American Sniper: Another Untrue War Story

American Sniper is an award-winning, critically acclaimed but extremely unpopular movie. The movie is based off of Chris Kyle’s memoir of his time in Iraq as history’s deadliest sniper, which gave Americans a unique look at the realities of the Iraq War. However, many critics questioned how much of this story was reality and how much of it was Chris Kyle’s “reality.” After Chris Kyle was deemed an American hero for an ephemeral period of time, the release of the movie caused many to believe that Chris Kyle was racist, sexist, and, above all, a liar. American Sniper is a clear example of the predominant, invidious notion of Muslims in the United States which qualifies this story as false through stereotypes, historical inaccuracy and unrealistic heroism.

One major and recurring theme throughout the movie was that of seemingly innocent and gregarious Muslims eventually revealing themselves as terrorists and villains. In one scene, a Muslim man invites American soldiers to his house for a holiday meal, but is later discovered to be an informant and a terrorist. In another scene, a boy is seen carrying a cylindrical object, which he received from his mother, and that object is revealed to be a bomb intended to kill American soldiers.

According to O’Brien, a war story is supposed to make you uncomfortable; it is not pleasing nor moral, not simple nor straightforward. Chris Kyle’s account is simple and straightforward. The principle character makes it clear who the enemy is, and makes the viewer comfortable with that fact that he has killed over 160 people. Muslims are generally characterized as terrorists, which is what a large portion of the American public wishes was one hundred percent true. 

On top of stereotyping all Muslim people and even women in general, most of the “true” events were completely fabricated for the sake of Chris Kyle appearing as a modern hero. According to much research conducted concerning the life of Chris Kyle, many events that appeared in the book did not actually occur. The enemy sniper, Mustafa, that Kyle reportedly killed is still alive. The robbery at a gas station that he reportedly stopped never even happened.

O’Brien says war stories are never glorious, but Chris Kyle’s version of events is complete romanticized heroism. Although Chris Kyle is no longer here to defend himself, it is clear that his original story was false, which made the movie adaptation of American Sniper seem even less true. If this movie is what passes as a cinematic masterpiece, it is clear that Hollywood needs to diversify its' industry.