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| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| End of the War Hero |
| 2007-11-11 |
| JD Johannes Every morning I go to the gym and run on the treadmill. Every morning I am subjected to at least a dozen commercials for the new anti-war movie 'Lions for Lambs.' Despite spend several million dollars on advertising and marketing, 'Lions for Lambs' will flop--just like 'Rendition' & and 'Valley of Elah.' They will flop because the human psyche, especially the American variety, prefers real heroes--like the original hero of the Valley of Elah, a young shepherd named David who killed Goliath then cut off the giant's head. In the latest round of war movies the heroes are not the Soldiers and Marines who every day fight and defeat a vicious and barbaric enemy--the heroes are reporters, lawyers and activists. And since every story requires a villain, the real enemy--Mohammedan Jihadists--are replaced by neo-cons, politicians, Soldiers and Marines. This substitution of the traditional mono-myth away from a hero who faces physical danger and conquers an enemy is a result of cowardice of the modern story tellers. The human mind craves the same narrative--this was illustrated by Joseph Campbell...also, we all want to be the hero. But when confronted with a real life situation--like the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and larger war on terror few will step up to be heroes. The many who do not have the ability to step up fall into two categories--those who acknowledge their inability to be heroes and those who do not. Being a hero is not a job for everyone, many accept this and give credit to those who are willing to take the challenge. But there is another group for who the sting of their own cowardice is too much to bear. They are not willing to accept that they cannot be heroes. They cannot accept that, even if they were younger or had the physical ability to confront a violent villain, they would shrink from the challenge. To alleviate their guilt they invent a new villain--Halliburton, Cheney, neo-cons, politicians, military officers, Soldiers, Marines--in short, anyone who will not physically harm them. This substituted version of the traditional hero myth allows anyone to be a hero, but it does not fulfill the craving for a true hero--especially when so many know the true enemy. The anti-war films are failing and 'Lions for Lambs' will fail as well, because even though they follow the arc of the myth our brains are seemingly encoded to crave, they do not encounter the reality of this point in time. These films are only marketable to a segment of society who desires the substitution myth to assuage thier guilt--but even then, getting the choir you want to preach to pony up $10 to hear your sermon is a losing proposition. The first block-buster Iraq War movie will be about the battle of Fallujah or another life and death struggle showing Marines or Soldiers as heroes. This movie will follow the traditional monomyth with the heroes confronting a villain with violence and prevailing. But this movie will come out of nowhere. It will not be backed by a major studio or star name-brand actors. And only then will the war hero return. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #12 A niche market here [USA]. They're doing quite well outside the country. Pappy, are you saying that the Hollywood Red Diaper Doper Babies will ass kiss Dictators, people please Fascist and brown nose Islamic Terrorist for the almighty* BUCK? Ima Shocked!! /*a little less than almighty of late. |
| Posted by: Red Dawg 2007-11-11 14:40 |
| #11 The main reason the current crop of politcal movies is tanking is because they are playing to a niche market. A niche market here. They're doing quite well outside the country. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2007-11-11 13:54 |
| #10 Uh, I don't have anything against raising money for the Burg, but why do we have to look at a "Lions for Lambs" ad on this homepage? So that we can click on it, and be Enlightened, and also get the producers of the movie to toss some change in Fred's jar. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2007-11-11 12:18 |
| #9 I suppose there's no point in trying to think rationally about Hollywood but this does occur to me: one of Hollywood's advertised values is multiculturalism. But the WOT is, in a sense, the ultimate in multiculturalism. Luttrell survived because some Afghan villagers decided to take their lives in their hands by protecting him from the Taliban. Raven 42 was a classic story of a mixed-race, mixed-gender group prevailing against heavy odds. The assault force in Phantom Fury consisted of black, brown and white soldiers and Marines supported (IIRC) by three battalions of Iraqis. Apparently only certain types of multicultural activity get the Hollywood seal of approval. |
| Posted by: Matt 2007-11-11 12:03 |
| #8 Uh, I don't have anything against raising money for the Burg, but why do we have to look at a "Lions for Lambs" ad on this homepage? |
| Posted by: Intrinsicpilot 2007-11-11 11:36 |
| #7 Wasn't Bruce Willis working on a "Deuce Four" project? |
| Posted by: doc 2007-11-11 11:16 |
| #6 Detroit made auto that Americans had to accept, till the big oil bust in the 70s when people discovered very well made and cost efficient Japanese alternatives. Hollyweird is another monstrosity that thinks it dictates what America wants. New technology is their Japanese competitors. Detroit is somewhat stable and able to survive but struggles and its not the Motown that once was. May Hollyweird enjoy the same fate. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-11-11 09:53 |
| #5 There is talk about Bruce Willis pushing a movie about the Deuce Four. All very preliminary and not even a script yet. Given the present political climate in Hollywood, I would expect it to end up as a self-funded project like Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ. I hope it happens. It would be a helluva story. Same with the 2nd battle of Fallujah. The main reason the current crop of politcal movies is tanking is because they are playing to a niche market. Most Americans are in the middle politically. They likely have family in the service or working for a Halliburton. They don't regard journos as brave crusaders. They see nothing heroic about reporters asking rude gotcha questions or sticking a mic in the face of some disaster victim while asking how do you feel? Americans still know what heroes are. They still want to see them on the screen. Making products no one wants to buy is a business plan for failure. Like some studio head said back in the day, if you want to send a message, send a telegram. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2007-11-11 08:30 |
| #4 "This substitution of the traditional mono-myth away from a hero who faces physical danger and conquers an enemy is a result of cowardice of the modern story tellers." So true. As Lileks said about Lewis Black's book cover, supposedly daring and courageous for desecrating the Pieta, no Christian will saw his head off for doing so, no matter how loathesome the act. Therefore, there's no real courage in doing so. If Black was TRULY courageous, he'd be grabbing his crotch, making the heavy metal salute, and desecrating a Koran. But the inoftainment industry never takes on Islam - that would be bigoted, doncha know. This bit about cowardice is true, but it only tells part of the dysfunction. Beyond the cowardice, there is also intellectual laziness. The left has built its entire raison d'etre on a singular concept - that the white, Western, capitalist male whose life is informed by Judeo-Christian values is the greatest form of evil the universe has created. This is the BEDROCK principle of their worldview - it explains everything from multiculturalism to cultural Marxism to belief in collectivist economics to AGW etc. Therefore, when confronted with the idea that something could be more evil than the archetype they have visualized (in their mind's eye, a guy who is part Marlboro man, part Marine, part business owner who calls women "ma'am", speaks with a Southern accent, and goes to church on Sundays), they are presented with a paradox that cannot be resolved. If something is more evil than their cherished bogeyman, then the entirety of their worldview is false. This is a daunting thing for anyone to confront, but even more so for the intellectually challenged in places like Hollywood. So, rather than do the honest, decent, and intellegent thing and admit that their main premise is wrong, they strive to explain away the real threat, leaving their world view intact and obviating the need to admit error to themselves and do the hard work of rethinking things. Examples of this abound. JFK was killed by a Communist, so Hollywood explains his death by making movies where he is killed by anti-Communists. Tet was a huge victory for the American military, so the infotainment industry crafts the lie that it was a defeat. Moveon.org assails the patriotism and Americanism of General Petraeus,and many Democrats in congress refuse to condemn this, and the media along with said Democrats assail the patriotism of Rush Limbaugh in order to maintain the "integrity" of their narrative. Duke lacrosse players are accused falsely of rape, and Evan Thomas of Newsweek flatly states that the narrative of the rape is still valid, even if the facts are wrong. The infotainment industry goes nuts on a (false) report of flushing a Koran down the toilet, decrying it as "intolerant" and "bigoted", and at the same time celebrates Marilyn Manson ripping up a Bible or an artist putting a crucifix in urine and the highest forms of free speech. Yes, there's plenty of cowardice there. But there are equal amounts of laziness, and garden variety stupidity. |
| Posted by: no mo uro 2007-11-11 08:10 |
| #3 To alleviate their guilt they invent a new villain--Halliburton, Cheney, neo-cons, politicians, military officers, Soldiers, Marines--in short, anyone who will not physically harm them. Brave Sir Redford. |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-11-11 07:27 |
| #2 The battle of Fallujah, the battle for the Three Stooges, Yon's fight, the SEAL fight in Afghanistan that only Lutrell survived. All would make great movies. Raven 42 and Brian Chontosh and Paul Smith's last stand, too. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2007-11-11 06:17 |
| #1 Need to make a movie about the unit Yon was wiht in the fight for Mosul, the "Deuce-Four". |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2007-11-11 03:25 |