opinions // 20

theotherpress.ca

National egotism and propaganda

» ‘American Sniper’ 1s an encapsulating project rooted in pride

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
M opinions
@theotherpress.ca

hen Seth Rogen and

Michael Moore voiced
their opinion on American
Sniper—the number one
movie in January with over
$100-million in box office over
the long weekend—it was
targeted at the machine that
was America.

Rogen, accustomed to
controversies, compared
the highly acclaimed film
to the third act of Quentin
Tarantino’s Inglourious
Basterds. One may remember
the scene in which Hitler
and his posse sat in a theatre,
watching a movie with a sniper
on higher ground taking out
Allied soldiers. He said it
without saying it; Rogen was
pretty much comparing Clint
Eastwood to Leni Riefenstahl
and the American public to
animals akin to Nazis.

Moore, the director of
Oscar-winning documentary
Bowling for Columbine, added
in a tweet: “Only a coward will

back.” A Japanese sniper killed

: Moore’s uncle almost 70 years
: ago.

The story of US Navy

: SEAL Chris Kyle, portrayed by
: Bradley Cooper, was a haunting :
: one. Were we watching a film

: about a national hero or an

: international murderer? Either
: way, I believe it’s an honest war
: movie.

Of course, movies with a

: patriotic undertone have been
: a popular genre in cinematic

: catalogues since the existence
: of filmmaking. The original

: purpose of motion pictures was
: not just to entertain but also

: to persuade. How is American
: Sniper any different from

: the rallying war and disaster

: movies that made regular

: civilians feel empowered?

The criticisms aren't

directed at the performance

: or the movie itself, but the

: encompassing scenarios.

: Why is America hell-bent

: on murder, enough so to

; transform a normal man into

: such a weapon? What does it

: say about the current system of
: politics and recovery? How are

: we helping those transitioning

from normal life to a life of war

, : and then back again?
shoot someone who can’t shoot :

Although I agree with

: Rogen that the movie comes

: across as enemy-murder

: porn, and I understand

: where Moore is coming from,

: down people from a hiding

: spot, I don’t believe that the
: movie is anything more than
: areflection on the way we

: that focus not just on the

: event, but also on the

: repercussions. I want to see

: the brutality of it. ] want to see
: the broken relationships and

: the torturous anguish. I don’t

: want to see it glamourized

: like in many action movies.

: I want to watch a war movie

: and feel fortunate that there

: are those participating in such
: duties. And then I want to feel
: disappointed that I live ina

: world where we require people
: to participate, to enrol, to risk

: their lives, and to end the lives
: of others.

other Hollywood-produced

: war movies, has a clear

: identification of the enemy,

: but know this: not everything
: in movies is real. In fact, none
of it is—they’re movies.

saying that heroes don’t gun

ourselves react to war.
Honestly, I enjoy movies

American Sniper, like many

 

Photo by Keith Bernstein - © 2014 - Warner Bros. Entertainment

 

Seen or overlooked

» There is no such thing as objective journalism
: : has already agreed on instead

: of organizing facts in an

: understandable way.

“hs Kate Jacobson
The Gauntlet
ournalism can’t be objective,
as newspaper articles are
written by people influenced
by their own experiences.

We're hampered by the
idea that news stories consist
of either hard facts or personal
opinions, with no overlap
between the two. When we
stop trying to force our work
to be objective, we can spend
time ensuring that our work is
accurate.

People think of journalists
as a group whose only job is
to share information with
the public. That’s not true.
Journalists collect information,
but they also organize it and
look for patterns. And our
biases influence what we see
and what we overlook.

Unless journalists are
publishing transcripts of
events word-for-word, we have
to make judgments about
what is important to the story.
The selection of sources and
quotations is a process prone to
personal bias.

Of course, every news

: story can’t bea platform for the
: author’s opinion. Providing

: information isn’t about

: convincing others that the way
: you see the world is correct.

: But it’s hypocritical to act

: like the way you see the world

: doesn’t affect what you view as

: objective.

Journalists can still be

: trusted sources, even if we

: admit that we're biased. I have
: no doubt that most Calgary

: Herald reporters care about

: what happens in the city. Its

: reporters likely vote and are

: political partisans. But I still

: trust what they have to say

: about city politics. Admitting
: that journalists have opinions
: and pre-conceptions doesn’t

: mean that everything we say or
: do is trying to convince others
: to share our beliefs.

Objectivity generally

: preserves the status quo. When
: we say objective, we usually

: mean the biases of people in

: power. Pretending that what

: we write is objective means

: we follow a narrative everyone

: to be unbiased on an issue just
: because you don’t experience

: the negative effects in your

: day-to-day life. Objectivity can
: lie because it forces journalists
: to present varying sources

: of information as equally

: important, regardless of

: context.

: more constructive if we talked
: about the content of people’s

: ideas instead of navel-gazing

: about how they were formed.

: Conceiving of the news as a set
: of issues with hard-and-fast

: truths and only two sides does
: a disservice to the complexity

: of the problems we face.

It’s no coincidence that

: people who benefit from

: power are seen as the most

: objective. Women who discuss
: sexism are often portrayed as

: irrational and biased. People

: of colour who address racism

: are criticized as petty and

: unprofessional.

But you aren't more likely

Our discussions would be

 

Part ane uP
Photo by Rhys Sosnowski