A movie released last month, The Covenant, is set during the Afghanistan War and casts an American soldier as a heroic figure who returns to Afghanistan to save his Afghan interpreter:
This is not the first production of its kind where participants in the Afghanistan War have been glorified or cast in a heroic light without much, if any, mindfulness of the impact the war has had on thousands of people's lives and the significant loss of life American forces caused in the country:
An Afghan producer, who herself created a movie about the war, believes movies from Hollywood tend to have inauthentic and Western-centric depictions of the war:
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It has barely been more than two decades since the US invaded Afghanistan in what would become a hotspot of bloodshed and destruction, and despite all of that, the Taliban still took control of the country once the US left. The country is in even worse shape than it was when the US invaded.
Should Hollywood be creating movies about this war in a way that depicts participants in a positive light without highlighting the large-scale loss of life and destruction that occurred? Why should this be viewed any differently from a movie praising some soldier in any other war of aggression?
As far as I can see, the best that could be said about participation in such a war is that perhaps it was coerced or based on false pretenses that a soldier later realized weren't as advertised. But to explicitly praise or romanticize such participation? I believe that's extremely irresponsible and tasteless.
This is not the first production of its kind where participants in the Afghanistan War have been glorified or cast in a heroic light without much, if any, mindfulness of the impact the war has had on thousands of people's lives and the significant loss of life American forces caused in the country:
An Afghan producer, who herself created a movie about the war, believes movies from Hollywood tend to have inauthentic and Western-centric depictions of the war:
Guy Ritchie's The Covenant and why Hollywood is afraid of the war in Afghanistan
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, the new action-thriller about an army sergeant who returns to Afghanistan is the latest tentative US attempt to explore the conflict, writes Caryn James.
It has barely been more than two decades since the US invaded Afghanistan in what would become a hotspot of bloodshed and destruction, and despite all of that, the Taliban still took control of the country once the US left. The country is in even worse shape than it was when the US invaded.
Should Hollywood be creating movies about this war in a way that depicts participants in a positive light without highlighting the large-scale loss of life and destruction that occurred? Why should this be viewed any differently from a movie praising some soldier in any other war of aggression?
As far as I can see, the best that could be said about participation in such a war is that perhaps it was coerced or based on false pretenses that a soldier later realized weren't as advertised. But to explicitly praise or romanticize such participation? I believe that's extremely irresponsible and tasteless.
