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Sunday, February 01, 2015

Why We Line Up for American Sniper

It’s honest, the opposite of a simple-minded war movie.
What made the ending of America’s top-grossing movie of the past two weeks so extraordinary was what happened not during the movie but after it. Anyone who’s seen it will tell you. It was the silence, the silence as American Sniper came to an end. There was no soundtrack blaring at us as the credits rolled, a bold decision by the movie’s 84-year-old director, Clint Eastwood. That choice had its intended effect; not one person in the theater spoke while they rolled.

In a world where silence is difficult to find anywhere human beings gather — and even where we don’t — Clint Eastwood created a space for the audience to just shut up for a moment and share some silent time together, without comment, without opinion or text or tweet.

But it wasn’t just the silence. It was the stillness. Not one person in a very full theater moved as the credits rolled. Not one person got up and tried to beat the crowd or got on the phone.

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13 comments:

  1. This movie doesn't glorify war. If anything it makes a strong statement about how we treat veterans and the toll of multiple deployments.
    Our government creates these soldier robots to do the nations dirty work.

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  2. This off of the heels of "The Interview" is a stark contrast.

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  3. 7:44 our govt doesn't create soldiers. When good men don't fight evil, then evil prevails. Chris Kyle knew that. Our movie theatre was silent also. Very moving story. A true American hero.

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  4. I loved the movie because it showed a story of a true American hero, and I like seeing Muslim Terrorist getting killed!

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  5. Boycott the interview.

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  6. To an extent I have to agree with 7:44PM. However, not on Kyle's level.
    The 'killing machines' that the gov't does create are impressionable young men who show a strong patriotic resolve, who are unattached to family and believe anything they do will help save the foundations of America.
    These are the same young men that Lt. Colonel Wendelle C. Stevens [USAF Ret] and Kay Griggs [the late wife of Marine Corps colonel George Griggs] spoke of in whistleblower interviews.
    So, yes, in that deep dark cesspool of the military's 'black budget', you know, the one with no oversight, you are buying gov't assassins.

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  7. he was not a hero. you are brain washed to think so

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  8. Chris wasn't a Hero! He was just doing his job that he was trained to do very well. Yes, he saved thousands with his skills, but not a hero. That word is reserved for a very select few.

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  9. be very careful! our government creates these individuals and then turns them loose on society. He's not a her, just a man doing his job of killing peole for our government. Wait until the government sees you as a threat. you know what's coming!

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  10. 5:22, if saving thousands of lives isn't good enough to be called a hero I'm just curious as to what you consider a "hero".

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  11. In Greek mythology a Hero was also a protector, this is what Kyle did, he protected the soldiers by shooting the enemy. The enemy being Muslims. Too bad we don't have a bunch of these guys operating all over the world taking out Muslims!

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  12. wow there are some really sick people on here. If you had a clue about what our government does not only to it's own citizens but also to those of other countries you would not be so supportive of this type of terrorism. We are just as bad as they are but we do it for all the right reasons, right? BS our boys shouldn't even be over there!

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  13. 5:22, if saving thousands of lives isn't good enough to be called a hero I'm just curious as to what you consider a "hero".

    January 29, 2015 at 10:21 AM

    Being a hero means doing something heroic. He might be a hero to those he saved but thats not heroic, thats doing his job, what he was trained to do.

    Anyone with the proper training can be a sniper nowadays. The rifle does most of the work aided by technology. He was good at his job and enjoyed it. Bragging about killing people does not make one a hero. He just liked killing 'rag head savages'. his words, not mine.

    He should have kept his mouth shut and not lie. He was just someone who liked killing people and he thought he was being patriotic by doing so.

    He was a tool for the government in a war we had no business being in for the reasons given.

    And keep in mind there are also untruths in the movie as well. And yes, there is also a bit of propaganda thrown in to get people to chant USA USA and feel good about an invasion that should never have happened.

    He was a good sniper, hero? Not so much.

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