Junior government and politics major
On Wednesday, SEE postponed its planned showing of American Sniper.
To be clear, Student Entertainment Events has no obligation to show the movie, so the action was not “university censorship” or a restriction of free speech. SEE can choose to show whatever movies it wants, regardless of content.
But in this instance, SEE should show American Sniper instead of cowering before the misguided complaints of some students. The movie provides a single perspective of a man’s deployments in the Iraq War, and it does not deserve to be removed to cries of “war propaganda” and “intolerance.”
To start, SEE has generally chosen to screen for students movies that were popular at the box office or critically acclaimed. American Sniper, the top domestic-grossing film of 2014 that was nominated for six Academy Awards, easily meets these criteria. The movie is a logical choice that would have been attractive to many students interested in a perspective of the Iraq War, how soldiers deal with combat or the life of Chris Kyle. In addition, this university has many programs and recognitions for veterans, so this movie might appeal to many in that demographic.
Students are by no means forced to watch the movie in question.
Proponents of the movie ban have referred to Sniper as “war propaganda.” Most people who actually saw the movie would disagree with this statement. The movie makes no attempt to justify the Iraq War — director Clint Eastwood has said he opposed the Iraq War from the outset — but focuses on the toll it took on one man. The brutality of war, deaths of friends and emotional trauma are all at the forefront (and the purpose) of the movie. Even a letter from a fellow Navy SEAL is read, expressing doubt regarding the purpose of fighting in Iraq.
Far from being “war propaganda,” American Sniper shows how four deployments emotionally drain Kyle, alienate him from his family and force him to struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder. He convinces himself he needs to keep going to Iraq to fight, seemingly oblivious to the toll it takes on himself and those he loves. Even when he overcomes his need for combat and much of the PTSD, Kyle is killed by a fellow veteran, struggling with some of the same issues.
That’s not war propaganda. That’s a movie about how war impacts the people who fight.
Not every “war” movie must discuss the justification or themes of a war. Politicians argue over wars, but soldiers fight them.
A more controversial and difficult-to-answer objection is whether American Sniper encourages intolerance toward Muslims. I have no dispute with Salon’s Laura Miller when she states that, “In Kyle’s version of the Iraq war, the parties consisted of Americans, who are good by virtue of being American, and fanatic Muslims whose ‘savage, despicable evil’ led them to want to kill Americans simply because they are Christians.” But SEE did not require (or even offer) a reading of Kyle’s autobiography; rather, it gave students the option to watch a perspective on his life.
The movie makes no value judgments against Islam as a whole. It portrays combatants in Iraq as Middle Eastern and Muslim because that was the composition of the fighting force. The movie does not aim to discuss Islam, so it makes no effort to point out the fact that the vast majority of Muslims were noncombatants (and victims of the fighting). It briefly touches on the soldiers’ perspectives and attitudes toward Muslims because it seeks to portray the experience of American soldiers.
This university seeks to be a place of dialogue and diversity. By advocating the removal of a single perspective, students have shown their intolerance toward diversity of opinion and their unwillingness to consider alternative perspectives. Instead, students could have held a forum or advocated another movie to show a different perspective on the Iraq War. Free speech and dialogue allow us to understand other perspectives and see all facets of a particular issue. But by asking SEE to remove this movie, students have shown an unwillingness to respect other viewpoints.
If SEE bows to pressure now, will it ever show a movie that raises controversial questions and viewpoints? Should students petition campus organizations to ban speakers from events they have no obligation to attend? For a student body that claims to embrace tolerance, it seems hypocritical to remove an alternative perspective; thus, SEE should stick with its decision to show American Sniper.
Matt Dragonette is a junior accounting and government and politics major. He can be reached at mdragonettedbk@gmail.com.
