Original title: Hollywood’s filming of the war in Afghanistan can’t escape the cliché of “America First”
[环球时报特约记者 吕克]After the Afghan Taliban entered Kabul, the U.S. officials hurriedly withdrew and became the headlines of major media around the world. Related videos and photos showed that a large number of Afghan people were crowded at Kabul Airport, trying to squeeze into the US military C-17 transport plane to escape. The chaos on the scene seemed like a Hollywood blockbuster, but there was no “superhero” to save the scene, which caused quite a few. The reality of casualties is much crueler than the movie.
Themes you won’t miss in Hollywood
In 2001, the United States and the United Kingdom jointly launched the war in Afghanistan. Although the then-U.S. President Barack Obama declared the war in Afghanistan at the end of 2014, the local U.S. military has been unable to get out. As an exporter of American values and a potential supporter of the Democratic Party, Hollywood will naturally not miss the Afghan theme. Over the years, it has produced some films based on Afghanistan’s history, culture, and the war in Afghanistan, which not only conveys to American voters the “necessity of the United States to provoke the war in Afghanistan”. “Sexuality” also pave the way for sufficient reasons for the U.S. government to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in due course.
Hollywood has always had the tradition of shooting “anti-war movies”, especially the reflection on the Vietnam War, which gave birth to screen classics such as “Apocalypse Now”, “Field Platoon”, and “Full Metal Shell”. However, for the Afghan War, Hollywood has relatively few masterpieces, and there have not been phenomenal works that are both popular and popular. In terms of genre, these films can be roughly divided into three perspectives: battlefield, politics, and culture. Generally speaking, they are based on the American standpoint. Most of the ideas of the locals in Afghanistan have been “selected.” This is naturally a typical “Hollywood”. Thinking”.
The most recent Afghan war film is “Outpost” in 2020. It is adapted from the memoirs of witnesses. It tells about a U.S. military company deployed in an outpost in Afghanistan and spends every day in frightening battles. It is necessary to prevent the Taliban from attacking anytime and anywhere. The local residents in Afghanistan must also be comforted. The direct captain was either transferred or killed in a car accident. Ordinary soldiers are looking forward to receiving an evacuation order soon. The last part of the film shows a realistic outpost siege. The director intends to extol the bravery and comradeship of the soldiers, and to a certain extent exposes and satirizes the stupid strategic deployment of the White House and the Pentagon and the use of soldiers’ lives as political chips.
Another kind of “anti-war propaganda”
Hollywood films based on such grassroots US military combat units, as well as “Killing Force” in 2019, “12 Warriors” in 2018, “Lonely Survivor” in 2013 and “Brothers” in 2009, these films try to create The authenticity of the battlefield also portrays American soldiers into a positive image of being humanitarian and not killing innocent civilians indiscriminately.
As for the subtle attitudes of the local Afghans towards the U.S. military, films such as “The Lonely Survivor” also involved:-the commandos who kindly released the shepherds were surrounded by the Taliban, and wounded American soldiers were rescued by the kind Afghan villagers…this In fact, it is in line with the American public opinion’s interpretation of the war in Afghanistan: “The Taliban is bad, and the Afghan people are good.”
Compared with sympathy and praise for American soldiers, Hollywood’s interpretation of the political motives behind the war in Afghanistan is more ironic. In 2017’s “Gears of War”, the four-star Admiral played by Brad Pitt wanted to make a contribution through a large-scale attack on the Taliban, but this idea was destroyed by reports that politicians and the media teamed up with the “military bombing civilians”. This kind of vulgar creative thinking can be regarded as another kind of “anti-war propaganda” in Hollywood.
Also grafting the Afghan war and politics is the 2007 “Lion into the Mouth of the Sheep”, which explores the significance of sending civilian soldiers to the battlefield in Afghanistan through the confrontation between liberal journalists and conservative hawks, which is more than common war films. Idealistic reflection, but after all, it did not break out of the cliché of “America First”.
Call yourself a “savior”
As for the culture, history, and customs of Afghanistan, many Westerners still get it from the 2007 “Kite Chaser”. The film was shot in Kashgar, Xinjiang. It has won widespread sympathy through the perspective of children, and some Americans have also said ” The savior” is self-proclaimed.
In 2016’s “Whiskey, Tango, and Foxtrot”, female war correspondent Kim discovered her true value only when she arrived on the battlefield in Afghanistan. Compared with heroic propaganda, the detailed description of local life in the film reflects the optimism of the Afghans in the suffering, but it is a pity that such plots are rare in Hollywood movies.
In addition to Hollywood, many films based on the war in Afghanistan have been filmed in Canada and other European countries for more than a decade. For example, “A War” in Denmark, “Kajaki” in the United Kingdom, “Special Forces” in France, “Hostile Zones” in Spain, and “Road of the Hyena” filmed in Canada. Most of them are from the execution of assault missions and rescue operations. Starting with specific actions such as hostages, it tells the story of Western troops dealing with the Taliban, leaving danger after making sacrifices, and finally reuniting with their families.
In fact, the film “Necessary Killing” shot by Poles in 2010, ingeniously adopted the perspective of Afghan “terrorists”, showing the protagonist escapes after killing American soldiers, killing and surviving in the snowy jungle, relying on the realistic performance of the actors and The director rendered the near-death atmosphere, and the film won the best actor and jury award at the Venice Film Festival that year.
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