I saw "Why We Fight" in a small theater in a largely liberal town, and most of the others in the place were chuckling with self congratulation whenever one of the interviewed faces said something about how bad the United States was or how the government and the military-industrial complex had turned our land into an evil place.
I was disgusted with these people, since they seemed to be so thrilled at being made to look right in their own viewpoints that the implication of the downfall of the good old USA in the bargain did not temper their laughter.
I found myself thinking, "This is actually a pretty well done movie, but....". What are those 'buts'? For one thing, the film cannot really be called a true documentary, since it is almost exclusively made up of personal opinions without backup - people say things with a straight face and authoritative voices, but how qualified are they and how accurate are their assertions? Few actual facts are presented and what remains amounts to little more than a parade of opinions. Another thing, I got the impression that many of these people on the screen had more complex ideas and understanding of the issues than what ended up after editing. Is the result an accurate portrayal or is it biased, accidentally or deliberately? The movie does not say and the viewer is left without an answer to the question posed by the film's title.
If the film maker's intention was to simply ask a question and present an overview of the many reasons that might qualify as answers, then I would say that it is a job well done. If the intention was to tell the viewer what the answer is, then it fails miserably.
I think in truth the reasons why the USA goes to war are as numerous as the stars in the sky. Some reasons are noble, some understandable, some self-serving, and some very regrettable. Few are evil, although I have little doubt that at least some of our leaders and public servants, past and present, ARE evil. And, most of our targets in these wars are even more evil (Nazis, dictators, war lords, etc), but this film never really addresses the possibility that good reasons figure into the mix in any significant way. And that is where this film really fails us.
I was disgusted with these people, since they seemed to be so thrilled at being made to look right in their own viewpoints that the implication of the downfall of the good old USA in the bargain did not temper their laughter.
I found myself thinking, "This is actually a pretty well done movie, but....". What are those 'buts'? For one thing, the film cannot really be called a true documentary, since it is almost exclusively made up of personal opinions without backup - people say things with a straight face and authoritative voices, but how qualified are they and how accurate are their assertions? Few actual facts are presented and what remains amounts to little more than a parade of opinions. Another thing, I got the impression that many of these people on the screen had more complex ideas and understanding of the issues than what ended up after editing. Is the result an accurate portrayal or is it biased, accidentally or deliberately? The movie does not say and the viewer is left without an answer to the question posed by the film's title.
If the film maker's intention was to simply ask a question and present an overview of the many reasons that might qualify as answers, then I would say that it is a job well done. If the intention was to tell the viewer what the answer is, then it fails miserably.
I think in truth the reasons why the USA goes to war are as numerous as the stars in the sky. Some reasons are noble, some understandable, some self-serving, and some very regrettable. Few are evil, although I have little doubt that at least some of our leaders and public servants, past and present, ARE evil. And, most of our targets in these wars are even more evil (Nazis, dictators, war lords, etc), but this film never really addresses the possibility that good reasons figure into the mix in any significant way. And that is where this film really fails us.