American Sniper is a movie Hitler 'would have been proud to have made', says Nick Broomfield

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

American Sniper is a movie Hitler 'would have been proud to have made', says Nick Broomfield

The British documentarian Nick Broomfield has said that the controversial biopic American Sniper is a film which Adolf Hitler would have been proud to have made.

In an interview for The Independent Magazine, the award-winning filmmaker branded it an example of American fascism that made him question his decision to live in the United States.

After youve watched a film like American Sniper, you think My God, what the am I doing here?

He went on to say: I think Adolf would have been proud to have made it.

Asked whether he agreed with criticism of America Sniper as propagandist Broomfield - who is promoting his new documentary Tales of the Grim Sleeper labelled it a product of a country locked in an existential struggle with its own history and future.

Its been amazing watching the whole Obama thing. Just seeing how deep-rooted it [American fascism] is. Thats really what Tales of the Grim Sleeper is about: incredible racism that really goes back to slavery and the country has not in any way got over it.

I think when you make a film like American Sniper you have to be in decline, he added. Youre holding on to your bootstraps and youre turning inwards. Youre not a world leader any more. I think it makes people very insecure and they sort of retreat to their most basic fears .The fact that that film has been such a touchstone here is worrying.

Meanwhile, Broomfields new documentary, Tales of a Grim Sleeper, investigates the murders of over 150 prostitutes, mostly African-American, in South Central Los Angeles. It is Broomfields 30th documentary a number of which have been set in the US.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/american-sniper-is-a-movie-hitler-would-have-been-proud-to-have-made-says-nick-broomfield-10029820.html

[GandD 5,966]

Oh something hitler would like. What an original angle.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

This is the part I found most interesting. Of course you have to read past the headline ;-)

...a product of a country locked in an existential struggle with its own history and future.

I don't mean that in a disparaging way - but I do think mass appeal of a film like this is indicative of a degree of fascism in the American psyche.

Edited February 7, 2015 by Hail Ming!

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Oh something hitler would like. What an original angle.

Edited February 7, 2015 by I AM NOT THAT GUY

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

This is quite a good article (by two veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan) on what's wrong with the movie:

http://www.salon.com/2015/02/07/im_a_u_s_veteran_and_american_sniper_is_filled_with_lies_partner/

In the movies first scene, Cooper faces a moral dilemma that never happened in real life. Cooper suspects a boy is preparing to send an improvised explosive device, or IED, toward a convoy of approaching Marines on the streets of Fallujah. Either he kills a child or the child kills Marines. A soldier next to Cooper warns, Theyll send your ### to Leavenworth if youre wrong. In writing this line, Hall implies that killing civilians is a war crime and U.S. military members are sent to prison for it. If U.S. soldiers, including Kyle, dont seem to be getting punished for killing civilians, then they must not be killing civilians.

Garett and I agreed that even if that boy was a civilian, nothing would have happened to Cooper for shooting him. Both of us were trained to take detailed notes with the understanding that if something went wrong, it would be corrected in the report. Americans were responsible for thousands of Iraqi deaths and almost none were held accountable.

In Hall and Coopers Fallujah, its as if the Americans just found a city that was already laid to waste. The movie leaves out Americas bombardment of Fallujah. An officer explains that the city has been evacuated, so any military-aged male remaining must be an insurgent. Conveniently, every Iraqi that Cooper kills happens to be carrying a rifle or burying an IED, even though the real Chris Kyle wrote that he was told to shoot anymilitary-aged male.

So what brought Bradley Coopers character to Iraq? Early in the film, Hall sets the stage for the moral theme of the movie. When Cooper was a child he sat at a kitchen table with his father, who explained that there are only three types of people in the world: sheep who believe evil doesnt exist, wolves who prey on the sheep, and sheepdogs who are blessed with aggression and protect the sheep. In this world, when Cooper watches the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings on television, there is only one explanation: just evil wolves being evil. So he joins the military. When Cooper watches September 11 on television, there is one explanation: just evil wolves being evil. So he goes to war with them.

Amazingly, Hall and Coopers war seems to have absolutely nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction. Its about al-Qaida, which in real life followed the United States into Iraq after we invaded.

Coopers war also seems to have nothing to do with helping Iraqis, only killing them. Except for the militarys interpreters, every Iraqi in the movie including the women and children are either evil, butchering insurgents or collaborators.

The sense is that there isnt a single innocent Iraqi in the war. Theyre all savages.

Chris Kyle was like so many soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He believed in doing the right thing and was willing to give his life for it. That trait that drives many veterans is a truly special one I wish we all had. Was Kyle wrong that the Iraq War had anything to do with September 11, protecting Americans, seizing weapons of mass destruction, or liberating Iraqis? Without a doubt. But thats what he was told and he genuinely believed it an important insight into how good people are driven to work for bad causes.

Was Kyle wrong for calling Iraqis savages? Of course. In one interview, he admits that Iraqis probably view him as a savage, but that in war he needed to dehumanize people to kill them another important insight into how humans tolerate killing, which was left out of the movie.