American Sniper.....it's good

photo: Awardsdaily.com

I'm not a film reviewer, and this is not a film review, although as I go back and edit, it kinda is. I know precious little about film making, cinematography, screenwriting (though THAT I'm learning), framing, lighting, etc. A lot has been written about this movie, and about it's protagonist Chris Kyle. A little background if you don't know who he is. Chris Kyle was a SEAL sniper who served 4 tours in the Iraq war. He is officially credited with 160 kills. He's regarded as the most deadly sniper in US military history. The movie is based on his autobiography.

There's been criticism that the movie is jingoistic, and racist in some it's themes and content. That's unfair I think to say that the movie glorifies war, and excuses racist, hateful things combatants say and do. The reality is that soldiers are taught to hate the enemy, and part of that is dehumanizing the enemy. Now, in absolute terms, that's a bad thing, but in relative terms it's good. You can't send fighting people into a conflict with empathy for the enemy. Thinking the person on the other end of a shot is a human being with kids, and other human amenities is a sure way to introduce hesitation on their part. That's just the reality. That's a reflection on us, the society who sends them to war. The movie, this in mind, portrays the soldiers sympathetically. This movie also does not engage in jingoism. The rightness, or wrongness of the war in Iraq is not explored. It just is the setting. There is no exploration into the politics of it. There's none at all. Whether the movie should have or should not have is immaterial to the story of Chris Kyle.

Chris Kyle believes his cause is just. His upbringing is explored briefly, but since the movie is based on his book (and I have not read it) it's probably just as matter-of-factly presented in his book. Insofar as it is revealed, he grew up with a basic set of principles; there are 3 kinds of people; sheep, wolves, and sheepdog. Don't be a sheep, or a wolf - be a sheepdog his father tells him and his brother. That's how he sees himself throughout. He's there to protect others. Again, not a morality play. It is what it is, and that makes him what he is. Not sure why some say this oversimplifies, and glorifies war. The world is presented though his eyes, and that's how he sees the world, and that's how he sees the world. Right or wrong, it's not appropriate for director Clint Eastwood to reframe that perspective in my opinion.

What really drives home this movie is Bradley Cooper's portrayal of Chris Kyle. We see early on him as a kid listening to his dad, and shortly thereafter as a young adult who wants to be a rodeo cowboy, is really just a guy. His attention to world events involving terrorism, and culminating in the events of 9/11 are given cursory attention in the movie. He's a cowboy, then he's in a recruiter office, and then in SEAL training, then meets his future wife, gets married, then eagerly deployed to Iraq. Bang - bang - bang. No moralizing. That's who Cooper shows us as Chris Kyle. He also brings a sense that war is hard, even damaging, on it's willing participants. Through Cooper we see Kyle struggle with his commitment as a father, and as a brother in arms. He's dedicated to his duty. The pain his wife is in as he goes through multiple deployments is palpable. When he's out, he awkward, and uncomfortable around others in non-military settings, including other veterans. The scene where he's thanked by a fellow vet in a tire shop catches this. Kyle just wants to get out of the shop with his son. It looks to me like he does not see himself as a soldier any longer, but just as a dad.

All of which brings me to my point. The controversy surrounding this movie is out of this; each of us brings our perspective to any art. We interpret it through our own individual set of biases. We just do, but that's the value of art. Perception is what frames reality. Whether it's film, music, photography, poetry, or whatever, our individual perspective colors our conclusion. You can just as easily see a guy fervent, and patriotic in his eagerness to serve his country, and protect his brothers in combat. You can also see the atrocity that war is as people in a region have to choose sides, and fathers, mothers, and kids become combatants, and victims of each side. You can also see, like I did, that war fucks people up; combatants same as victims. You don't have to see this movie to see that. The history of modern warfare, beginning with WWI, can't be told without taking into account shellshock, or PTSD today. Terrible things are done in war, by good people. Early in the movie Kyle shoots a child, then his mother - each of whom has a grenade as they approach US troops. An otherwise good kid, and his Mom threaten soldiers. That's really bad. Kyle shoots them, also terrible, but that's what happens in wars. That's why they're supposed to be last resort. Morality goes out the window in a war. It's gone.

Every soldier that fights deserves to be honored for manning a post, and standing alongside his brethren. We cannot condemn them for doing their duty as they are programmed throughout training to do. Too often we fail to do that when we hear, or see a portrayal, of what they do. What we need to do is hold politicians to a higher standard when it comes to the decision to wage war. War fucks people up - sometimes irreparably.The decision to wage it in modern media culture seems to be made with the same consideration given Super Bowls, and World Cups. That is what we fail to do. Don't blame Clint Eastwood for "glorifying" war. Don't blame Chris Kyle for killing to execute his objective.