INTERNATIONAL RELATION

International Relation



International Relation

Introduction

What makes the United States, the land of the free and the home of the brave, so damn convinced that we must serve as the neighborhood police for the entire world? Are we genuinely concerned with evildoers? Are we, in fact, serving as the defender of the oppressed and downtrodden? OR is there an agenda? Are we, in fact, increasingly acting upon an almost blind vision for world domination? Do we wish to become the Rome of the 21st century?

Our answer to these questions may, in fact, determine just how much you are able to enjoy Eugene Jarecki's latest documentary, "Why We Fight," a film that essentially builds itself around former President Eisenhower's last address warning that America was headed towards becoming a nation of war dominated by its military industrial complex at the cost of true democracy. Much like Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," "Why We Fight" takes sides on the issue. Unlike Moore's film, Jarecki's film lacks the energy, insight and urgency necessary to effectively argue for a change in American culture that is, quite honestly, almost incomprehensible. "Why We Fight" is a kindler, gentler "Fahrenheit 9/11" ever so slightly mixed with the political tone of "Control Room."

Thesis Statement

"Why We Fight" is not as effective as either film, yet compelling enough to please most liberals and further irritate supporters of the our current administration's supporters. Despite its overwhelming obsession with the military industrial complex, "Why We Fight" is most effective when Jarecki focuses on the personal side of creating a culture of war.

Discussion

Jarecki brings to life the grief journey of Wilton Sekzer, a retired New York City cop and Vietnam Veteran, whose son was killed on 9/11 in the attack on the World Trade Center. Vacillating between grief and rage, Sekzer begins exploring outlets for his grief and wants revenge, clear and simple. When Bush clearly identifies Iraq as the target of our wrath, Sekzer begins e-mailing the powers that be asking to have his son's name written on a bomb to be dropped in the Iraq war.

Why We Fight is the most direct and decisive indictment of the politics that led to the current Iraq war yet presented onscreen. No comedy here, Michael Moore. No bull-rushing of congressmen. Just sober polemics. Straight to the gut. Efficient. Clean. America—“the new Rome,” as it is called in the film—is headed, like Rome, for collapse. Thank you, Mr. Bush.

No doubt, you have gleaned that Why We Fight contains, in its 99 minutes, a certain political bias; its ironic title is lifted from Frank Capra's WWII propaganda series made at the request of General George C. Marshall to inspire national unity and enlistment. Yet to immediately note this bias is not to say that the opinions presented in Why We Fight are necessarily untrue. Indeed, given the authority of the documentary's talking heads—which include Senator John McCain, Dan Rather, Gore Vidal, ex-CIA analyst Chalmers Johnson, and presidential son John S.D. Eisenhower—Why We Fights arguments sound frighteningly ...