I finally got to watch American Sniper yesterday and I don’t understand the controversy over it. Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-nominated movie tells the story of Chris Kyle, a Texan marksman who has become the most lethal sniper in US military history and portrays what an American sniper goes through during war. The movie may seem like an American propaganda for some and a tribute to American heroes by others, but there’s nothing really controversial about an American director bragging about US troops specially those who fought in Iraq.
If people were annoyed with the first scene where Chris Kyle kills a woman and a child trying to attack an army convoy, there’s another scene where Kyle is begging another kid to drop the RPG so he doesn’t have to shoot him. There’s no doubt that US troops killed innocent civilians in Iraq and that the US intervention in Iraq was a complete mess, but let’s not forget how terrorists are using kids and women to attack soldiers as well. Two days ago, I read an article on how ISIS militants are using “mentally challenged children as suicide bombers”.
Funnily enough, the only thing that surprised me was how highly rated the movie is as I didn’t think it was that good. The story is cool but the fight scenes are real quick and I got bored at some point. It’s probably Michael Moore’s tweet that made American Sniper the boxoffice phenomenon of 2015 so far.
Rating: 3.5/5
ISIS & all the extremists are crazy and criminals but the average American doesn’t differentiate between them and anyone who lives in the ME. This movie is pure propaganda & totally one sided. It doesn’t differentiate between Iraqis and Al-Qaeda, as far as the movie is concerned, they are one. Small lines like “What are they doing this to us” that Chris says when he sees terrorist attacks on tv before enlisting really enforce the stereotype against Arabs and Muslims and festers hate. If they have normalised hating us & telling OUR story from their side, I don’t see why we should be as submissive and normalise it too! No this is not just another movie! We have to speak up wlo. Bikaffi “modernity”.
I do agree with you though that the movie isn’t all that good. It’s not impressive or worthy of a nom. But of course it was so popular making huge money among rednecks Cuz that’s what it is, a redneck hate-filled movie.
“but let’s not fet how terrorists are using kids and women to attack soldiers” …
When you invade someone’s country and get shot at or killed, its probably your fault.
Terrorism is a direct result of non chalant invasions for false pretexts. When 2,000,000 children in Iraq are killed, disfigured or born with birth defects by the Americans and their shit policies, let’s appreciate its consequences. The Americans had no business being there in the first place.
The movie is Okay though, not Oscar’s material to be honest.
What do you expect people to say when they have no experience of being occupied? You can’t possibly understand because you’ve never been under an occupying force.
You see the movie based on your life experiences, but if you can only view it with lenses of the Iraqi people then you will see why it’s a hate-filled anti-brown film.
Too bad you weren’t able to see what was the message behind the film. Goodnight.
Come on. We all know the US invasion of Iraq was illegal. Saddam neither possessed any weapons of mass destruction, nor was he linked to 9/11.
Iraqi citizens had every right to resist this invasion. Glorifying a sniper as a hero, in an illegal war, is pure propaganda and a whitewashing of events.
There’s also controversy surrounding the portrayal of Chris Kyle. Eastwood depicts him as a patriotic soldier who’s haunted by his actions. In reality he was nohing more than a psychopath who relished killing and war.