The war genre has become a vehicle to explore far more than the horrors of the battlefield, touching on the social and political aspects and, in many cases, the emotional toll that resonates far past the final shot. Yet this was not always the case, with early war films used as propaganda, giving a pro-war stance meant to boost morale and the image of heroism while also downplaying the shock and violence soldiers faced. The intent always seemed to be to get more soldiers to grease the gears of the war machine, while also not properly honoring the actual sacrifice soldiers faced through a glorified vision of what they encountered.