The film “American Sniper” has become the most successful box office hit of the Academy Award-nominated films for “Best Picture.” While this Clint Eastwood flick about American sniper Chris Kyle has become a huge hit, the film differs a lot from Kyle’s own writings and the realities of what has taken place.
Writer Zaid Jilani has done a great job of listing some of the myths that the movie perpetuates. I would like to go over some of his findings because I think he makes some great points.
Who We Were Fighting?
Kyle spent his time in Iraq, but the movie somewhat implies that we were there in response to 9/11. The film shows Kyle watching the horrors of that day, then shows him serving in Iraq. As everyone should know by now, Iraq was not involved in the 9/11 attacks. However, undoubtedly, so many do not understand global terrorism and think the invasion of Iraq was perfectly fine. We are made to believe that Kyle was just killing the enemy, but what enemy? Al-Queda wasn’t even a threat in Iraq until we invaded.
The Internal Struggle Of Being A Soldier
The movie tries to look at wartime more personally, showing the internal struggle of soldiers and their families. This is a very good idea, but Kyle didn’t necessarily suffer the same?demons?that others may have. War is usually described as horrific, the worst thing — people committing acts that are unspeakable. But Kyle liked what he did. In his OWN writings, he has said that it was “fun.” He said while it wasn’t his job to merely shoot people with Korans, he’d like to. Kyle looked down upon the Iraqi people. He enjoyed killing. This is not exactly the mindset of a tormented person.
Kyle’s Fabrications
Chris Kyle once claimed to have killed 30 people in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. This has been labeled as a “preposterous” claim, but none of this was brought up in the film. And even if it was true, Kyle seems to brag about this alleged feat. Is this something to be proud of? Kyle also claimed to have killed two carjackers in Texas, but zero evidence of this has ever been discovered. And probably most notoriously, Kyle claims to have been in a fight with former Governor Jesse Ventura after his negative remarks about Navy SEALS. This claim was never substantiated, so Ventura decided to sue Kyle. A jury favored Ventura and awarded him over $1.8 million.
Profits?
There’s the idea that all the proceeds from the American Sniper book went to veterans’ charities. However, The National Review claims that only 2 percent of profits went to charity and the Kyles received about $3 million.
The movie doesn’t touch on any of these things. It is clear that the film is meant to depict Kyle as a hero, and many Americans seem to believe that he is. I am not saying that he wasn’t good at his job or that he didn’t do great things. He is just not the man portrayed in the movie. He has said and done many questionable things and this cannot be forgotten.
The movie, itself, also seems to have garnered a lot of anti-Muslim sentiment. I personally have seen so many mean tweets from movie viewers.
Here is a pic of what some people have said:
Of course, a movie cannot be blamed for everyone’s reactions, but something can be said about a movie that has caused people to?think like this. And there are many more I could have included.
American Sniper is not a documentary, but this is why it is important to get the truth out.
