Gen Y on Lost Gen
The impact of Channel 4's The Somme on today's young generation
AFTER watching:
Do you think war is necessary sometimes?
'I do believe war is a necessary evil, yet it is upsetting to learn the actual human realities people have to face.'
'I think war is necessary very occasionally in the face of a mad regime and blatant aggression, such as the Second World War, but it should always be an absolute last resort.'
'No, because nothing was achieved by the Battle of the Somme.'
'Yes, to exterminate the evil of the world, as without it our societies would be very different from today.'
'No, because war is generally caused by a few political figureheads, not by the public.'
'No. Violence is always wrong.'
'Yes, because sometimes only through force can justice be served.'
'Leaders are too quick to declare war. Tony Blair go to fight in Iraq, a war he got us into... I think not!'
'Yes. Sometimes it is for protection.'
'I'd like to think not, but, realistically, yes. Sometimes it is the only way to rule out something, be it a dictator or the threat of nuclear war.'
Do you think the world is a safer place now than in 1916-1918?
'No. Improved technology and weaponry continue to make the world more dangerous and liable to huge damage.'
'I think the world is safer to some extent, but weapons advances pose a threat.'
'No. There are the threats from nuclear war and from unknown enemies.'
'Yes. Fewer casualties are sustained in modern wars.'
'Peace treaties have calmed down potential confrontations between many countries, but the threat of nuclear war is very real.'
'I think we have learned lessons from World War One in many ways. I would say we are better equipped but not necessarily safer.'
'It is difficult to compare, because today we have other threats, such as terrorism and tyrannical leaders.'
'Now everyone can die in a war, but in 1916-18 it was mainly soldiers, in this country, at least.'
'No. There are a lot of people blowing up themselves and others. When there was a war you knew about. Now it is unclear!'
Do you think the threat of terrorism feels similar to how people around the First World War and in the Second World War felt threatened by military invasion?
'I don't think so. Terrorism is random and eventually small scale.'
'No, because there is no threat of invasion now.'
'No. Wars were legitimate conflicts, not hidden.'
'No, because outside invasion meant the country felt united, but terrorism is invisible, so the country is divided by racism etc.'
'Yes, it feels very similar.'
If your family originates in another country, how does that affect your thinking about the First World War?
'It feels you can't associate yourself with it. You feel empathetic, but distant at the same time.'
'It makes me think how this violence can affect almost all types of people.'
'My granddad was involved abroad and it still seems to me a devastating war.'
'My family are originally French and Jewish, but it doesn't really change my perspective on the war, except I am more against the German occupation. My relatives lived in Alsace-Lorraine.'
'The First World War did not affect my family, but it led to the Second World War, and that led to the invasion of Denmark, so in that way it caused my family suffering.'
'My family are from Singapore and we know what the war was like.'
'I don't think it makes a difference. All people are basically the same and we can feel sorry for them.'
What is the main thing you found out from watching this film?
'The huge loss of life and the personal details reminded me that war has a huge affect on the individual lives of so many at the front and back home.'
'The horrific miscalculation of the British military and their scale of loss.'
'The beautiful surroundings came as a horrible shock.'
'I was shocked by the behaviour of soldiers towards the wounded or surrounded enemy.'
'The extreme demands put on individual people in the war and an insight into the thoughts and emotions felt by men experiencing war first hand.'
'That war is never justified.'
'What life was really like in the trenches and how awfully devastating it must have been to lose comrades and keep fighting.'
'The film helped me see distant events in my mind as horribly real.'
'That ordinary people like me died.'