Behind the fatigues, the muscles and the tattoos are beating hearts, crying eyes and scared spirits. This entry is not a review about this film, but a review about how we feel about our troops and why we have to pay a bit more attention to a war we so want to ignore but cannot. Why? Because there are too many souls out there fighting for us. Nasty stuff to think about, but it must be done.

Dear Ether,

I just saw the film “The Hurt Locker” which is a movie that focuses on the war in Iraq and a specialty unit that detonates bombs.  Now, I’m not a political person, and for me to write about anything regarding war is pretty rare.  But I was really enthralled by this film because it gave such a unique glimpse into the happenings in the Middle East.  The screenwriter Mark Boal, was a freelance journalist who was on site reporting with the bomb squad.   He based the movie on real-life events, and spoke in great detail of his experiences at the screening.  He expressed how crucial he felt the production of the film was because so much of the struggle of the soldiers in Iraq has been overlooked.  I agree.  I think unless we know someone in the war, we just sorta tune out and don’t really look into the bloodshot and sweaty eyes of the frightened troops who are stationed in dangerous areas like Basra.

I know this has been one of the most controversial wars in our lifetime.  It has divided so many people, and protests have continued to ensue for almost a decade. But what the “Hurt Locker” skillfully does is remind us about the soldiers who are out on the field every single day (like it or not) dying for us.  What’s so real about the film is the emotional side (the action scenes are also seat clenching…) because these guys are not always big and tough, but shaky and scared stiff.  Like a bomb timer, throughout the film is a calendar letting you know how much longer the mission has left, and you pray every second that these guys make it through to the end.

I don’t want to ruin the film for you, and I’m not here to write a review and talk about the wonderful acting or cinematography.  I just want to share my feelings about how I felt when I was in the cinema. I realized while watching these brave men who are my peers and sadly, far younger, that I take them for granted every single day.  In truth, I never think about their struggle.  Because I’m so non-political I don’t like to even think about the families who lose children, men who lose limbs, have nervous breakdowns, and fight for their survival every single day never knowing when they can go home.

What’s fascinating about this film is there is 1 character who DOES love his gig—it’s not a film completely about the negative side of being in the army.  He has a passion for detonating bombs, keeps signing up for tours of duty and finds coming home lifeless and dull.  Though his character is very flawed (you’ll find out in the film) there are MANY stable men and women in Iraq who are very proud to serve their country and DO believe in this war. The tragedy is they have to hide their pride because so many people are against what they believe in that they feel shame for their sense of patriotism.

I remember hearing stories about when Vietnam ended and when the troops would come home, people would spit at them.  I was so disgusted and mortified—the idea that soldiers (who saw god only knows what) fighting for our freedom were degraded by their fellow man made me so incensed.  Especially during a time when there was a draft in the United States and many of the people fighting and dying in Vietnam didn’t want to be there and were forced to by law.  Can you imagine coming home shell-shocked and maimed just wanting to be embraced by the people you fought for and then to be sneered at by the citizens you just defended—I can only imagine the betrayal and shock they felt.  I just don’t want history repeated and to have our troops come home and have the same treatment.

I think it’s perfectly acceptable to HATE this war, in fact, many of the men there fighting DO.  But to ignore them, or to blame them for protecting our freedom is inexcusable.  “The Hurt Locker” is a great film to see because it’s one of the only successful pictures that captures the essence of our modern war and lets you in on the emotional side.  But, it also shows you what these guys go through every day while we’re shopping, dining out, vacationing and sleeping in our oversized beds.  The film has already won awards at the Venice Film Festival, The Seattle Film Festival, The Nantucket International Film Festival and has both Best Actor and Supporting Actor nominations (Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie) for the Independent Spirit Awards.  The reviews are brilliant—and deservedly so.  This has touched the hearts of a lot of people because it’s brought out the empathy and understanding that I think we really didn’t have a grasp of before.

When I was a teenager I visited the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C.  Chiseled into a wall—a very, very, long wall—were the names of so many men.  I ran my fingers along that monument and touched names and felt as if I was reading them like Braille with my eyes closed.  So many lives lost and halted at young ages.  There will be walls erected around different countries similar for this war, and right now a young man’s name who is still alive will tragically be chiseled there for all eternity for people to stare at and leave a single rose or an imprint of a kissed fingertip.  Send a good thought to those folks out there protecting you—even if you don’t like what they’re fighting for.  Just remember they’re people with stories and lives—lives that they are putting on the line for us every single day.

Dedicatedly yours,

—One of 365