Joe's entire face is blown off, including his entire mouth. All he is left with is one hole for breathing.
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1.0
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_22294000
type
Sarcastic Title
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_22294000
comment
Sarcastic Title: The title is taken from the opening line of the famous American World War I patriotic song "Over There".
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_22294000
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Johnny Got His Gun / int_22294000
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_27690f66
type
Literary Allusion Title
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_27690f66
comment
Literary Allusion Title: The title refers to "Over There", a 1917 hit song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with United States military and public during both world wars.
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_27690f66
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_4ad1816a
type
Everyone Knows Morse
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_4ad1816a
comment
Everyone Knows Morse: Joe mentions that he learned the Morse code in his childhood when he used it to communicate with a neighbor boy.
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_4ad1816a
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1.0
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Johnny Got His Gun / int_4ad1816a
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_4e3d253b
type
Downer Ending
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_4e3d253b
comment
Downer Ending: Joe resumes going insane, something which was temporarily halted when he learned he could communicate in some way. It is more or less explicitly said that this is how he will live out the rest of his life. Then, to stop him from freaking out the nurses, they drug him with pain-killers. It ends as he slowly sinks into a haze.
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_504a1991
type
Body Horror
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_504a1991
comment
Body Horror: Joe is reduced to the minimum necessary to sustain life. Even his limbs have been completely disarticulated, so he doesn't have so much as a stump.
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_5e032315
type
One-Book Author
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_5e032315
comment
One-Book Author: Well, Trumbo was actually a quite prolific writer, but the film adaptation was the only time he took the director's chair himself.
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_62434fe2
type
Sanity Slippage
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_62434fe2
comment
Sanity Slippage: Joe is fighting a losing battle to remain sane. The movie shows he completely loses it at the end.
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1.0
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Johnny Got His Gun / int_62434fe2
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_7834761
type
The Lonely Door
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_7834761
comment
The Lonely Door: In the film, during Joe's hallucinations he steps out of the bakery door and into a forest scene with the door still standing amidst the trees.
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_875615dd
type
Truth in Television
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_875615dd
comment
The hallucinations are Truth in Television as sensory deprivation often does lead to hallucinations as the body begins manufacturing a narrative for the senses. This is partly what is behind Phantom Limb Syndrome.
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_875615dd
featureApplicability
1.0
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Johnny Got His Gun / int_875615dd
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_8b568cb7
type
Posthumous Character
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_8b568cb7
comment
Posthumous Character: Joe's father, who died around the time Joe was sent off to fight in WWI, appears in Joe's flashbacks, dreams, and hallucinations.
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_8b568cb7
featureApplicability
1.0
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Johnny Got His Gun / int_8b568cb7
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_8becc5c5
type
Existential Horror
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_8becc5c5
comment
Existential Horror: The whole scene in which Joe meets Jesus in his dreams and there's a lengthy discussion between finding the difference between reality and dreams, Jesus suggests that perhaps Joe is just having a nightmare due to dreams controlling our minds, while reality is another type of dream where we're in control, except Joe states that even if he was in control, he can't do anything in the real world due to his injuries. Jesus grimly gives up stating that Joe's real life is a greater nightmare than his dreams.
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Johnny Got His Gun / int_8becc5c5
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_9b0f37de
type
Contemplate Our Navels
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_9b0f37de
comment
Contemplate Our Navels: Well, that's all he can do.
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_9b0f37de
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1.0
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Johnny Got His Gun / int_9b0f37de
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_a448674
type
Gratuitous Latin
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_a448674
comment
Gratuitous Latin: A title card before the film's closing credit reads "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" which means "It is sweet and proper to die for one's country". Wilfred Owen wrote a rather famous anti-war poem by the same name.
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Johnny Got His Gun / int_a448674
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_a4cd4fc6
type
Cruel Twist Ending
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_a4cd4fc6
comment
Cruel Twist Ending: The military officer's response to Joe's request to be put on display to show the public what happens to people like him who are unwillingly sent out to die: "What you ask is against regulations. Who are you?" Leads right into the Downer Ending.
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Johnny Got His Gun / int_a4cd4fc6
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_a8a04f6f
type
And I Must Scream
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_a8a04f6f
comment
And I Must Scream: Joe, in fact, tries to scream when he realizes what happened to him, but is unable.
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_a8a04f6f
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_a90fff3
type
Based on a True Story
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_a90fff3
comment
Based on a True Story: Trumbo claims he came up with the idea for Johnny Got His Gun after reading an article about the Prince of Wales visiting a soldier who had lost all of his limbs and senses in a Canadian veterans' hospital.
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Johnny Got His Gun / int_a90fff3
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_b1346878
type
Fate Worse than Death
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_b1346878
comment
Fate Worse than Death: Let's say that you're blind and deaf, you can't move because you have no limbs, you can't talk aside from banging your head in Morse code, and you can't even tell if you're dreaming or not. Now imagine having to live this way for what seems to be several years. That's Joe's situation in a nutshell.
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_b4d1f1e1
type
Sense Loss Sadness
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_b4d1f1e1
comment
Sense Loss Sadness: Joe cries bitterly when he realizes he's lost all but his sense of touch.
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1.0
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Johnny Got His Gun / int_b4d1f1e1
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_b731fa6e
type
I Cannot Self-Terminate
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_b731fa6e
comment
I Cannot Self-Terminate: Joe begs to be killed. In the movie, a nurse tries to end his life but is stopped.
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_b731fa6e
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Johnny Got His Gun / int_b731fa6e
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_b9af5ef3
type
The Film of the Book
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_b9af5ef3
comment
The Film of the Book: A film adaptation was made in 1971, written and directed by Trumbo.
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_bef696dd
type
Mind Screw
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_bef696dd
comment
Mind Screw: Due to his horrendous impairment, Joe can't discern dream and reality. He sees crazy imagery such as Jesus Christ and other strange mish mash between his memories and imagination. The movie expands on those. The novel implies a lot of Joe's Mind Screw is caused by the copious injection of tranquilizers. The hallucinations are Truth in Television as sensory deprivation often does lead to hallucinations as the body begins manufacturing a narrative for the senses. This is partly what is behind Phantom Limb Syndrome.
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_c335b9ec
type
Irony
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_c335b9ec
comment
Irony: In the film, Joe is raised a Christian Scientist, whose belief entails that the material world doesn't exist, including disease and injury. Realizing this will heal you. Joe is seen desperately trying to tell himself "Nothing exists but mind" without success.
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_c3743565
type
Time Dissonance
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_c3743565
comment
Time Dissonance: Telling time becomes an obsession for Joe, who has no idea how much time has passed since his accident, and thanks to his lack of eyesight or even eyes, can hardly tell when he's asleep and when he's awake. He starts to tell time by how often a nurse comes in to change his sheets and then by trying to feel the sun on his body.
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_c74c35f4
type
Monochrome Past
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_c74c35f4
comment
Monochrome Past: Inverted in the film version. Joe's memories are in color.
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type
Messianic Archetype
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_c98b7916
comment
Messianic Archetype: Joe sees himself as this as he continues to think about his unique condition. In one Dream Sequence in which Jesus is unable to give him good advice to make his nightmare end, it even implies that Joe is having it worse than he did, and admittedly it's hard to blame the guy.
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_c9aea8c8
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Armies Are Evil
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_c9aea8c8
comment
Armies Are Evil: A nurse realizes that Joe is banging his head against the headstand in Morse Code. But she doesn't know Morse. So she brings in an officer to translate. When the officer realizes that Joe is asking to be either displayed as a monument to the horrors of war or permitted to die, his response is simply "What you ask is against regulations."
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_d028ca10
type
Deliberately Monochrome
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_d028ca10
comment
Deliberately Monochrome: The film alternates between Joe in his war-torn state, and flashbacks of his life before the war. The flashbacks are in vibrant color, while the present is in dreary black and white.
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Still Fighting the Civil War
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_d2725671
comment
Still Fighting the Civil War: During one of his reveries, Joe remembers a Scottish soldier who refused to fight against a Bavarian regiment because they were led by Crown Prince Rupert, who held the Jacobite claim to the throne of England. Joe was amazed the soldier's superiors didn't just shoot him for treason; instead, they rotated him to the back of the trenches until the Bavarians themselves were rotated out.
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_e085feeb
type
Broken Record
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_e085feeb
comment
Broken Record: A well dressed man in Joe's Christmas party flashback keeps repeating "I am the Boss, this is champagne, Merry Christmas!"
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_e085feeb
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_f1d6144a
type
War Is Hell
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_f1d6144a
comment
War Is Hell: One of the central messages of the novel and film.
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 Johnny Got His Gun / int_f3626b09
type
Mercy Kill
 Johnny Got His Gun / int_f3626b09
comment
Mercy Kill: Joe asks for this, but is denied. The film has a nurse try to do this, but she's stopped.
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Johnny Got His Gun

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Johnny Got His Gun
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American Literature (J To M) / int_92871ad7
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Bandaged Face / int_92871ad7
 Johnny Got His Gun
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Bury Your Art / int_92871ad7
 Johnny Got His Gun
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Everyone Knows Morse / int_92871ad7
 Johnny Got His Gun
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Existential Horror / int_92871ad7
 Johnny Got His Gun
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Go, Ye Heroes, Go and Die / int_92871ad7
 Johnny Got His Gun
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Helpful Hallucination / int_92871ad7
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I Want My Mommy! / int_92871ad7
 Johnny Got His Gun
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Mid-Vid Skit / int_92871ad7
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Monochrome Past / int_92871ad7
 Johnny Got His Gun
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No Such Thing as Bad Publicity / int_92871ad7
 Johnny Got His Gun
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Sarcastic Title / int_92871ad7
 Johnny Got His Gun
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Self-Adaptation / int_92871ad7
 Johnny Got His Gun
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Still Fighting the Civil War / int_92871ad7
 Johnny Got His Gun
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The Blank / int_92871ad7
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Time Dissonance / int_92871ad7
 Johnny Got His Gun
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Works Set in World War I / int_92871ad7