It is my belief that most films that begin with "American" in the title are bad ones. American Beauty, American Pie (all gazillion parts) and my least favourite: American Sniper.
Set during the American occupation of Iraq, the movie's protagonist is (predictably) an American sniper. It is based on the story of Chris Kyle, an Iraq war veteran (and most likely a psychopath too). This movie was released in 2014. You might be wondering why I have brought it up now. I was reading Hannah Arendt's "Eichmann in Jerusalem" the other day when a passage reminded me of the movie.
"Hence the problem was how to overcome not so much their conscience as the animal pity by which all normal men are affected in the presence of physical suffering. The trick used by Himmler – who apparently was rather strongly afflicted with these instinctive reactions himself - was very simple and probably very effective; it consisted in turning these instincts around, as it were, in directing them toward the self. So that instead of saying: 'What horrible things I did to people!', The murderers would be able to say: 'What horrible things I had to watch in the pursuance of my duties, how heavily the task weighed upon my shoulders!'"
The movie depicts Chris Kyle and the American troops as the actual victims of the invasion of Iraq rather than the hapless Iraqis whose world literally came down upon them. The propaganda is, as Arendt says, simple yet brilliant.
In a pivotal scene, Chris Kyle spots a kid and his mother near an American tank with a grenade. This scene is completely fictional and its sole intention is to demonise Iraqi women and children. After Kyle kills both of them to "protect" the tank, we are forced to sympathise with him and feel sorry about the horrible things he had to watch and do in the pursuance of his duties.
Now, imagine the reaction of anyone who watches this movie and doesn't know that this scene is entirely made up (because it's "based on a true story", is it not?). The demonisation of not just Iraqi women and children, but the entire middle-east and all of Islam is complete. "What kind of savage sends their kid on a suicide mission?" "All Muslims are brainwashed to hate non-Muslims." (These are actual YouTube comments on a video of this very scene.)
The irony of a man/woman watching a propaganda video and then making a blanket statement that all Muslims hate non-Muslims would actually be funny if it weren't so sad.
Of course, American movie propaganda has been whitewashing the trail of death and destruction that the country's wars have been laying waste for the past fifty odd years. But for me, this movie was the worst yet. Looking forward to the movie that will be released after Trump and Kim Jong Un goad each other into a nuclear holocaust.
Set during the American occupation of Iraq, the movie's protagonist is (predictably) an American sniper. It is based on the story of Chris Kyle, an Iraq war veteran (and most likely a psychopath too). This movie was released in 2014. You might be wondering why I have brought it up now. I was reading Hannah Arendt's "Eichmann in Jerusalem" the other day when a passage reminded me of the movie.
"Hence the problem was how to overcome not so much their conscience as the animal pity by which all normal men are affected in the presence of physical suffering. The trick used by Himmler – who apparently was rather strongly afflicted with these instinctive reactions himself - was very simple and probably very effective; it consisted in turning these instincts around, as it were, in directing them toward the self. So that instead of saying: 'What horrible things I did to people!', The murderers would be able to say: 'What horrible things I had to watch in the pursuance of my duties, how heavily the task weighed upon my shoulders!'"
The movie depicts Chris Kyle and the American troops as the actual victims of the invasion of Iraq rather than the hapless Iraqis whose world literally came down upon them. The propaganda is, as Arendt says, simple yet brilliant.
In a pivotal scene, Chris Kyle spots a kid and his mother near an American tank with a grenade. This scene is completely fictional and its sole intention is to demonise Iraqi women and children. After Kyle kills both of them to "protect" the tank, we are forced to sympathise with him and feel sorry about the horrible things he had to watch and do in the pursuance of his duties.
Now, imagine the reaction of anyone who watches this movie and doesn't know that this scene is entirely made up (because it's "based on a true story", is it not?). The demonisation of not just Iraqi women and children, but the entire middle-east and all of Islam is complete. "What kind of savage sends their kid on a suicide mission?" "All Muslims are brainwashed to hate non-Muslims." (These are actual YouTube comments on a video of this very scene.)
The irony of a man/woman watching a propaganda video and then making a blanket statement that all Muslims hate non-Muslims would actually be funny if it weren't so sad.
Of course, American movie propaganda has been whitewashing the trail of death and destruction that the country's wars have been laying waste for the past fifty odd years. But for me, this movie was the worst yet. Looking forward to the movie that will be released after Trump and Kim Jong Un goad each other into a nuclear holocaust.
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