The Hurt Locker

[6armyAS]

Well said, Rob :thumbsup:

 

 

But what happened on Sunday night on the Oscar stage made my personal opinion of the film’s quality or technical accuracy momentarily trivial. The Oscar attendees - and half a billion viewers worldwide - heard a Hollywood director stand up and thank the women and men who wear the uniform of the United States Armed Forces for their hard work and sacrifices, and wish them a safe return home.

 

The world heard a message that doesn’t get broadcast often enough. Here was the person who made “the best picture of the year” – Hollywood’s newly crowned royal Highness – using her moment in the world’s spotlight to declare respect, concern, and care for members of the armed forces. And I surely hope that message resonated with some young, impressionable viewers who aspire to become Hollywood big shots someday.

 

Rob L.

[VeeVee]

Rob,

Thanks for seeing the big picture.

 

 

My thoughts on the movie:

 

I went into the theater knowing that I would experience a "movie." I accepted that the film would be a mix of fact and fiction...and that its purpose was to entertain me while hopefully opening a window on a compelling slice of the Army's work in Iraq. With some really cool explosions.

 

I expected this movie to be no more truthful and no more deceptive than a movie like: Platoon; or Kelly’s Heroes; or Memphis Belle; of Best Years of our Lives; or Inglorious Basterds; or Thin Red Line; or The Enemy Below; or Full Metal Jacket; or Windtalkers; or Dirty Dozen; or Saving Private Ryan (where an NCO pulls a pistol to quell an inconceivable Ranger mutiny)...in other words: every Hollywood war movie.

 

But what happened on Sunday night on the Oscar stage made my personal opinion of the film’s quality or technical accuracy momentarily trivial. The Oscar attendees - and half a billion viewers worldwide - heard a Hollywood director stand up and thank the women and men who wear the uniform of the United States Armed Forces for their hard work and sacrifices, and wish them a safe return home.

 

The world heard a message that doesn’t get broadcast often enough. Here was the person who made “the best picture of the year” – Hollywood’s newly crowned royal Highness – using her moment in the world’s spotlight to declare respect, concern, and care for members of the armed forces. And I surely hope that message resonated with some young, impressionable viewers who aspire to become Hollywood big shots someday.

 

I’d trade all the eye rolling from a theater full of “stitch Nazis” and “I was there and therefore I saw it all” veterans to hear that message of gratitude to our servicemen and women play out on the world stage again and again.

 

My last point is on the topic of “authenticity”- and I’m not talking about observations like “ACU’s weren’t in wide use at that time”:

 

On one hand we hear EOD veterans deriding the characters as phonies and reckless cowboys….while on the other hand we hear from a soldier suing the filmmakers for creating a character that does “exactly” what he did during his tour in EOD. So whose truth is the real truth? Is there one truth? Hard to say. We don’t live in a black or white world. We all live our lives navigating the nuances of a vast “gray area”. So the real story is probably a mix of both…maybe just the right mix to make a good movie.

 

Rob L.