Upside down flag
I do understand very little, but can someone tell me the full significance of the flag turned upside down?
sharea flag that is flown upside down is an international sign for help, when used in battle at a fort, it is meant that the fort has fallen to the enemy.
sharethanks a lot man
If a fort has fallen to an enemy I somehow doubt that the flag would remain there long, so what would be the point to that?
shareSome hope is better than none at all.
*Go see Ron Burgandy and smile*
The upside-down flag doesn't mean that the fort or castle has fallen to the enemy just yet, but there's a pretty good chance that it will in the next few hours if help doesn't arrive soon.
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Looks like you forgot to take your anti-retard pills again.
wait..how come he didn't fly the flag upside down like he said he would? and when james gandolfini shot him, did he know that the flag wasn't upside down?
"If I was in charge of how people talk, everybody would just shut up" Jason Morganshare
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Yeh, I had to watch it again before I really understood the ending to it.
"If I was in charge of how people talk, everybody would just shut up" Jason Morganshare
In reply to GhostMint. Hmm, I'm not sure that's how I understood it. Personally, I think he didn't fly the flag upside down because there was no reason for it anymore: they had already win by taking over the prison, Col. Winter couldn't have hushed up the uprising, and the general Wheeler (Delroy Lindo) was on his way. I think he wanted to rise the flag as a symbol of the inmates' victory, like when an army takes the enemy's base.
I don't think either Irwin took the risk to do so thinking he could be shot dead, he probably thought there was no real risk since he was rising the flag in a normal way. But Winter was so blinded by his fury, by what had happened and was about to happen, that he failed to notice the flag eventually, like he failed to understand what his duty in the prison was about. Personally, I think it was a pretty good movie, avoiding well some cliches despite going for two overused film themes such as prisons and military.
I have to disagree with you here. Granted, it's been at least 3 years since I've seen this movie, but from what I remember, I believe he did it for a number of reasons, but none of which you speak. First, he did it out of loyalty. He is an American General and that flag is his shield and his banner. It's a symbol for everything he loves, for everything he wants to stand for. To fly the flag upside down is to say that the flag and what it stands for is under attack. It's a disgrace to those who might honor it. I think he knew that it was the end for him, no matter what the outcome. Treason, even in this day and age, is still a hanging offense. So he chose to fly the flag how he wanted to see it one last time. Second, he wanted the "war" to end, he wanted his "soldiers" to be free and to survive for tomorrow. He knew if the flag went up upside down it would just further the hostilities but offer no chance of alleviating the problems. Thirdly, I also think a large part of it was spite. His last chance to spit in the face of Col. Winter. He was always one step ahead of him, I think he was here, too. He knew he would incite him to his breaking point if he thought the flag would be raised upside down and he sure broke! But then Lt. Gen. Irwin got the last laugh after all. Not only did he break him, but he made him look like a fool one last fateful time. Instead of just embarassing him and getting him transfered or forced into retirement, he RUINED him by merely honoring the banner they all served and loved. It's such beautiful irony, it's perfect.
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He didn't fly it upside down because the whole point was to let the men get their dignity back. Once he saw they were whipped into shape and all of the wardens men turned against him he knew he won.
The prison was the prisoners castle and wasn't in distress anymore. They now had full control of the situation.
"Common sense is not so common"
i thought it meant: send pizza.
A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.
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