Some will say that when writing a blog, article, or whatever, the author must remove emotion and focus solely on substance. Matthew Gault’s War is Boring Medium Blog on the movie “Lone Survivor” has forced me in the other direction and to respond with passionate emotion. What really set me off was his characterization of the movie as “Torture Porn” or even “War Porn.” I take offense to this characterization knowing that the family of those depicted in the movie, Gold Star Family Members, supported the film, because I too am a Gold Star Family member.
I, like most military service members, can be very critical of military based movies because of historical or technical inaccuracies; however, as I stated in my own take on Lone Survivor, I have come to realize that in some cases, the underlying themes and messages are more important than pure authenticity. Matthew’s statement that “a Real tragedy is lost in a narrative mess of nasty violence and cynical box office cash grabber” is upsetting, because its characterization as “Torture Porn” misses the true nature of the film and its purpose. Movies such as Hunt for Red October, Crimson Tide, Top Gun, or even Act of Valor can be characterized as “Torture/War Porn” along with many of the music laced videos on YouTube glorifying combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, movies line Lone Survivor and Black Hawk Down are more akin to the STD safety videos/briefings given to Soldiers at the start of the weekend before they get entangled with the locals in the ville — they are designed to explain the consequences of decisions made. These movies are designed to portray in raw fashion the consequences made when the nation chooses to go to war and the impact it has on the service members and their families. Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Myers said it best recently that this movie or story, accused as propaganda, “is our reality.”
Matthew takes shots at Peter Berg, maybe out of dislike for his previous films, without taking consideration on how Peter made the film. As I said in the beginning regarding the families of the fallen depicted, Peter Berg along with the actors took considerable time to meet with the families to gain their support and ensure that the portrayal of their loved ones was accurate. I have watched the behind the scenes videos and all the interviews with the families and when Donna Alexson says that she thanked Ben Foster for giving her son back for those two hours; I take her word for it as an endorsement. Dan Murphy, the father of Medal of Honor recipient Lieutenant Michael Murphy, also endorsed the film’s portrayal of his son. “The action sequences are rendered less powerful by the movie’s reliance on tasteless slow-motion death sequences and forced melodrama” described by Matthew did not equate to my feeling of those scenes. Instead, it reminded me of my friends lost in Iraq, Afghanistan, or training for deployment: Travis Patriquin, Vincente Pomante, Megan McClung, Jason West, Timothy Kennedy, Brian Bunting, Joseph Lister, Anthony Carmen, Rowdy Inman, Robert Badger, and Humayan Khan. I could imagine the feeling of what the families of the 19 men killed that day depicted in the movie, along with that of my friends, when they are receiving the flag and hearing “On Behalf of a grateful nation…” Those words ring painfully for me not only because I memorized them in preparation as a casualty assistance officer, but also, because those very same words were said to me as the flag was removed from my little brother, Anthony Kalladeen’s casket.
The violence depicted in the movie is not overly graphic or “Fetish” as Matthew put it. It is real violence and the injuries are in line with the autopsy reports. Danny Dietz’s father wanted to ensure that Peter Berg accurately highlighted the numerous times his son was wounded and read him the injuries from the autopsy report. As someone who went to Dover Air Force Base, I remember visualizing in my head what the impact an IED and small arms fire had done to my brother and how I would have to explain that to my family. As I saw the film, the violence and in the injuries were less than those depicted in other war movies or in PS4/Xbox video games. In fact, that is the reason I wanted my stepson to watch the movie so that he could realize and appreciate what real war looks like and that there is no reset button. Equally, I feel America in general needs to see what real combat violence looks like. It has been too insulated from the decision our policy makers have made and from a real lack of awareness of what service members are doing on their behalf.
America also needs to know that the 6,000 plus service members who died in Iraq and Afghanistan didn’t simply die for some patriotic notion to their country. They died for each other and those they left behind. When Ben Foster, portraying Matt Alexson, wants Marcus Luttrell to tell his wife that he loved her and that he died with his “Brothers” serves a powerful statement. It is the same for Eric Bana, playing a fallen SEAL, who provides an equally powerful statement in Black Hawk Down as a Delta Operator when he said “it’s about the man standing next to you.” That is the underlying message and purpose of Lone Survivor that everyone both military and civilian alike need to know. We do it for each other. As a friend and mentor, a former Navy SEAL and Army Special Forces Soldier, told me… “Not for Self, For Soldiers, For Each Other.” As I think back of the Soldiers who served alongside my brother, I am comforted by the fact that I know he died protecting them. I want America to know his and every story of those who died for their country. I felt that way when William Doyle asked to interview me for the book he we wrote about Travis Patriquin.
Matthew’s description when the SEALS tumbled down the mountains is disingenuous at best when he said “One particularly awful scene shows the four SEALs jumping from the edge of a cliff while the world explodes behind them, invoking cheesy 1980s network TV action shows.” Whether he likes it or not, the SEALS did have to navigate tough terrain while under fire. Whether they jumped all at once as depicted or at various times doesn’t matter. What matters is that they jumped as a TEAM because they were fighting to protect one another. I also took a different perspective of the jump scene. They were jumping to protect one another. They were jumping to continue their fight against the Taliban who had supported Al Qaeda’s attack against the U.S. on 9/11. Many Americans today forget that we went to war in Afghanistan because we witnessed almost 3,000 of our citizens murdered by Al Qaeda sponsored by the same Taliban. When you watch the movie closely, and the documentary “Murph: the Protector” you realize that Murphy was wearing the patch of a New York Fire Department Engine Company to remind him and his teammates why they were in Afghanistan. So to me, the jump and the patch metaphorically means that they, along with the 6,000 services members who died in Afghanistan and Iraq, died to avenge those lost on 9-11 because. There was a parallelism between their jump and those who jumped from the World Trade Center. They jumped so that in the future, our citizens would never have to.
Chad Pillai an U.S. Army strategist. The views expressed in this article are his alone and do not reflect the official policy of position of the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
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