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black hawk down |
2002-02-10 |
i just watched the most violent movie i have seen in a long time. and don't ask me why there were children in the same theater... black hawk down. now, i understand that war is war and must be fairly represented. but, do we really need to see and hear every bullet? do we need to watch people gun each other down? does it make us somehow more aware? i just feel shell-shocked. i don't understand violence anymore than i did four hours ago. see, the movie itself was about 2 hours of straight bloodshed with 30 mins encapsulating it to form some type of story. and not only was it long and violent, it fell into the same trap every other war movie (with the exception of Three Kings) has found itself in. demonization of the Other. not only were We the heroes of this movie, We were also the innocents. the enemy? well, They were the somalis, the "evil," brutal, out of control, ignorant militia Somalis. it wasn't enough to kill them. but We had to make them these evil blood thirsty africans who 'didn't know any better.' such a waste of time. i mean, at least explore the dimensions of a war (as in Three Kings) rather than simply drop it down to face value. We're American, therefore, We're symbolic of all that is Right and Just. They are the ignorant black Other, symbolic of Evil and Chaos and Wrong. if you watch this movie and walk out feeling somehow victorious, please know that it is your overblown false sense of nationalistic piety that has been raised. to actually believe the Lie is to actually admit straight out that you prefer to believe your own bullshit if the alternative is finding compassion in the Other person's fight. to see a really good take on one of the American "war" movies, go to your local video store and rent Three Kings.
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playing:
reading: White Teeth
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