First of all, “If…” can be described as a war film that denies the place of government in facilitating warfare. Mick Travis and his fellow schoolmates are decidedly anti-authority. “When do we live?” asks Travis. The answer, the film seems to argue, lies not in any specific nationality or time period, but in the ambiguous virtues of Team Spirit, Obedience, Tradition, Duty. One might argue that these virtues cannot be properly implemented on a global level without the assistance of a government, but “If…” explains that the personal commitment of the individual is superior to the stuttering steps of the bureaucracy. The authority figures at the school are portrayed as brutish, ignorant, and self-serving and the students as fresh-faced, passionate, and
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bursting with new ideas. Anderson dives into allegorical ground by using the production design and values of the film to mix cultural and temporal significance. The characters of “If…” may belong to the 1960’s, but then again, they may not. The dream sequences and surreal metaphorical symbolism that find their way into nearly every scene serve merely to confound the audience as to when and where the film is taking place. The point, it seems, is that authority everywhere must be assaulted as it attempts to remove the individuality of the public soldier – the crusading civilian who is fighting battles of ideology daily. These people – the little people of everyday life – are the ones who will make a difference in any war or, as Mick puts it, “One man can change the world with a bullet in the right place.” This war against authority is primarily one of minds and hearts, not of physical weapons and Anderson makes this point clear by devoting three fourths of the film to the internal struggles of the school boys, which lead up to the final physically violent segment of the film.
Secondly, and more importantly, “If…” seems to legalize all kinds of warfare as long as they are fought with all determination and passion possible. In a controversial quote, Mick proclaims “There is no such thing as a wrong war. Violence and revolution are the only pure acts. War is the last possible creative act.” More so than art and literature, Anderson views war as a creative act that can have the most profound change on civilization. It is interesting that this concept is conveyed through the art of film, though apparently violence is the only pure act. By placing this quote within the concept of the violent internal struggle of the schoolboys against their headmaster and the authority figures of their school, “If…” effectively rids its characters of any responsibility when they finally explode into physically violent action. It seems the final and inevitable conclusion to an ideology that manufactures soldiers to fight any and every instance of organized and generalized social structure. One can hardly fault someone from following one’s true convictions on an ideological level, though the moral convictions of the final scenes of “If…” are heart wrenching.
The countercultural effect of “If…” served to boost the support of the worldwide efforts of the 1960’s to break the chains of traditional authority and give more power to
the individual. Several school riots broke out with violent result in Paris during the filming of the movie and, according to Anderson, directly influenced the completion of
the film. On a global level, the rise and fall of Chairman Mao in China, the revolution under the head of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro in Cuba, and the worldwide occupation in Vietnam all included elements of individual responsibility versus authoritative action that were echoes in the film. It can be conclusively set that, upon its release in 1968, the audiences that experienced “If…” felt the message that Lindsay Anderson was attempting to convey. A film that would have been boycotted and censored if released a decade earlier found its niche in the much more uncertain times of the 1960’s.
In conclusion, whether or not the virtues expounded by Mick Travis and his violent schoolboys in “If…” can be morally commended, the passion with which the undermanned army of teenagers battles authority fearlessly is striking and the imagery that Lindsay Anderson splashes across the screen etches itself into the minds of an audience who may be unprepared to receive the revolutionary sentiments of the countercultural film. “If…” battles authority in all forms and commends warfare if done passionately and individually powerfully through the surreal events that unfold in the small British school. The passion with which Mick and his friends cling to their ideology of laudable, but the blanket approval of warfare in ambiguously pure forms is unsettling. In a world built on millenniums of governmental structure, it is possible that no audience is truly able to completely digest the joyfully anarchic cheers of Mick Travis and to embrace the film as uplifting. Nevertheless, it stands as a powerful example of a filmmaker speaking his mind about important subjects and, thus, cannot be completely condemned as worthless.
