Hello all,
Thanks for coming out and watching the 2009 Academy Award Best Picture, the Hurt Locker. Some things that you might want to comment on in your paragraph:
A. Chris Hedges who wrote the book, War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, has a quote at the beginning of the movie that talks about war being a drug. What is your belief about this idea of Hedges?
B. What examples demonstrate how frustrating the Iraq war is on the average soldier?
C. How did this film make you feel? Did this film create any empathy for the young men and women that are fighting in Iraq?
Anything else that you think is relevant bring up in your post!
Yosh
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i thought this was a really good film. it gave me a good view of what it was like in iraq, before i didnt know how to picture it. this war would be really frustating to me for several reasons. the first being that when you look around, any of the men or women looking at you could potentially be waiting to kill you. when james is disarming bombs, you can see several men watching him, one with a camera, there is no way of stopping him, because the other soldiers cant shoot him, even though he is likely involved with this particular bomb.another part about this war that would greatly frustrate me is when the iraqis used the boy from the dvd stand, beckham, as a bomb. james knew the boy and it really disturbed him to see him killed and used in this manner.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I could have passed on the blood and gore and how disturbing it was and to even think that thats how life is somewhere on the other side of the world and how people have to face this every day. I agree with Hedges, saying that war is a drug. It brings out the worst in people, makes them aggressive like when the two men were drunkenly wrestling and he whipped out the knife. War does a toll on people. Seeing death 24/7 and being around people who potentially want to blow your brains out must give you some sort of paranoia. Doing the same thing day by day, keeping one eye over your shoulder at all times must psychologically mess some people up. Its hard to believe that people are facing these feats everyday. So close to death, and in a place that is consumed with complete chaos. No wonder this film won those awards, it completely opened my eyes to how life in Iraq (living and fighting) must really be like and the stresses it causes on people. When the young man saw the Iraq civilian videotaping him, that was obviously stressful on him because it made him feel as if he was entertaining them in some way when the situation was serious. You could tell that he wanted to shoot him and he was mentally harmed by not being able to.
ReplyDeleteDear Yosh:
ReplyDeleteThank-you for showing us the 2009 Acadamy Award Bes Picture: "The Hurt Locker" it was a fantasic film, anddoes indeed deserve that great honour.
As Chris Hedges said, "war is a drug", and so it it, this can be seen espcially by the way James acts. He strides confidently into any situation, no matter the risk, and then does it again, day after day. For him, war is a high that cannot be matched by anything else, even his son Max.
This movie, also gives definite insight into the frustration endured by the soldiers who aere fighting in Iraq. This can be seen by the stress on the faces of the men and women, the countdown of days until Bravo Company was done its rotation, and the way the soldiers acted when in their barracks.
This film helped me to understand more of what was actually going on in the situation in Iraq, rather than just knowing the history and that the United States were over there.
I very much enjoyed this movie, and the whole Yoshal Studies 20-1 experience.
~Michaela
There are a lot of people who don’t understand what war is really like and the impact it has on everybody around them. At the beginning of The Hurt Locker, there is a quote from the novel “War is a force that gives us Meaning” by Chris Hedges, that states “The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug.” I agree with what this quote states because there are some people who are so addicted to war and begin to act carelessly. Sergeant first class William James, played by Jeremy Renner, clearly exemplifies how once you’ve been in the war for so long, you begin to act with less concern. William James’ job was to deactivate bombs and in, total, he had disarmed over 8 hundred! That’s crazy!
ReplyDeleteThe director, Kathryn Bigelow, did an outstanding job at creating a suspenseful plot. It also shows how Iraq can be frustrating to the average soldier. There are many scenes where there was not enough time to prevent a bomb from exploding, like at the very beginning, the soldier was walking away from the bomb when a bystander triggered the explosion and the shock killed the soldier. This had a great impact on the soldiers who knew this man. The other example of how frustrating Iraq is was when a suicide bomber was claiming he needed help getting the bomb off, but although Sergeant William James tried, there was not enough time to get the bomb off the man. All I could think of when I saw this part of the movie was how horrible and frustrated I’d feel if something like that had happened to me. At these same points in the movie, I also felt empathy towards these soldiers. The Hurt Locker did a great job at demonstrating the struggles that the soldiers have to deal with in Iraq, but it also makes me feel better because they are making the civilians of Iraq’s lives better.
I've had such a great learning experience in your class, Yosh! I'm going to miss it along with these great movie days :)
Hedges quote at the beginning of the movie made sense at first, and then when you finish the movie it puts it into to perspective. People will always have differences and if you know of a way to ensure that your strongest belief is carried out, then war will happen if it is in the hands of the right person. Along with the fact and similarities that once you win a fist fight against someone you don't like, you will enjoy the rush (presumably) and will want to experience that again. Such as it is with drugs.
ReplyDeleteThe war in Iraq to the individual soldiers is very frustrating because you can never truly know who your enemy is when everyone looks the same in civilian clothes. And without the clear-cut identification of a uniform it is near impossible to know whether or not you should shoot someone in case it is just an innocent civilian who does not understand English. It was just like that scene with the goat farmer and his goats on the tracks that the young soldier shot because he knew he couldn't take the risk of his fellow soldiers lives in a situation like that.
This film both intrigued and disturbed me. When I watched it I had to watch it in one sitting because I knew if I left I would never want to finish it. This movie gives the audience a tangible feeling of the stress and anxiety that we can only imagine it is in certain situations. It shows the horrible truth about what preventative peace is after the initial fighting subsides, and how the structured forces are necessary to help hold the country up from stray rebels that still reside in the boarders.
Megan C. Block 3
Brandon St blk 2
ReplyDeletethis movie opened my eyes to what war is like. when i think about modern day war, ill think about hat movie, not video games. the men and woman fighting in iraq are brave in my opinion. after seeing a bit of what they see, it makes me feel worthless. all though the war is illegal, i still am respectful of those solders fighting the war there.
jared white block 4
ReplyDeletethis movie was a grate dispay of how war is today how far people will go some people would call that ultra nationlalism. i think that the people that seen this movie had there eyes opened to what it is like in iraq and people are wondering y we dont just get out of there but people just dont know how that could affect them in there home country. but i had my eyes opened in this movie and i think that it truly was a grate movie.
This movie really helped me understand what it is like for soilders in iraq. "war is a drug" it is true, the bomb defuser got such a rush from being in danger that he went back to iraq for another year! If i was in iraq i would be very frustrated because the enemies look like civilians. When the man had the phone to set off the bomb was frustrating because how is a soilder supposed to know if he is just an innocent civilian. its a tough call for a soilder. This was a good movie to show because it was a pretty big topic in our debate. It was a real eye opener for someone who kinda understood what was going on but can never really be sure.
ReplyDeleteMarcus Perepelecta Blk 1
i felt like this was a really god movie to watch, i had seen it befor and not realy understand some of it. but this time it made much more sence.i can see how war would be like a drug and being sooo close to death just gives you a huge adreniline ruch and you want it and you start to get addicted to it.so when he went back home to the boring stuff, he just had to go back for more. this film really just shows how soldiers are under lots of preasure to do thier job there and they are risking there lives doing so.
ReplyDeleteCollin patry Bk2
Kelsey Seamons~Block Three
ReplyDeleteThis movie was amazing! I really don't think that I could have gone back for another round like James did. This showed me how that the Iraq war is tough because you can't really tell who is the enemy, they all look like civilans. It also showed how the mental stabability of the soilders deteriorates over the time they are there. Chris Hedges was right when he said the war is like a drug, it gets you hyped up and it inflates the countries ego, there is lots of propaganda and inflates the economy. I really want to own this movie. I love it and it had a good story, though some parts where... a bit gory.
This movie was pretty sweet because it showed how the situation in Iraq is rough and most people don’t even think about it too much. It is also hard to see who you are fighting because they look like civilians the situation is a hard one in Iraq. In Iraq they are trying to make peace in the situation and bring humanity to an awful place on earth. Sergeant James in the movie was pretty entertaining as well because he was an adrenaline junkie and did lots of irrational things for a rush. He did turn out to be an ok leader though and he tried his best to look out for his guys. I believe war can bethought of as a drug as was saw by Sergeant James as he got an adrenaline rush from coming in close calls. Specialist Owen saw there old team leaders death as his fault because he didn’t pull the trigger; this shows how frustrating the war can be for most every soldier. All in all this was a good movie that showed a perspective I have not seen before.
ReplyDeleteJames Nicks Blk 1
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ReplyDeleteThe Hurt locker created an incredible depiction of Iraq, and what the soldiers there have to deal with on daily bases. The quote from Chris Hedges at the beginning of the movie that says war is a drug was a good way to startt the movie. Being at war clearly made the men aggressive, like when they were wrestling and a knife was pulled. But also, James got such a rush from diffusing bombs that he went back for another year! From fighting for hours in the hot dessert, to dealing with bombs, these guys are under constant stress. The amount of bombs they find and have to deal with every day was outstanding. This movie was especially disturbing because it shows that there is no way to tell who the enemy is. So basically, these men have to sleep with one eye open and watch there backs at all time. This would, without a doubt, take its toll on a person. War is addicting because it probably gives people a sense of power. They get to 'play god'. Not something that is overly appealing to me, but its a different story for some people. I have the utmost respect for the soldiers fighting in Iraq.
ReplyDeleteMeghan Levay, Block 1
Just like Letters from Iwo Jima I was thoroughly impressed with the accuracy with which the movie was portrayed. In many cases it really made you feel the pain and tension that these men face every day. The horror with which Elrdidge expresses in many of the situations such as Cambridge's death, Thompson's death, and when they're being shot at in the dessert really shows the meaning of "shell shocked" and what seeing so many people you know die can do to a person.
ReplyDeleteHowever, on the other hand, like with James, some people just see it as one of the unfortunate outcomes of war and move on. That does not mean, however, that he is invulnerable to feeling sorrow which is shown when he sees the 12 year old boy being used as a body bomb. It shows that no matter how addicted to war a person may be, s/he is still vulnerable to the horror of seeing atrocities such as that.
The many varrying view points in the movies such as the ruthlessness of James, the innocence of Eldridge, and the "by-the-book" view of Sanborn, show that not all soldiers are made the same and it does take it's toll on people. How people react to that is different, as is shown by James' need to go back and put his life in danger, giving him the adrenaline rush he desires.
Out of all the drugs one could possibly take, war is the most dangerous. Hedges' quote about war being a drug is very true in many cases as it gives people a high that they can't get anywhere else.
Kia Skretteberg Block 1
The Hurt Locker was full of suspense kept me at the edge of my chair. I'd have to say this is movie truly captures the Iraq War. This movie shows us what these soldiers are going through and gives us a great deal of appreciation for the troops who are risking their lives every single day for us to ensure our freedom. The true purpose of this movie is to not just to praise the soldiers. It brings out the military's unrecognized heroes which are the technicians of the bombs squads who risk their lives to save others. The purpose of this movie is really to let everyone know what these people do. I also found the film to be about the universal soldier who becomes addicted to war. It focuses on the idea that war is a drug. Perhaps most startling of all the film’s accomplishments is how it captures the soldiers’ feeling of utter anxiety as they fight a war on foreign soil. It’s as if they’re on a completely different planet. It’s can’t imagine dealing with what these soldiers are dealing with; living in a place so hostile and hateful of their presence, in which everything and everyone is a potential enemy. Even the ground before can explode and swallow them whole. It is no doubt Post Traumatic Stress is a major issue when these soldiers return home. This is one of the greatest movies I have seen, and it has changed my perspective on the present war in Iraq completely. There is no doubt of why the Hurt Locker won the Oscar for Best Picture.
ReplyDeleteGarrett Ellis
Block 1