The winner of the 2010 Academy Award for Best Picture, The Hurt Locker, is one of the most controversial, critically acclaimed and yet, unseen films to ever win the award.
The Story
The Hurt Locker follows the exploits of a three man team responsible for defusing mines in the Iraq War. The movie starts with the team leader being killed by a roadside bomb. The squad is then taken over by a reckless and cocky leader who makes a dangerous situation even more daunting. We discover that the new leader’s exploits are legendary as he has defused hundreds of bombs in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The other two members of the team focus on surviving until their assignment is complete, however they are convinced that the new leader will get them both killed with his irresponsible behavior.
As the story unfolds, the new team leader impresses his mates with his direction under fire. Yet, his careless behavior continues which leads to the wounding of one of the men. With the tour complete, the focus shifts to the reckless leader at home with his family as he yearns to get back into the fight. The movie ends with the leader outfitting his protective suit and walking alone presumably towards another roadside bomb.
The Meaning
First of all, The Hurt Locker is an accurate depiction of the Iraq War. The Iraq War, unlike other American wars, does not have any battles or defined missions. The United States, within a matter of days, controlled the country. So, instead of a war, Iraq is more like to an occupation. Each day, week and month of the Iraq War is marked by similar events happening again and again: suicide and roadside bombs. By having the story show one similar scene after another perfectly portrays the situation in Iraq.
However, what makes the movie rise to the level of greatness is its deeper meaning. The Hurt Locker demonstrates the cultural attitudes of present day America. For future generations, they can watch this movie to understand U.S. society in the early part of the twenty first century.
Today, America is reckless, arrogant and stands alone as the world’s only superpower. It doesn’t matter what issue of society you examine: Wall Street, consumer debt, the Afghan and Iraq War or government spending, Americans are being irresponsible and arrogant to the fact that they are flirting with disaster every day. In The Hurt Locker, the main character is an embodiment of all what is America in 2010. Acting almost like a John Wayne character, he believes America is still great and infallible, yet, in reality, he is negligent with no inclination that his actions may have consequences. He has been successful for hundreds of missions, as the United States has been successful for hundreds of years. And, the thought of failure isn’t even considered.
In the last scene, which is the most haunting, the reckless soldier walks alone into one more dangerous situation. The viewing audience is left to wonder whether or not he will make it out alive. As America reels in debt, ignores its problems and continues its reckless behavior, we must also ponder whether or not the United States will survive.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Little Miss Sunshine
When this low budget independent movie started to gain traction with theater audiences and received an Oscar nomination, there were many viewers who expressed confusion in regards to meaning of Little Miss Sunshine. And, based on the story, it seems logical why many Americans would not understand the meaning of this almost perfect cinematic tale.
The Story
Little Miss Sunshine is a story about a dysfunctional family living in New Mexico. The father is peddling a nine point plan for success that is gaining no acceptance. The mother realizes that her brother, the gay Proust scholar, unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide. The teenage son takes a vow of silence until he achieves his goal of flying jets in the Air Force. The young daughter is obsessed with beauty pageants and lastly, the grandfather is a heroin addict forced to live with his son since he was thrown out of his retirement home.
The story picks up with the realization that the daughter has just qualified for a beauty pageant in California and the family must drive together to attend. During this journey, the VW Van breaks down and can only start in third gear. The father finds out that his book deal is not moving forward. The grandfather dies of a heroin overdose. The gay brother discovers that his lover has left him for his rival and the teenage son finds out that he is color blind and cannot fly jets.
Just making it in time to the beauty pageant, the family is struck by the recognition that the girls in the pageant are much pretty than the daughter. Even though the family wants to stop the daughter from performing, she goes on anyway and does a striptease act taught to her by her grandfather. The movie climaxes with the entire family defending the daughter’s right to perform on stage.
The Meaning
Little Miss Sunshine is a Buddhist tale. For this reason, I believe many Americans have a hard time understanding it. Americans, like the characters in the movie, embrace a tomorrow thinking culture and they do not share the “today attitude” of Buddhist philosophy.
In the movie, the characters ignore today and dream or lament about tomorrow. The father obsesses about a book deal that will make him rich. The son sacrifices any social life to become an Air Force pilot. The daughter dreams about becoming a beauty queen. On the other side, the gay brother gives up on tomorrow since he is no longer the preeminent Proust scholar and the grandfather thinks there is nothing else to live for so he slowly commits suicide by heroin use.
Through all of this forward thinking, when the daughter is making a travesty of the beauty pageant by performing an inappropriate, yet innocent striptease act, the family stops thinking about tomorrow and embraces today. Each individually jumps on stage and dances along with the daughter showing defiance to the beauty pageant. The beauty pageant is a symbol of a forward thinking culture that prepares each of us to participate in future “beauty pageants” that will constitute our “success”. Collectively realizing that life is about the here and now, the family enjoys the moment and rebukes their forward thinking personas.
The Story
Little Miss Sunshine is a story about a dysfunctional family living in New Mexico. The father is peddling a nine point plan for success that is gaining no acceptance. The mother realizes that her brother, the gay Proust scholar, unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide. The teenage son takes a vow of silence until he achieves his goal of flying jets in the Air Force. The young daughter is obsessed with beauty pageants and lastly, the grandfather is a heroin addict forced to live with his son since he was thrown out of his retirement home.
The story picks up with the realization that the daughter has just qualified for a beauty pageant in California and the family must drive together to attend. During this journey, the VW Van breaks down and can only start in third gear. The father finds out that his book deal is not moving forward. The grandfather dies of a heroin overdose. The gay brother discovers that his lover has left him for his rival and the teenage son finds out that he is color blind and cannot fly jets.
Just making it in time to the beauty pageant, the family is struck by the recognition that the girls in the pageant are much pretty than the daughter. Even though the family wants to stop the daughter from performing, she goes on anyway and does a striptease act taught to her by her grandfather. The movie climaxes with the entire family defending the daughter’s right to perform on stage.
The Meaning
Little Miss Sunshine is a Buddhist tale. For this reason, I believe many Americans have a hard time understanding it. Americans, like the characters in the movie, embrace a tomorrow thinking culture and they do not share the “today attitude” of Buddhist philosophy.
In the movie, the characters ignore today and dream or lament about tomorrow. The father obsesses about a book deal that will make him rich. The son sacrifices any social life to become an Air Force pilot. The daughter dreams about becoming a beauty queen. On the other side, the gay brother gives up on tomorrow since he is no longer the preeminent Proust scholar and the grandfather thinks there is nothing else to live for so he slowly commits suicide by heroin use.
Through all of this forward thinking, when the daughter is making a travesty of the beauty pageant by performing an inappropriate, yet innocent striptease act, the family stops thinking about tomorrow and embraces today. Each individually jumps on stage and dances along with the daughter showing defiance to the beauty pageant. The beauty pageant is a symbol of a forward thinking culture that prepares each of us to participate in future “beauty pageants” that will constitute our “success”. Collectively realizing that life is about the here and now, the family enjoys the moment and rebukes their forward thinking personas.
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