In the spirit of hearing both sides, here's a dissenting view of "The Hurt Locker," courtesy of Tara McKelvey of American Prospect. (Photo: Wikipedia.org)
The makers of the Oscar-winning film “The Hurt Locker” claim that more than anything, their film is an indictment of war. Their stated intent is to show its horrors and catalogue how those horrors permanently warp the lives of those who cling to threads of life and sanity. Yet there exists a strong movement – a dissenting view, if you will, a view that looks beyond the objections Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver has about the film – which states that the film contributes to American military propaganda. The dissenting view is that it could easily serve as a U.S. Army recruitment film rather than a warning of the pointless nature of interminable armed conflict. Remember, as George Orwellian newspeak in “1984″ so succinctly puts it, “War is peace.”
Not to take away from Kathryn Bigelow’s accomplishment with “The Hurt Locker”
It took until the 82nd annual Academy Awards for it to happen, but a woman (Kathryn Bigelow) has finally won Best Director honors. This is an historic occasion that should be celebrated with good cheer and fast cash loans, and I’m certain that Bigelow will go on to do more vital film work that will continue to bury “Point Break” deep beneath the ground. I am not drawing your attention to Tara McKelvey’s view of “The Hurt Locker” in American Prospect because I want to discredit Kathryn Bigelow’s achievement as a director. From all reports, “The Hurt Locker” is a compelling film. But we should not drink from the River Lethe and ignore our obligation as free-thinking individuals to question authority. The day we follow blindly is the day we dispose of our liberty.
We sympathize with William James and his brothers in arms
And why shouldn’t we? The soldiers are in a horrible situation where the slightest mistake could lead to death – of oneself and the team, not to mention innocent civilians. I can understand the kind of paranoia that can lead battered men and women in the field to mistakenly think that every Iraqi civilian with a cell phone is about to detonate an IED (improvised explosive device). McKelvey nails it when she says that “The Hurt Locker” truly gives you the sense of what it feels like to be on the verge of shooting someone. Unfortunately, those tales of paranoia aren’t just movie devices. Extreme circumstances can cause people to make mistakes. It can even draw out the worst in humanity.
A narrow viewpoint?
Seeing “The Hurt Locker” entirely through the soldier’s troubled eyes excludes elements of the Iraqi people that would humanize them. When paranoia and rage lead soldiers to turn on the very people they are meant to save, McKelvey argues that there is not enough to counterbalance the rage. I imagine it’s much easier to pull the trigger once you forget that the target is human. As the quote from Nation Institute senior fellow Chris Hedges that opens “The Hurt Locker” reminds us, “War is a drug.”
The thrill of the hunt dies on the home front
Perhaps the most powerful point McKelvey makes about “The Hurt Locker” is brought about by way of comparison. While defusing bombs in the field, William James has a grand purpose. He is a daredevil, and he feels alive. Once he returns home to the United States, suburban life with its quiet, mundane moments is magnified to the point of being overwhelming. Where is there nobility: in thwarting a car bomber and high-fiving your platoon – or cleaning leaves from the rain gutter and choosing breakfast cereal?
What are youth without direction to take from this?
Essentially, what McKelvey says is that war in “The Hurt Locker” is an authentic life of purpose. Graphic violence and the bond shared by the soldiers is “one of the most effective recruiting vehicles for the U.S. Army that I have seen,” she writes. While I will not attempt to suggest that a nation protecting its own is anything less than essential, I do have serious misgivings about violent conflict without clearly defined objective. Some might say that’s what America has with Iraq and Afghanistan – and why they need credit repair with the rest of the globe. Tara McKelvey might say that “The Hurt Locker” team needed to spend more time thinking about the message behind the madness.
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