Movie Summary (The General's Daughter)

In Fort MacCallum, Paul Brenner, leaving his house takes a piece of hair and sticks it on the door crack, to notify him of any unwelcome visitors that come to his residence. General Joe Campbell arrives at the military base in a helicopter. Where he then gets escorted to base where he has his retirement party.

Paul Brenner starts off as undercover Sergeant White. Sergeant White is on an assignment to arrest "freedom fighter" Bellings. On his way to an onbase warehouse

I found The General's Daughter to be a very thrilling yet sad film. I liked this movie because it dealt with the law in the military. I particularly liked how the director, Simon West, started off the movie showing the General as a very important person, by beginning the movie with his retirement party. I also like how he made us get to know Elizabeth Campbell before she was murdered. As the movie progressed, we started to learn more about the characters. Regarding the General, we were first led to believe that he was a honourable man, and all he wanted was justice for the death of his daughter. We subsequently see what the General was really like. The audience got to know the General as a true Military man, by doing what was best for the Military.

In the military there are always people that will betray the military in someway or another. The Rules for the Military are put in place so people will follow the proper procedures. In A Few Good Men Colonel Nathan Jessip, betrayed the US marines by ordering a Code Red (when a marine falls out of line, its up to the men to get him back on track) on Marine William Santiago. This is similar to The General's Daughter, General Joe Campbell betrayed his daughter by keeping his daughters rape quiet for the good of the army. This was a tragedy for both general Joe Campbell and cornel Nathan Jessip, because they tried to keep this hidden from the rest of the military, but it backfired in their faces. Dawson and Dalley, the two marines that were ordered a Code Red on William Santiago, had to take out their orders because as Daniel Cathy said "if you don't follow orders you pack your bags" (2). The two men took out a Code Red on Santiago because it was an order, which resulted in the death of Santiago. Colonel Nathan Jessip was then Court Martialed. The question now is, was the Colonel's order to give a Code Red justified? In this case the Colonels order was not justified. He ordered the Code Red on William Santiago, because Santiago continually asked to be transferred and was having problems with his unit. The Colonel's order of the Code Red resulted in the two marines receiving a Dishonourable Discharge.

This film deals with the concept of Rights and Duties. Later in the movie, while Brenner is arresting Robert Moore, we find out that the rights in the military are very limited, compared to that of civil law. "Your in the army, you have no rights to an attorney, you have no rights to remain silent"(1). Rights are more limited in the military then that of civil law, causing military to loose a sense of equality, and privacy to a certain degree. An example of this is when Robert Moore presents a lawyer to Paul Brenner, and Moore's lawyer says "anything you have to say to Moore", then Brenner cuts in and says "I'll say it to Robert Moore"(1).

They go to WestPoint, where they talk to Colonel Slessinger. The Colonel tells them about the original rape during a drill exercise and how Elizabeth almost died from the brutal rape.

Brenner meets up with Moore again. Brenner accuses Moore of being involved in the murder some way or another. Moore responds, "Are you going to read me my rights" Whereas, Brenner replies "your in the army you have no rights to an attorney, you have no rights to remain silent, and if you don't cooperate I will put you in jail"(1). After hearing this Moore decides that he will talk. He mentions that Wes Yardly is involved sexually with Elizabeth.

The major issues for The General's Daughter is betrayal. In The General's Daughter, the reason they keep Elizabeth's rape quiet is because it would ruin female careers in the military. The General's decision was not very moral.

Some common words found in the essay are:
General's Daughter, Robert Moore, Joe Campbell, Sergeant White, Captain Goodsen, Colonel Fowler, Court Martial, Elizabeth Campbell, Laws Military, Bill Bill, general's daughter, joe campbell, code red, robert moore, court martial, conduct unbecoming, original rape, conduct unbecoming officer, unbecoming officer, nathan jessip, article 32, colonel nathan jessip, lawyer captain goodsen, attorney rights remain, rights attorney rights,
Approximate Word count = 2885
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)