Sniper leaves a parable of reactionism in its wake

For the past few weeks, no matter what part of the country you’re from, America has been under attack. We’ve endured a blitzkrieg of mortar-launched articles, think-pieces, tweets, op-eds, Facebook posts, TV rants, reactions, and even challenges, leaving a hazy fog of opinions to settle on the nation. On one side we have the ever-present “war is some badass shit” party. Opposite them resides the up-and-coming “war is like, not chill” party. For every bold countryman who took a shot at American Sniper and its drawling hero, an equally courageous samaritan recoiled and fired back in the reactionary way that one does when a stranger says something about your mother. It was clear there was no common ground to be seen, well, except for the film itself. Have you guys seen the film?

[Gasping for air as I snap out of pun-induced blackout] Ok. Give Clint Eastwood credit for creating a patriotic Iraq War movie that isn’t necessarily pro-war, but not too much credit. Eastwood shies away from making it a wholly anti-war film, and what could have been a damning portrayal of post-9/11 American foreign policy. Instead he articulates Chris Kyle’s red, white, and blue ‘true’ story in shades of grey.

First of all, taking political statements from troops should never be your first choice. I understand there’s a utility to having a first-hand account, but their heads are largely slathered with propaganda. They also are taught a strict adherence to whatever an unseen disciplinary chain of command tells them. These men are not geopolitical analysts; they are soldiers. But that’s neither here nor there; because forming political opinions based on this film is very odd anyway considering it seems deliberately apolitical. There isn’t one mention of the phrase ‘Iraq war’, ‘weapons of mass destruction’, or ‘Saddam Hussein’ and I believe I only heard ‘terrorist’ once. There isn’t a shot of a TV with pundits debating the legitimacy of said war either. Yet, we do see Kyle watching the news as it reports of the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in eastern Africa. After seeing this, Kyle enlists in the U.S. Navy looking to “be of service.” The next time we see a TV it’s September 11^th, and Kyle and his newly married wife are visibly distraught. Kyle is sent to Iraq immediately after. That’s where it gets tricky.

It’s easy to say that Eastwood is being irresponsible by implying that the invasion of Iraq had anything to do with 9/11. But the truth of the matter is that, for better or worse, this tale is 100% from Chris Kyle’s perspective. Kyle enlisted without an attack on American soil even occurring, so it’s easy to assume he couldn’t have cared less if Saddam Hussein was hiding WMD’s under his totalitarian ‘stache. It was America time. War o’clock. Gun hour? Whatever. It’s a film adaptation of an autobiography, and Eastwood takes that very literally. ‘Don’t shoot the messenger’, Clint says (for the first time in his life). All complaints regarding humanitarian faux pas are to be forwarded to the residence of Mr. Christopher Kyle, punk.

Continue reading With The Dust Settled, American Sniper Finds Itself In No Man’s Land →