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Forums - General Discussion - Hurt Locker = war propaganda film or fair & balanced?

 

Hurt Locker = war propaganda film or fair & balanced?

War propaganda film! 22 38.60%
 
Fair & balanced just like most war films. 14 24.56%
 
Never seen it, not my cup of tea! 9 15.79%
 
Candy!! 12 21.05%
 
Total:57
d21lewis on 05 October 2010
sapphi_snake said:
d21lewis said:

So, sapphi_snake, is it fair to assume that you'd give this movie a 10/10 review?

This ain't my type of movie. That still doesn't change the fact that I personally didn't think it was well done (despite my not liking this genre). Just a compilation of action sequences (like something out of a war video game), and a couple of scenes at the end that were meant to give some meaning to the whole movie. If it weren't a pro-american move it wouldn't have gotten all the praise it received from American and British critics. I just generally get worked up when people say that this movie isn't propaganda, or is apollitical.


did u like 300?



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rocketpig on 05 October 2010
sapphi_snake said:
Badassbab said:
sapphi_snake said:
Badassbab said:
sapphi_snake said:
Badassbab said:

I thought it was a pretty good film, a bit long if you ask me but I don't see much politics behind it. It doesn't justify the war nor against it, just another one of the many Hollywood films to make us feel sorry for US soldiers.

In other words it's pro-war.

Not really because there are other Hollywood films which were anti war but through the prism of making us feel sorry for US soldiers (as opposed to the death and destruction wrought upon the native population). The numerous Vietnam War films spring to mind.

http://www.plutobooks.com/display.asp?K=9780745329826& - Interesting read.

Then they weren't anti-war films, were they?

They were anti war but through the prism of 'bring the troops home cause we can't win this war'. They were still anti war just not anti war because it was illegal and/or genocidal. That was as left as it got in the mainstream media during the war in 'Nam'.

When I see a movie with the message "why the fuck are we having this stupid war in the first place" I'll say "now that's an anti-war movie". Movies that focus on soliders and how they try to survive and treat the opposing side as a force of evil threatening the survival of the soldiers who are the main characters will never be anti-war movies, but will have the opposite effect.

I felt the exact opposite way when I finished watching the film. I felt for the soldiers and the predicament they were put in the film. It all seemed rather pointless.

So, in your OPINION, it's a pro-war piece. In my opinion, it's neutral to anti-war but mainly, it's a character piece.

Isn't that the point of good art? To challenge perception and let the audience take from it what they will? Maybe both of us are right, maybe neither of us are right.

But to definitively say that the film is pro-war is, frankly, bullshit.




Or check out my new webcomic: http://selfcentent.com/

pizzahut451 on 05 October 2010
sapphi_snake said:
pizzahut451 said:
sapphi_snake said:
Badassbab said:

I thought it was a pretty good film, a bit long if you ask me but I don't see much politics behind it. It doesn't justify the war nor against it, just another one of the many Hollywood films to make us feel sorry for US soldiers.

In other words it's pro-war.


remove the word ''US'' in his post and you'll see the point :)

1. The "US" part is very important in this argument.

2. Why should we feel sorry for soldiers?

1. No its not. Why should you care if someone is a US soldier or Iraqi soldier? They are both humans whos life can be ended every second.

2.  Because they are human beings? Putting their life on the line for their country and their people, willing to give a life for what they think is rightful.



sapphi_snake on 05 October 2010

@09tarheel:

Of course after criticicing me for not suggesting my comment was opinion, you go on to say -

"And yet it won 3, and should've also won the 3 tehcnical Oscars (Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing) that The Hurt Locker undeservedly won."

without suggesting that it is your opinion anywhere.

You can objectively judge the techical categories, wheras something like Best Picture is much more vague (what criteria need to be fulfilled to wind Best Picture? What exactly needs to be judged). When the OScars first debuted it was all much more objective. You'd rarely had a movie that sweept the awards. Nowadays if a movie is favorite to win Best Picture it will be nominated and win in much more categories than it should (seriously? an Original Score nomination for The Hurt Locker? There was barely any music at all in that movie).

Well the good news for you is that The Hurt Locker made $48 million worldwide and Avatar $2.8 billion. Avatar's impact on the industry has and will continue to be much larger than The Hurt Lockers'. I'd think everyone involved with Avatar would take the recognition they have gotten (both financially and critically) over The Hurt Locker's any day of the week.

Again, I'm not an Avatar fan. I just dislike The Hurt Locker and I hate all the praise and awards it's gotten (which in my opinion are undeserved). I especially hate it when peopel say it's not pro-war.



"I don't understand how someone could like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, but not like Twilight!!!"

"Last book I read was Brokeback Mountain, I just don't have the patience for them unless it's softcore porn."

                                                                               (The Voice of a Generation and Seece)

"If you cant stand the sound of your own voice than dont become a singer !!!!!"

                                                                               (pizzahut451)

sapphi_snake on 05 October 2010
rocketpig said:

I felt the exact opposite way when I finished watching the film. I felt for the soldiers and the predicament they were put in the film. It all seemed rather pointless.

So, in your OPINION, it's a pro-war piece. In my opinion, it's neutral to anti-war but mainly, it's a character piece.

Isn't that the point of good art? To challenge perception and let the audience take from it what they will? Maybe both of us are right, maybe neither of us are right.

But to definitively say that the film is pro-war is, frankly, bullshit.

Why are the Americans over there? Should they be there? Is there any point to the war?

That's all that matters. The personal tragedy of the soldiers doesn't.



"I don't understand how someone could like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, but not like Twilight!!!"

"Last book I read was Brokeback Mountain, I just don't have the patience for them unless it's softcore porn."

                                                                               (The Voice of a Generation and Seece)

"If you cant stand the sound of your own voice than dont become a singer !!!!!"

                                                                               (pizzahut451)

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rocketpig on 05 October 2010
sapphi_snake said:
rocketpig said:

I felt the exact opposite way when I finished watching the film. I felt for the soldiers and the predicament they were put in the film. It all seemed rather pointless.

So, in your OPINION, it's a pro-war piece. In my opinion, it's neutral to anti-war but mainly, it's a character piece.

Isn't that the point of good art? To challenge perception and let the audience take from it what they will? Maybe both of us are right, maybe neither of us are right.

But to definitively say that the film is pro-war is, frankly, bullshit.

Why are the Americans over there? Should they be there? Is there any point to the war?

That's all that matters. The personal tragedy of the soldiers doesn't.

In your opinion. You DO realize that people are allowed to have dissenting opinions on subjects, right? And that your OPINION is not gospel... right?




Or check out my new webcomic: http://selfcentent.com/

sapphi_snake on 05 October 2010

@pizzahut451:

1. No its not. Why should you care if someone is a US soldier or Iraqi soldier? They are both humans whos life can be ended every second.

The movie was made by Americans, that's why it matters. Would Americans ever make a movie that puts American solidiers in a bad light?

2.  Because they are human beings? Putting their life on the line for their country and their people, willing to give a life for what they think is rightful.

Most soldiers don't seem to think very much (I'm pretty sure that's a bad quality to have if you're a soldier), so I doubt they're doing what THEY think is right. And how exactly are American soldiers "putting their life on the line for their country and their people" by invading Iraq? And as for the human being thing, after all the atrocities that solidiers (regardless of the side they're on FTR), can they still be called human beings?



"I don't understand how someone could like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, but not like Twilight!!!"

"Last book I read was Brokeback Mountain, I just don't have the patience for them unless it's softcore porn."

                                                                               (The Voice of a Generation and Seece)

"If you cant stand the sound of your own voice than dont become a singer !!!!!"

                                                                               (pizzahut451)

sapphi_snake on 05 October 2010
rocketpig said:
sapphi_snake said:
rocketpig said:

I felt the exact opposite way when I finished watching the film. I felt for the soldiers and the predicament they were put in the film. It all seemed rather pointless.

So, in your OPINION, it's a pro-war piece. In my opinion, it's neutral to anti-war but mainly, it's a character piece.

Isn't that the point of good art? To challenge perception and let the audience take from it what they will? Maybe both of us are right, maybe neither of us are right.

But to definitively say that the film is pro-war is, frankly, bullshit.

Why are the Americans over there? Should they be there? Is there any point to the war?

That's all that matters. The personal tragedy of the soldiers doesn't.

In your opinion. You DO realize that people are allowed to have dissenting opinions on subjects, right? And that your OPINION is not gospel... right?

Of couse they are. That doesn't change the fact that they're blind to what really matters (in MY OPINION, I gotta mention this;  you sure remind me of an annoying judge on The Good Wife).

But why don't you explain to me why you have the opinion that you do?



"I don't understand how someone could like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, but not like Twilight!!!"

"Last book I read was Brokeback Mountain, I just don't have the patience for them unless it's softcore porn."

                                                                               (The Voice of a Generation and Seece)

"If you cant stand the sound of your own voice than dont become a singer !!!!!"

                                                                               (pizzahut451)

sad.man.loves.vgc on 05 October 2010

The main charecter is an asshole who doesn't care about his team members and he is tooooooooooooo into it that it sounds so unreal. Bombs got harder to disintegrate as the movie neared the end it felt like a video game lol. I didn't like the movie and I thought it was too long with not so much happening or probably because I hate everything happened in Iraq and the soldiers in the movie were tooooo "good and nice" that also felt unreal and it is unreal.



sapphi_snake on 05 October 2010
sad.man.loves.vgc said:

The main charecter is an asshole who doesn't care about his team members and he is tooooooooooooo into it that it sounds so unreal. Bombs got harder to disintegrate as the movie neared the end it felt like a video game lol. I didn't like the movie and I thought it was too long with not so much happening or probably because I hate everything happened in Iraq and the soldiers in the movie were tooooo "good and nice" that also felt unreal and it is unreal.

FTR I think that that was exactly what Bigelow tried to achieve (maybe it was a reference to all the violent video games depicting war nowadays).



"I don't understand how someone could like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, but not like Twilight!!!"

"Last book I read was Brokeback Mountain, I just don't have the patience for them unless it's softcore porn."

                                                                               (The Voice of a Generation and Seece)

"If you cant stand the sound of your own voice than dont become a singer !!!!!"

                                                                               (pizzahut451)