thedrifter
03-13-07, 06:19 AM
Hollywood Shuns Iraq, Afghanistan
By: Christian Lowe
March 12, 2007 07:11 PM EST
At a time when Americans are inundated with images of combat from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hollywood so far has avoided making blockbuster action flicks based on either one.
Some movie scholars say that the 24/7 news coverage of both conflicts likely has soured American moviegoers' taste for big-screen film treatment of the wars, making documentaries a more likely genre.
Others complain that moviemakers are gutless, wary of addressing controversial topics that by definition divide audiences (and reviewers).
But the fiscal bottom line likely plays the greatest role in the dearth of these films: Hollywood's in it for the money, and if a decent return on investment is not in the offing, a film probably won't get made, said several movie scholars.
"There may be a kind of disaffection with war in general that's spilling over into the industry," said Robert Eberwein, distinguished professor of English at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., and author of "The War Film."
It's not for lack of material that these movies aren't made. A number of escapes, firefights and tragic events in Iraq and Afghanistan would seem well-suited for on-screen adaptations: the last-minute escape of Osama bin Laden at Tora Bora; the dramatic gunfight that killed NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman; the mistaken bombing of Marines in Nasiriyah; and the desecration of American security contractors in Fallujah.
Yet all were politically complicated events that don't lend themselves to simplistic treatment. And Americans' disaffection with the Iraq war would make any contemporary war film too controversial to market effectively, the scholars said.
War movies such as "Flags of Our Fathers," which depicts the World War II battle for Iwo Jima, and "Flyboys" -- a depiction of U.S. airmen in World War I -- have been released recently, but even those films "aren't getting people there in droves," Eberwein said.
There was a similar scarcity of war movies during the Vietnam War. "The Green Berets," one of the few made during that nearly 10-year conflict, put a positive spin on a war that was already losing public and congressional support when it was released in 1968. Self-financed by its top star, John Wayne, the film was widely reviled by critics for its pro-war slant.
Hollywood began to crank out Vietnam retrospectives after the war ended in 1972, with "The Boys of Company C," "The Deer Hunter" and "Apocalypse Now" following shortly thereafter. None was pro-war and each depicted, at least in part, the murkiness and unpopularity of the conflict.
The war in Afghanistan is perhaps even less well understood than Vietnam and may lack the drama that films depicting past wars capitalized upon. Tillman's death in Afghanistan doesn't lack for drama, but it may be a tough sell because he was killed by his own men, critics say.
When it comes to Iraq, however, there's so much controversy already that moviemakers might find little to carve out for 90 minutes of entertainment.
"How are you going to make any movie that is set in the war that tries to make any political comment? We've already made them," said Lawrence Suid, author of "Guts and Glory: Making the American Military Image in Film."
But there are some in Hollywood -- a minority, for sure -- who believe the movie business is caving in to pressure from liberals. They contend that film industry leaders are so reluctant to offend religious minorities, and the industry's liberal political base, that they shy away from any negative depictions of Muslims in the movies -- something that would be tough to avoid in a war movie about Iraq or Afghanistan.
A Hollywood dominated by liberals "hates the war because it disproves ... the philosophy of multiculturalism, the philosophy that white men and Christians are always to blame," said Andrew Klavan, whose credits include two well-known films, "Don't Say a Word" and "True Crime," which are based on his novels.
Perhaps there will be a postwar burst of films -- similar to what happened after the Vietnam War -- when Iraq winds down. But observers say one key difference with Vietnam movies will likely be the lack of an indictment against the character of the troops. Following the political winds, Hollywood execs would be loath to buck the bipartisan support for men and women in the military.
"The soldiers should not have been blamed with Vietnam; that was a terrible thing which Hollywood and the liberals did," Suid said. "But they've been very careful this time around. The soldiers are the good guys, and it's the command that are the bad guys."
Ellie
By: Christian Lowe
March 12, 2007 07:11 PM EST
At a time when Americans are inundated with images of combat from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hollywood so far has avoided making blockbuster action flicks based on either one.
Some movie scholars say that the 24/7 news coverage of both conflicts likely has soured American moviegoers' taste for big-screen film treatment of the wars, making documentaries a more likely genre.
Others complain that moviemakers are gutless, wary of addressing controversial topics that by definition divide audiences (and reviewers).
But the fiscal bottom line likely plays the greatest role in the dearth of these films: Hollywood's in it for the money, and if a decent return on investment is not in the offing, a film probably won't get made, said several movie scholars.
"There may be a kind of disaffection with war in general that's spilling over into the industry," said Robert Eberwein, distinguished professor of English at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., and author of "The War Film."
It's not for lack of material that these movies aren't made. A number of escapes, firefights and tragic events in Iraq and Afghanistan would seem well-suited for on-screen adaptations: the last-minute escape of Osama bin Laden at Tora Bora; the dramatic gunfight that killed NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman; the mistaken bombing of Marines in Nasiriyah; and the desecration of American security contractors in Fallujah.
Yet all were politically complicated events that don't lend themselves to simplistic treatment. And Americans' disaffection with the Iraq war would make any contemporary war film too controversial to market effectively, the scholars said.
War movies such as "Flags of Our Fathers," which depicts the World War II battle for Iwo Jima, and "Flyboys" -- a depiction of U.S. airmen in World War I -- have been released recently, but even those films "aren't getting people there in droves," Eberwein said.
There was a similar scarcity of war movies during the Vietnam War. "The Green Berets," one of the few made during that nearly 10-year conflict, put a positive spin on a war that was already losing public and congressional support when it was released in 1968. Self-financed by its top star, John Wayne, the film was widely reviled by critics for its pro-war slant.
Hollywood began to crank out Vietnam retrospectives after the war ended in 1972, with "The Boys of Company C," "The Deer Hunter" and "Apocalypse Now" following shortly thereafter. None was pro-war and each depicted, at least in part, the murkiness and unpopularity of the conflict.
The war in Afghanistan is perhaps even less well understood than Vietnam and may lack the drama that films depicting past wars capitalized upon. Tillman's death in Afghanistan doesn't lack for drama, but it may be a tough sell because he was killed by his own men, critics say.
When it comes to Iraq, however, there's so much controversy already that moviemakers might find little to carve out for 90 minutes of entertainment.
"How are you going to make any movie that is set in the war that tries to make any political comment? We've already made them," said Lawrence Suid, author of "Guts and Glory: Making the American Military Image in Film."
But there are some in Hollywood -- a minority, for sure -- who believe the movie business is caving in to pressure from liberals. They contend that film industry leaders are so reluctant to offend religious minorities, and the industry's liberal political base, that they shy away from any negative depictions of Muslims in the movies -- something that would be tough to avoid in a war movie about Iraq or Afghanistan.
A Hollywood dominated by liberals "hates the war because it disproves ... the philosophy of multiculturalism, the philosophy that white men and Christians are always to blame," said Andrew Klavan, whose credits include two well-known films, "Don't Say a Word" and "True Crime," which are based on his novels.
Perhaps there will be a postwar burst of films -- similar to what happened after the Vietnam War -- when Iraq winds down. But observers say one key difference with Vietnam movies will likely be the lack of an indictment against the character of the troops. Following the political winds, Hollywood execs would be loath to buck the bipartisan support for men and women in the military.
"The soldiers should not have been blamed with Vietnam; that was a terrible thing which Hollywood and the liberals did," Suid said. "But they've been very careful this time around. The soldiers are the good guys, and it's the command that are the bad guys."
Ellie