miércoles, 28 de abril de 2010

The U.S. Flag is Not Flying in This Film

By: Jéssica Medrano
The Hurt Locker is not another war movie where you will see a soldier giving his life to save his friends. There is not a Forrest Gump that runs with Bubba on his back, or a Company trying to rescue a soldier named Ryan. The soldiers are not heroes in this movie; they are just trying to survive. They want to go back home alive. That is the mission. The enemy is always an enemy and even their friends can be an enemy. In this film, freedom is not the reason the U.S. is in Iraq. The Hurt Locker is a critique of the U.S handling of the Iraq conflict. The three characters represent the different views towards the war. War is not an addiction for the soldiers; it is an addiction for the U.S.A.


First, it is necessary to review the U.S.'s recent history, just to be sure which war we are talking about. In March 20, 2003, the United States led the invasion of Iraq under the argument that the world needed to eliminate the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and to undermine Saddam Hussein's power. Nevertheless, this version was denied later. After seven years of war, 4,390 U.S. military personnel and 104,588 Iraqis civilians have died ("Antiwar" and "Iraq Body Count").


The Hurt Locker film is set in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2004. The drama is about three members of Bravo Company. It is a U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal(EOD) unit that has lost its team leader when they only had 38 days left in Iraq. So the Sergeant First Class, William James (Jeremy Renner) becomes the team leader of the unit. The group is completed with the Sergeant J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty). They have to communicate via radio with their team leader who is inside of a bomb suit, and provide him with rifle cover while he examines explosive devices. However, it does not pretend to be a blurb film about the Iraqi liberation. On the contrary, we do not see any action to help Iraqi people because what really matters to the soldiers is not to die. This independent film was first released theatrically in Italy in 2008, but it was not until June, 2009 that it was released in the United States. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow. The screenplay was written by Mark Boal, a freelance writer who was embedded as a journalist in 2004 with a US bomb squad in Iraq("Story link Mark Boal"). The Hurt Locker won six Academy Awards in 2010, including best picture and best director for Kathryn Bigelow ("Oscar Winners").

J. Boggs and D.W. Petrie in The Art of Watching Films affirm:
A film can use symbolism to reinforce its theme or to add depth to the story. Symbols can be repeated for emphasis or can be metaphoric, in such a way that their value in the story exceeds the value normally represented by that object . An object can also be given specific value by a character in order to increase its worth to the viewer. Critical acceptance of symbolism in film will often depend on whether the symbol is new and original or whether it is a cliché. (71)

Meanwhile, William Harmon in A Handbook to Literature defines the symbol as " an image that evokes an objective reality and prompts that reality to suggest another level of meaning. the symbol evokes an object that suggests meaning" (497). The Hurt Locker's script is full of symbolic elements that try to show how, since the beginning, the U.S. has badly managed the situation in Iraq. A flag, a cross, and even a person can symbolize another element of our reality.

In the film, Sergeant William James represents a nation's government: The United States' government. He is the team leader and his decisions affect the rest of the group. James is shown as a young expert in bomb disposal that enjoys to be at risk because feels the combat's adrenaline and, at the same time, he wins the respect and flattery of his superiors. With only 227 years of life, The United States is a young country compared to its elderly European neighbors. Nonetheless, this country acts as a leader to the different nations both economically and militarily. Power, as adrenaline, is also addictive. But the power that the U.S enjoys has not been peaceful. The conflict in Iraq is just one of many examples. James is a portrait of this nation. When Colonel Reed asks him how many bombs he has disposed of, the young soldier smiles and boasts a final number: 873. Like James, the U.S has been in so many military operations that seem incredible for a young nation. Since the American Revolutionary War in 1783, the US has been in 295 military operations around the world ("Grimmett").

The sequence of the young Sergeant´s first mission as team leader is another example of how James´ figure is used to critique the role played by the U.S. in the war in Iraq. In this scene, James decides to confront a bomb threat, ignoring the formal procedure. While he's walking toward the bomb, he throws a smoke bomb. "Creating a diversion," he argues when his partner ask him what is going on. However, the smoke allows James to be outside the visibility of his peers. This smoke screen represents the arguments that U.S. used to justify Iraq's invasion. The government affirmed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, but a couple years later this version was denied. This version created a distraction for the others nations and for the American citizens that, as Sanborn and Eldridge in the movie, were panicking over the potential threat. Like James, the U.S. ignored the formal procedure and created that smoke screen to do what it wanted: invade Iraq. The rest of the nation was practically ignored. James' immature action put in danger his comrades that see him as their leader.

After finishing the mission in Iraq we see James in his home with his family. He is doing domestic chores but he is thinking about going back to Iraq. James cannot handle domestic problems so he decides to go back to Iraq. It is a critique about how the U.S government is ignoring the nation's problems because all its concentration is in the different wars in which the country is involved.

On the other hand, JT Sanborn symbolizes a man who follows the rules, the formal procedure. He has to be in communication with James but he never listens to him. If James represents the U.S., Sanborn represents the United Nations. It can sound complex but there is a sequence that shows this image in a implicit way. In the sequence of the second mission, for example, there is a car bomb in a building and, surprise, surprise, it is the U.N. building. During the scene, Sanborn has to go into the building and cover James while he examines explosive devices. From the U.N. building, Sanborn gives instructions to James. After the evacuation is done, Sanborn asks James that they can leave because the situation is under control. However James does not answer. "We got a lot of eyes on us. We need to get out of here," Sanborn claims but James does not want to hear him. James takes off his headset and we hear that Sanborn continues to repeat the same thing, but nobody listens to him. Like James ignores Sanborn, the U.S. ignored the U.N. when they did not support the intervention in Iraq. The U. S. did not comply with the recommendations made by the U.N. The phrase " We got a lot of eyes on us" can be a reference to the constant attention that the invasion attracted in the international community.

The third character is the specialist Owen Eldridge. He is the soldier that hates the war. He is there because he has to be there. His dream is to come back home alive and unhurt. He represents the desire of all the soldiers and families of soldiers. He is not proud to be in Iraq. " If you are in Iraq, you are dead ", Eldridge says. It is the phrase that sums up the fears of this character. He could be James' antagonist. Eldridge does not even want to shoot his rifle. After he is accidentally hurt thanks to James imprudence, Eldridge complains to his team leader that his injury happened because of his addiction to the war. "That is what happens when you fucking shoot someone. Fuck you, James. Thanks for saving my life, but we did not have go out looking for trouble", Eldridge says. This phrase are the complaints of all the families and soldiers who say to their leaders that the injuries and deaths in Iraq are the result of their bad decisions.

In the movie, we do not see the U.S. helping Iraqis. Everybody is suspect, everybody could be the enemy. The country is in ruins thanks to the war. The soldiers do not care about the Iraqis' security. What really matters to them is their own security. The U.S. militaries show their authoritarianism. During the U.N. building bomb episode we also see how Colonel Reed gives the order to kill an Iraqi rebel even when his subordinate tells him that the man can survive. This is another critique about the situation in Iraq and how the authorities are managing the situation. Another example is when James points his gun at a taxi driver to force him to retreat. "If he was not a rebel, he sure will be one since now", says James after the incident. This scene reveals that the U.S.' actions in Iraq are exacerbating the anger among the Iraqis. It allows the rebels to attract more adherents to their ranks.

Finally, in my opinion, it is the absence of a symbol that gives the movie a huge meaning: The American Flag. In most war movies the flag is a typical cliché that represents the power and the victory of a country when it's flying, and its defeat when it is not. In 2 hours and ten minutes of the movie we do not see this cliché. In The Hurt Locker the U.S. flag is not flying. It does not appear. It means that this movie shows that U.S. has failed in the Iraq war.

The movie begins with a Chris Hedges' phrase: War is a drug. It sums up , in my opinion, the film's meaning. However, this is not a drug for the soldiers. It is a drug for our nation's leaders. Unfortunately, what happens with drug addicts, now that the war began, it will be very hard to end it. In conclusion, The Hurt Locker film is a critique of the war in Iraq and shows in James' image that the U.S is addicted to a losing war.

Works Cited
"Antiwar", Antiwar.com. " The Human Cost of Occupation" . Antiwar Org. April 5, 2010. 12 April 2010.web
Boggs, J. and D.W. Petrie. The Art of Watching Films. 6th Ed. Boston. McGrawHill. 2004. 71. Print
"Grimmett", Grimmett, Richard F. "CRS Report for the Congress: Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2007". www.au.af.mil. Air University. January 14, 2008.Web. 25 March 2010.
Harmon, William. A Handbook to Literature. 9th. Ed. New Jersey. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, 2003. 497. Print.
"Iraq body count", Iraqbodycount.com. Iraq Body Count Org. April 2, 2010.12 April 2010. Web
"Oscar winners", Oscar.com. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences & ABC, Inc. 2010. 26 March.2010.Web.
"Story link Mark Boal " Storylink.com. The Writers Store. N. dat. Web. 25 March 2010.
The Hurt Locker. Dir. Kathryn Bigelow. Per f. Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty. 2008. Summit Entertainment.2010. DVD.