The Debriefing Scene: Avacliche

I apologize, but I have not seen the movie in it's entirety and I was sick on Thursday, so I'm going to have to analyze a clip from Tuesday's class. I think the debriefing scene is hilariously cliché, but worth talking about again. First, you have some big, muscular general pacing back and forth talking up a battle that lies ahead (a battle he probably won't even get within ten miles of). He is dropping quotes like, "you aren't in Kansas anymore", which, I'm sorry, has been said way too many times before. This white American general comes of as the designator leader of planet Earth, since this battle is being fought on another planet. His persona alone solidifies claims of the United States being the "most powerful nation in the world".

In his debriefing, we are informed of the primary objectives, which mirror the somewhat blurry objectives of the Iraq War. The prolific and powerful nation invades a foreign territory in an effort to democratize the area. Unfortunately, there are countless homes and lives that are inevitably obliterated in the process. I find it interesting this movie would come out during Iraq War and earn such widespread popularity in America. The Iraq War has been an emotional and physical struggle for so many people that it's surprising to me that a film which echoes this war would become the highest grossing film of all time. I feel as though the plot of this film is all around us; we've seen it way too many times before. From the general's debriefing to the overarching theme of the entire film, we don't have to think to deeply to understand the big picture. Therefore, I think the popularity stems entirely from the 3D aspect. People are always intrigued by new technologies, so much so that the content is less important than the glamour of the medium.