Athena Young SEM320 March 18, 2014 12 OClock High Reection! Synopsis !

The movie 12 OClock High is about aircrews in the United States Armys Eighth Air Force in World War Two. The main plot of the movie is set as a large ashback. This ashback is framed by ofcer Harvey Stovalls experience in Great Britain in 1949. After seeing a jug that reminds him of the war, Stovall visits an abandoned Royal Air Force aireld. This triggers the ashback, beginning the main plot. ! ! The 918th aircrew is suffering from poor morale because of their high loss rate and poor leadership. Their commander, Colonel Davenport, has become to close to his men to discipline them. He eventually cannot handle commands he is given from higher ofcers and confronts the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, Brigadier General Savage, about his problem. General Savage urges the commanding general of the VIII Bomber Command, Major General Pritchard, to remove Davenport from his commanding role. Davenport eventually agrees and gives command of the 918th to General Savage. ! General Savage initially treats everyone so harshly that all his men begin to hate him. They dislike Savage so much that all the pilots of the unit apply for transfers. To slow down the transfer process, Savage asks the Group Adjutant, Major Stovall, to delay the applications. Savage hopes this will buy him time to change the pilots minds. After giving a refresher in training, Savage sees the pilots begin to y with greater success. This starts to change the pilots minds about leaving. Most are further convinced after General Savage leads them on a mission in which they are wildly successful. Due to some conicts with the mission and previous unrest, however, the Inspector General arrives to investigate the 918th. When this happens, the pilots withdraw their requests to transfer and Savage softens his attitude towards them. ! As the movie continues, the air war missions become longer and more dangerous. Many of the best airmen are injured or killed. Major General Pritchard attempts to convince Savage to render command of the 918th to someone else, but Savage refuses. Savage is convinced the unit cannot function without him. However, before a particularly dangerous raid, Savage becomes disoriented and erratic. Unable to get into his plane, he has to be relieved. While waiting for the groups return, Savage becomes catatonic with what is apparently worry. He regains his composure and nally falls asleep just as the unit ies back relatively unharmed after destroying the target. ! With this, the ashback is over. The movie returns to 1949 and Stovall, still in the abandoned aireld. Stovall takes one last look around and leave the aireld by bicycle with his jug.

Examples throughout movie of good leadership by Savage: - He congratulates Bishop on his medal recommendation. This shows he cares about individual achievements. It also shows he values Bishops worth as an airmen and part of the team - General Savage rewards his airmen for a good mission. He allows the bar to be open after their mission on which he disregarded orders. Examples throughout movie of bad leadership by Savage: - He arrests one of his best and highest ranking men as soon as he gets to 918ths headquarters. Savage then lectures him on how he could be better and tells the ofcer he hates him. General Savage basically promises to make him suffer in the worst way possible. This devalues his as an employee and member of the team. - He closes the bar after being back-talked to by Major Cobb. This shows rash decision making. It also makes it seems like General Savage uses his power bully people until he gets his way. Examples of Savage being more concerned with people than process: - General Savage blatantly ignores command to turn back so his airmen can bomb the target. This allowed them to take credit for the mission. It also gave them the long sough after pride General Savage wanted for them. - When Savage catches Walby and Stovall coming back from sneaking on the mission, he shows compassion to Stovall. Savage has reprimanded other airmen that snuck on the mission, but he made an exception for Stovall. Examples of Savage being more concerned with process than people: - Upon his arrival at the headquarters of the 918th, Savage demotes a Sergeant for not having the proper attire. This exact following of protocol shows a higher concern for rule following than understanding the person in the context of the rules and situation. - In the rst speech he gives to the assembly, General Savage tells the airmen that they must ght and some must die. He is obviously more focused on the wars end goals than on watching out for his people. 12 OClock High as a leadership lm: ! This lm certainly showcases many aspects of leadership. Most cases seem to be of poor leadership. Colonel Davenport fails in his leadership role because his followers did not respect his authority. Davenport had become too friendly with them and discredited himself. General Savage attempts to be very rough and secluded from his airmen. While this may seem appropriate due to the military circumstances, it does not go over well. The airmen are used to Colonel Davenports amiable leadership approach and are shocked and overwhelmed by General Savages stark differences. ! The later part of the lm follows General Savage as he struggles to nd the best way to lead the 198th. He attempts to be lenient occasionally, and it seems to backre on him consistently. In the end, it seems like General Savage is not cut out for leadership at all. He cannot seem to handle the pressure of an important mission. This would cause his followers to lose all faith in him as a leader. While his unit is successful in the mission, it is in no part thanks to him. !