chris botti of war

a new movie is out called body of war. it is about a soldier who enlists shortly after 9/11 to "get bin laden" but ends up in iraq. 5 days later, he is badly wounded and returns to the states. he slowly learns more, and becomes an anti-war activist.

sounds good, right? but, i've got to tell you, i am getting tired of this kind of story. here's why.

the guy is always let off the hook for being an idiot. he enlisted shortly after 9/11. is this a good thing? did he have any knowledge of u.s. foreign policy? it's not like the truth is hidden in some cave somewhere.

the guy is always a white guy from the "heartland," a "simple" fellow we are all supposed to identify with. he believed in his government, and they lied to him. we are supposed to see him as a hero, a warrior who was misused. he is not at fault. the fact that he joined an institution whose main purpose is to drop bombs on people is glossed over. fuck these dumb heartland guys. i don't identify with them. they tend to be a big part of the problem. their religion, their politics, and their blind patriotism, help to drive the idiocy of this society. it's too bad this guy had to get wounded to learn the truth, but is this the real tragedy?

what about the people being bombed? what does it say about a society that can't seem to make an anti-war movie about them? this guy, sad as his story is, went to a country that he didn't belong in, and got his ass kicked. but what of all the iraqis killed by this guys "brothers?" his simple minded co-workers helped to destroy iraq, and yet, even when we oppose the war, we continue to focus on the pain and tragedy of the conqueror. the nazi soldier had it rough too. hundreds of thousands of them froze and starved in the soviet union. but, if you were making a film about the german invasion of russia, shouldn't the film focus on the tragedy inflicted on the russian people? and shouldn't an anti-war film about the iraq war focus on the devastation inflicted on the iraqi people? this is not an american tragedy. this war is not something that is happening to us. this is something that we are doing to the iraqi people. if you don't keep that central in your mind, you are privileging the americans, you are favoring their pain, emphasizing their sadness. in short, you are behaving like an american.

so yes, i am tired of focusing on the injured soldier. i am tired of thinking about the pain of white american soldiers in a world being devastated by american soldiers. i am tired of anti-war activists who never seem to have time for the "other side."

body of war? no, just the body of an ignorant white motherfucker who learned too late the criminality of the society he foolishly elected to serve.

meanwhile, the rest of wait for a real anti-war film.

just so you know, i may go to see this.

what else is out there?