Waving the Flag is Easier Than Thinking

Rating: 1/10 (9 February 2002)

Black Hawk Down comes, at what seems to me, to be a crucial time in the development of American Democracy. As a nation we have been through a great deal over the past five months. In many ways we have passed through this time with high marks. We have not interred innocent Muslims, Afghanis, Saudis, as was the response in 1942 to the "parallel" events at Pearl Harbor and the World Trade Center. We have not yet (except for Afghanistan) bombed anyone back to the Stone Age. For that, I am a grateful Human.
The film Black Hawk Down makes me worry though, that any sense of reasonableness may last. Despite the film craftsmanship of Ridley Scott, this is a very flawed war film philosophically. It is jingoism at a time when this nation and its citizen's need is thoughtful reflection.

I came away from this film deeply disturbed by its need to resort to "war film clichés." That there is only one "token" Afro American US soldier, and at the same time the Somalis are portrayed as nothing but a swarm of angry bees is inexcusable. See The Thin Red Line to see a thoughtful portrayal of enemy. The one character we get even a minute amount of information on is obviously the first casualty. The speech at the end about "Why we do this" (soldiers fighting battles) is nothing but an echo of the Tom Hanks' speech at the end of the "anti-war" film, Saving Private Ryan.

Mr. Scott is not just any filmmaker. His gratuitously violent Gladiator won an academy award (sic). Like Mr. Spielberg, who has nothing but room to take chances to make the World a better place, only communicate to the lowest common denominator.
I've read an IMDb user's comment, "I was there - where were you?" My answer, I wasn't there thankfully. For a more honest version of what went on in Mogadishu, I suggest the PBS's (yes, the petroleum broadcasting network's) Frontline report, which was much more disturbing than this Gollywood version of "War is Hell."