In Stanley Kubrick's war drama Paths of Glory, about a regiment of French soldiers fighting in the trenches of WWI, we are struck, early, by a scene very contrary to the triumphant tone of the title. The scene begins with General Mireau strolling through the trenches addressing the soldiers every so often, asking them, "ready yo kill more Germans?" Their answers are invariably yes until the General runs into a soldier suffering from shell shock. The man, seriously disturbed by the reality of his fate, is an example of the absurdity of life and how pain and death are its only certainties. The General perceives the soldier's realization of life's futility as cowardice and has him discharged from his regiment.
As the movie progresses, more examples of the system's interaction with the individual arise. Again Mireau misinterprets the actions of his men as cowardice and has three soldiers arbitrarily punished. Through this, Kubrick intends to convey how randomly pain and suffering is divided among people.
"Look, just like I'm trying to tell you: if you're really afraid of dying, you'd be living in a funk all the rest of your life, because you know you've got to go someday, any day. And besides, if it's death that you're really afraid of, why should you care what it is that kills you?"
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