The empty locker

[IndianaGreen]

In reality, war is neither "cool," nor are soldiers reckless to the point of absurdity. We are put in horrific situations against our will, and once discharged, we find a difficult world, with little to no help. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "war on terror" veterans had an official unemployment rate of 10.2 percent in 2009.

The empty locker

Why did the Academy Award for Best Picture go to a film about the Iraq war that has absolutely nothing to say, asks Iraq Veterans Against the War member Phil Aliff.

March 22, 2010

THE FILM The Hurt Locker, with its dramatic look at an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team and its reckless leader, has been critically acclaimed for its high-octane action and depiction of the Iraq war.

With the U.S. occupation of Iraq drawing to a close--at least according to the Obama administration--it seems like Hollywood decided it was a fitting time to release a film that, instead of offering a critique of the disastrous and bloody occupation, rewrites the narrative of the war. In doing so, it has been widely celebrated, while saying absolutely nothing of substance.

The Hurt Locker, which has been referred to in the mainstream press as the best of the films about the Iraq war, won six Academy Awards in early March and a plethora of independent awards last year. According to the film review Web site Rotten Tomatoes, The Hurt Locker received 97 percent approval from critics.

Unfortunately, none of these critics have spent even a single day in Iraq.

The praise swept through every mainstream newspaper, including the New York Times, where reviewer A.O. Scott wrote, "If The Hurt Locker is not the best action movie of the summer, I'll blow up my car." Yet the film is full of so many inaccuracies that no veteran of the Iraq war would ever take it seriously.

In fact, reviews from Iraq war veterans have been much more negative and telling. According to one in the Air Force Times, an EOD team member said that the main character's "swagger would put a whole team at risk. Our team leaders don't have that kind of invincibility complex, and if they do, they aren't allowed to operate. A team leader's first priority is getting his team home in one piece."

http://socialistworker.org/2010/03/22/the-empty-locker

[Ozymanithrax]

1. I didn't see the movie, but the award is supposed to have somethig to do with acting an story ...

not politics.

[Bicoastal]

2. "While saying absolutely nothing of substance."

Why is that necessary?

[MindandSoul]

3. Interesting! Haven't seen the movie, yet. . .maybe I won't!

[lame54]

4. I loved it...

it was simply a movie about three guys

if they want to see all that other stuff on the big screen - let them make their own movie