American Sniper

American Sniper is a recent film directed by Clint Eastwood about the most lethal sniper in U.S military history, Chris Kyle, played by actor Bradley Cooper. It is based on Kyle's Autobiography. It begins during Kyle's early life, growing up in Texas, dreaming of being a cowboy. It then continues on later in his life, where he decides to join the Navy Seals. Shortly after 9-11, he is deployed to Iraq, where he serves four tours. He is accredited with 256 kills, the most in U.S military history.

During each of his tours, as a sniper, he has a bird's-eye-view of most situations. Many of the situations that occur regarding the depictions of the Middle  Eastern inhabitants are warped in such a way that it seems as if the film is trying to convince the audience that all Middle Easterners are radical Muslim extremists, who are willing to kill their own children in order to kill the Americans. 

One instance of this occurs in the opening scene. Chris Kyle is watching a group of Marines move down a street, when an Iraqi mother and her son begin to approach. The mother hands a bomb to her very young son, who runs towards the group of soldiers and is consequently shot down by Kyle. The mother rushes forward, and instead of grabbing her dying child, she grabs the bomb and attempts to hurl it towards the soldiers. The film is portraying the Iraqi people not only as violent and bloodthirsty, but as uncompassionate as well, to the point where the audience begins to question the humanity of the Iraqi people as a whole. The film clearly perpetuates the stereotype of brutish Middle Easterners. 

At one point, an Iraqi man offers Kyle and his comrades a meal and shelter in his house. But even this Iraqi turns out to be a deceptive insurgent in disguise. The film not only perpetuates the brute stereotype of the Iraqis, but the stereotype of that you cannot trust them.

If you are willing to look past a plethora of stark racial stereotypes, and are looking to kill some time, I highly recommend American Sniper.