The movie's protagonist, William James, lives through many unbelievable experiences in the film. One of these experiences was finding the mangled corpse of a boy whom he spent much of his time with in Iraq. This is unbelievable because out of all the children in the area of Iraq they were in, the one child he spent time with is the one that is gruesomely slain. One of Tim O'Brien's Criteria for a true war story was that it is unbelievable, and this portion of the film demonstrates how war is unbelievable.
Another unbelievable fact about this film brings into question the mental stability of William James when the same boy who was murdered appears later in the film perfectly fine. This corresponds with what O'Brien stated about how in true war stories it is difficult to decipher what occurred from what actually occurred because of the fact that even the main character questions what he saw and does not know if whether or not the disfigured corpse he discovered was his friend.
I haven't watched The Hurt Locker, but I've heard a lot about it and your review makes me want to watch. I think it's cool that Tim O'Brien criteria can been seen in present day media.
ReplyDeleteThat movie sounds really good! I think that you did a good job of explaining how all of the different Tim O'Brien requirements for a true war story apply to the film. It seems like they would all apply to the film. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThe Hurt Locker is one of my favorite movies about war. The movie displays how being in war is actually like. The reactions and feelings of the characters can not be broken down into script. There is no happy endings or feelings of valor. I agree with your post, The Hurt Locker is a true war story.
ReplyDeleteI've seen this movie and I'm glad you blogged about it because I wouldn't have even thought to and it is one of the best depictions of what Tim O'Brien is talking about, that isn't written by Tim O'Brien. For pure entertainment value, this film doesn't score highly, which is what makes it such a true War story. Some points of the plot totally don't make sense and a lot of the time they aren't even in battle. I agree, this is a great example of a true war story and a great post, I'm only upset I did'n't think of it first.
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