AMERICAN SNIPER

When I recently saw the American Sniper, I empathized mostly with the wife. Families are often the victims of war. My buddy says, "marketing ploy." My skeptical buddy aside, I have been blown away with the controversy and polarity of this movie. 

Kyle was tragically killed by a deranged fellow vet. The trial is happening now. Here is another little bit of an aside, Originally, I wrote this piece before I saw the movie. I was anxious to see if I would change much now that I had seen the pic. No, not really. I had heard so much about the movie. It fleshed out a few things. 

Just a word about the story: no criticism as the movie portrayed Chris Kyle as a hero and God knows we need a few of those. But, as ex military, thought this. "Number of kills," how did they figure that? In Nam we went through the "body count" fiasco. You kill a VC, here is his hand, one body. Oh, there's an arm, another body, see what I mean? How did they determine that? 

And then there is the episode with the idiot, Jesse Venturi, that got over a million bucks from suing about an incident in the book--upon which the movie was based.  Supposedly, Kyle got into a fight with Ventura (which never happened.) Oh well. There's a little fiction in all writing, a little embelishment here and there. 

If there is much of that, it has to be trying to put a story together with some intrigue, mystery like hunting down Kyle's enemy, also a sniper who actually went to the Olympics representing Iraq. True, yes/no. Maybe. 

I don't care much for the super critics like Bill Maher, Seth Rogen, and Michael Moore. As a euphemism, they are a sorry bunch of draft dodging MFers as far as I am concerned. If I have to choose, I choose Chris Kyle. 

I don't like war movies; my two memories relating slightly to this was seeing "Hair" (a stage play) in London whole Vietnam was going on. I kept thinking what about dropping a grenade in the middle of the performance. And, then after hesitating forever, going to see "Platoon." It was better, mainly because I was with my main squeeze at the time and could divide my interest between the movie and her. 

The popularity of "American Sniper" is a little baffling to me. Chris Kyle was a terrific soldier from all accounts. Let's don't take anything away from his patriotism; his bravery and commitment to fellow soldiers. All that being said, there's a "but" here; we are presently in a period of all things military is grandeur personified. I think, as I have read many places, it is easy to glorify the soldier when you have no "skin" in the game. Sitting on the sidelines, cheering those brave men and women on and raising your right hand and saying "I do" to serving, ain't the same. As I use to say about the protests during Vietnam, "protesting on the mean streets of Berzerly and hanging out in the rice paddies of Vietnam, ain't one and the same either." 

Because we have less than one percent of "Mericans" who even know anybody in the military, they don't know the ins and outs. The President may have gotten enamored with all those generals in uniform with a chest full of hero medals but us former military types think what the f..k when we see them. These guys must dress each other. 

The movie points out a few things that are timeless, Kyle's utter frustration at life going on in America while American soldiers are dying at war. I can remember the same emotion when I was in Vietnam. How in the world can this happen. We are over here in this noble cause and the rest of America doesn't give a f..k. 

Well first of all it was not a noble cause. It is the perpetual dilemma of modern day soldiering. You go to serve. You lose your identity in who you are as a  a soldier. You do not decide the course. You do what you are told. But, along the way there are doubts. These surfaced just briefly and not from Kyle but a fellow soldier. 

Bradley  Cooper is Chris Kyle and Chris Kyle is Bradley Cooper; fascinating movie if you understand the military and the "South." Hard to watch in a way. Kyle for real is a Texan, raised by "right wing" fundamentalist Christians. He learns to shoot and pretty much  adopts his father's views. If this sounds like criticism, somebody slap me. It is about Southern roots which can be forgiven for not always connecting the dots.