bnorthup
01-22-2002, 01:34 PM
Black Hawk Down (R)
At the Gaslight
Dad: four stars
Daughter: three stars
By Brent & Katherine Northup
Tales of military courage are frequently either melodramatic, overly simplistic or both. More often than not, they end up being more concerned with capitalizing on patriotic fervor than on truly exploring the nature of battle. But Ridley Scott’s “Black Hawk Down” is the exception, an honest portrayal of battlefield honor with few cliches, no stars and no flag waving.
A friend of mine, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, observed that courage is often a function of protecting friends – as opposed to a conscious choice to act “nobly.” “Black Hawk Down” confirms that view, telling a story that revolves around “leaving no one behind.”
The script is very un-Hollywood in its nature. There are no real stars. The characters are not fully fleshed out. Instead, we are asked to focus on a unit of men, seeing them as a team rather than as separate people. We become attached to their sense of duty and to their willingness to lay down their lives for each other. We are also touched by their human weaknesses – the fear of death, the pain of being hit, the repulsion at seeing friends’ bodies torn apart by explosions.
In the end, the film ends up being, for me, a portrait of the courage of “the unknown soldiers,” not unlike those honored at Arlington. There’s no John Wayne or Arnold Schwarzenegger to steal the spotlight from the quiet acts of courage from “nameless” people.
At first, I couldn’t decide whether the film romanticized war or whether it served as an anti-war treatise. At different times, both seemed true. On the one hand, there’s a tendency to see this battle (set in Somalia in 1993) as a noble cause to help the oppressed east Africans. On the other hand, it's very clear how futile and counterproductive the effort was. Historically, troops are soon withdrawn with little to show for the mission – except graves under the soil of two countries.
I ultimately decided to translate “Black Hawk Down’s” complex vision as anti-war, but pro-soldier. It’s the equivalent of putting a rose on a grave on Memorial Day, without bothering to ask what war or for what reason. All we care about is that this soldier reflected a sense of duty that enabled him to lay down his life for others – and that, alone, is worthy of a quiet prayer of thanks.
There’s more to be said on this subject, of course. The civilian decisions that put military lives at stake are often politically motivated. Too often our soldiers die for suspect causes, as pawns in political ploys. Most tragically, humanity seems far too quick to seek military answers to resolve a human conflict. Peaceful ways are often available, but ignored.
But there are times, as when concentration camps were liberated, when the willingness to send a soldier into a battle seems undeniably courageous. For those interested in the ethics of war, as I am, there is much to read on Just War and related subjects. Even Catholic priests, on occasion, have seen limited justification for conflict "as a last resort" to protect lives. On the other hand, pacifists such as Gandhi would find few or no instances where bloodshed could be justified.
Similarly, Archbishop Tutu of South Africa has written provacatively about forgiveness - especially after the brutality of a war ends. Those words, too, are worth deep reflection.
In any case, no matter why troops were put in harm’s way, it’s appropriate to silently honor those willing to die for each other. Such a sense of duty is admirable and such a death deserves a silent prayer. It’s not primarily an act of patriotism to honor them, it’s more act of gratitude and respect.
And it matters little under what soil the body lies – in most cases the courage of that soldier is irrelevant to the decisions that asked him to give his life. We pray for his soul and thank him for his courage, and leave to historians and to moral leaders the task of sorting sort out the justice of the battle itself. And, of course, we pray for an end to war, even while honoring the warriors of battles past.
END of Dad
=======================
START of Daughter:
Daughter Katherine, 14, saw the film with me. Her reaction was very insightful, in vivid contrast to the fear she used to show when seeing war movies. She has clearly begun to see movies on a multitude of levels, able to step above the images to reflect on the messages and the motives.
Here are Katherine’s views about “Black Hawk Down”
Written by Katherine Northup
“Black Hawk Down” was slightly different than other war films. It wasn’t a movie about how some American hero saves the day even though some unimportant people die. “Black Hawk Down” was a very realistic portrayal of war and it didn’t have added any glamour or glory to the war. The deaths were very brutal and lifelike.
The director, Ridley Scott, did a wonderful job of showing the gory scenes. He showed people cut in half, gallons upon gallons of blood, and many innocent and not so innocent people being shot at and killed. Normally directors would knock out all of the blood and guts because that isn’t what they think people want to see. But Scott showed the pain, agony, and brutality of war.
One never got to know the characters very well, so one would assume that “Black Hawk Down” was about the team efforts of the army, not a specific soldier or general. I really liked that.
In the movie, there were a few very touching scenes. I loved the scene in the end where the “Hum-vie” stops for an elderly man who is carrying a dead child across the road. There were many scenes that show how much the soldiers care for one another. I liked how they tried not to leave a soldier behind, dead or alive. It wasn’t so much in the actions that one saw how much the soldiers cared for one another, as in their expressions on their faces. It really takes good acting to portray those emotions the way they were.
I never saw many of the African’s faces. The only times I did, they were expressing rage or terrible sadness. I really enjoyed “Black Hawk Down,” even though it wasn’t as gripping as a few of the other war movies. I would recommend this movie to people of ages 14 and up. People any younger might think this movie was pointless because there were no characters you got to know personally.
END
At the Gaslight
Dad: four stars
Daughter: three stars
By Brent & Katherine Northup
Tales of military courage are frequently either melodramatic, overly simplistic or both. More often than not, they end up being more concerned with capitalizing on patriotic fervor than on truly exploring the nature of battle. But Ridley Scott’s “Black Hawk Down” is the exception, an honest portrayal of battlefield honor with few cliches, no stars and no flag waving.
A friend of mine, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, observed that courage is often a function of protecting friends – as opposed to a conscious choice to act “nobly.” “Black Hawk Down” confirms that view, telling a story that revolves around “leaving no one behind.”
The script is very un-Hollywood in its nature. There are no real stars. The characters are not fully fleshed out. Instead, we are asked to focus on a unit of men, seeing them as a team rather than as separate people. We become attached to their sense of duty and to their willingness to lay down their lives for each other. We are also touched by their human weaknesses – the fear of death, the pain of being hit, the repulsion at seeing friends’ bodies torn apart by explosions.
In the end, the film ends up being, for me, a portrait of the courage of “the unknown soldiers,” not unlike those honored at Arlington. There’s no John Wayne or Arnold Schwarzenegger to steal the spotlight from the quiet acts of courage from “nameless” people.
At first, I couldn’t decide whether the film romanticized war or whether it served as an anti-war treatise. At different times, both seemed true. On the one hand, there’s a tendency to see this battle (set in Somalia in 1993) as a noble cause to help the oppressed east Africans. On the other hand, it's very clear how futile and counterproductive the effort was. Historically, troops are soon withdrawn with little to show for the mission – except graves under the soil of two countries.
I ultimately decided to translate “Black Hawk Down’s” complex vision as anti-war, but pro-soldier. It’s the equivalent of putting a rose on a grave on Memorial Day, without bothering to ask what war or for what reason. All we care about is that this soldier reflected a sense of duty that enabled him to lay down his life for others – and that, alone, is worthy of a quiet prayer of thanks.
There’s more to be said on this subject, of course. The civilian decisions that put military lives at stake are often politically motivated. Too often our soldiers die for suspect causes, as pawns in political ploys. Most tragically, humanity seems far too quick to seek military answers to resolve a human conflict. Peaceful ways are often available, but ignored.
But there are times, as when concentration camps were liberated, when the willingness to send a soldier into a battle seems undeniably courageous. For those interested in the ethics of war, as I am, there is much to read on Just War and related subjects. Even Catholic priests, on occasion, have seen limited justification for conflict "as a last resort" to protect lives. On the other hand, pacifists such as Gandhi would find few or no instances where bloodshed could be justified.
Similarly, Archbishop Tutu of South Africa has written provacatively about forgiveness - especially after the brutality of a war ends. Those words, too, are worth deep reflection.
In any case, no matter why troops were put in harm’s way, it’s appropriate to silently honor those willing to die for each other. Such a sense of duty is admirable and such a death deserves a silent prayer. It’s not primarily an act of patriotism to honor them, it’s more act of gratitude and respect.
And it matters little under what soil the body lies – in most cases the courage of that soldier is irrelevant to the decisions that asked him to give his life. We pray for his soul and thank him for his courage, and leave to historians and to moral leaders the task of sorting sort out the justice of the battle itself. And, of course, we pray for an end to war, even while honoring the warriors of battles past.
END of Dad
=======================
START of Daughter:
Daughter Katherine, 14, saw the film with me. Her reaction was very insightful, in vivid contrast to the fear she used to show when seeing war movies. She has clearly begun to see movies on a multitude of levels, able to step above the images to reflect on the messages and the motives.
Here are Katherine’s views about “Black Hawk Down”
Written by Katherine Northup
“Black Hawk Down” was slightly different than other war films. It wasn’t a movie about how some American hero saves the day even though some unimportant people die. “Black Hawk Down” was a very realistic portrayal of war and it didn’t have added any glamour or glory to the war. The deaths were very brutal and lifelike.
The director, Ridley Scott, did a wonderful job of showing the gory scenes. He showed people cut in half, gallons upon gallons of blood, and many innocent and not so innocent people being shot at and killed. Normally directors would knock out all of the blood and guts because that isn’t what they think people want to see. But Scott showed the pain, agony, and brutality of war.
One never got to know the characters very well, so one would assume that “Black Hawk Down” was about the team efforts of the army, not a specific soldier or general. I really liked that.
In the movie, there were a few very touching scenes. I loved the scene in the end where the “Hum-vie” stops for an elderly man who is carrying a dead child across the road. There were many scenes that show how much the soldiers care for one another. I liked how they tried not to leave a soldier behind, dead or alive. It wasn’t so much in the actions that one saw how much the soldiers cared for one another, as in their expressions on their faces. It really takes good acting to portray those emotions the way they were.
I never saw many of the African’s faces. The only times I did, they were expressing rage or terrible sadness. I really enjoyed “Black Hawk Down,” even though it wasn’t as gripping as a few of the other war movies. I would recommend this movie to people of ages 14 and up. People any younger might think this movie was pointless because there were no characters you got to know personally.
END