On the War Prayer
Sep. 24th, 2010 12:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nilchanceI just watched the War Prayer, the one short film with Thomas Dekker and Jeremy Sisto based on Mark Twain's poem. It's... intense. Jeremy does PTSD very well, between this and L&O. And part of me is like "okay, Mark Twain, TOO HARSH on the military," but at the same time, that's a function of my own privilege as a civilian and as somebody who's never seen war. (ETA: After a few minutes, it occurs to me that the privilege of being a non-combatant is mostly because, as a lesbian and a woman and a person with disabilities, I'm not able to serve in the US military. I would have enlisted, if not for these things or for meeting my wife T while in high school.)
On further thought, I think I made the mistake I criticize certain right-wing parties for making. Twain's poem is written with the US military in mind, and the short is directed with the US military in mind, but the poem's rage itself is directed at war. Not the soldiers, but with the violence inherent in war. And I know that there's a difference between supporting the troops and supporting the war; I live by that difference, I protest and write letters and call senators based on that difference.
My parents were both veterans. My mom was 100% service connected disability, or in plain language, the US government agreed that her MS and her bipolar disorder and her PTSD were all connected to her time served in the Army. My dad served 20 years in the Air Force doing things he still can't tell me about. And they both protested the war, because the war was doing harm to the soldiers, and they had felt that harm, and they had lived it, and they carried that harm with them in their hearts. (ETA) And that harm led my mother to emotionally abuse her children; it's never just combatants who pay.(/ETA) It's not a weight I've had to carry, and I wish no one else ever bears, but that's not realistic.
Anyway. It's an unflinching short film, a little over 8 minutes, and Jeremy is wonderful and terrifying. Trigger warning for physical violence, PTSD and evangelism; the very last part is the reason I had to stop-start the movie 3 or 4 times.
On further thought, I think I made the mistake I criticize certain right-wing parties for making. Twain's poem is written with the US military in mind, and the short is directed with the US military in mind, but the poem's rage itself is directed at war. Not the soldiers, but with the violence inherent in war. And I know that there's a difference between supporting the troops and supporting the war; I live by that difference, I protest and write letters and call senators based on that difference.
My parents were both veterans. My mom was 100% service connected disability, or in plain language, the US government agreed that her MS and her bipolar disorder and her PTSD were all connected to her time served in the Army. My dad served 20 years in the Air Force doing things he still can't tell me about. And they both protested the war, because the war was doing harm to the soldiers, and they had felt that harm, and they had lived it, and they carried that harm with them in their hearts. (ETA) And that harm led my mother to emotionally abuse her children; it's never just combatants who pay.(/ETA) It's not a weight I've had to carry, and I wish no one else ever bears, but that's not realistic.
Anyway. It's an unflinching short film, a little over 8 minutes, and Jeremy is wonderful and terrifying. Trigger warning for physical violence, PTSD and evangelism; the very last part is the reason I had to stop-start the movie 3 or 4 times.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-24 06:08 pm (UTC)The film is an awesome, difficult commentary, and will never be seen nor acknowledged by those who need it most.
Thank you for sharing.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-24 06:19 pm (UTC)My stepfather was in the Armed Forces (and I have other words about him, but for another time perhaps), and I wanted to agree with your statement that yes, combatants are not the only ones who pay. It's difficult, being in a military family or living with those who serve.
Thank you so much for sharing this.