Stop-Loss: This Generation's Deer Hunter

I was a kid during Vietnam and my dad, then a captain in the army, a psychiatrist stationed in Detroit, was the guy other guys would beg and act crazy to to avoid the draft. I also grew up on shows like Combat! and The Rat Patrol and on my seventh birthday my parents got me a plastic but otherwise very life-like M16 -- a very odd gift from two lifelong liberals during wartime (in my home now the only weapon I allow for my six-year-old son is a lightsaber.) I am still a sucker for WWII movies and finally got to write my own, The Tuskegee Airmen.

As I got a little older, however it was the Vietnam war films that most shaped my adolescence: The Boys From Company C, Coming Home, Platoon, The Deer Hunter.

Like most Americans I have no idea what it is really like to fight and survive a war. The closest I will ever get is through the media. What I do know, however, is that Kimberly Peirce's Stop-Loss is the most complete and moving film about the effect of war on youth since The Deer Hunter. All of the small-town intensity she poured into Boys Don't Cry she injects into her new film.

Though the film is not overtly political, I left the film seething at George Bush, a dope like me who had romantic notions about faraway wars. I'm ashamed to say that I understood his idiotic statement the other week to troops serving in Afghanistan, saying how "romantic" their mission. I could've said the same thing (only when I had my chance to serve I didn't hide out in the Texas Air National Guard).

Just like The Deer Hunter, Stop-Loss lifted the veil for me, disabused me of my romantic notions of war. I left furious at this administration for toying with these earnest young men, robbing them of their youth for a web of lies, traumatizing them not to keep us safe at home but so old men could play army and get rich.

Trey Ellis is the author of Bedtime Stories: Adventures in the Land of Single-Fatherhood.

Comments

[Calylily]

BRAVO! I loved your article on "STOP-LOSS"! Like you, the movie had a huge impact on me, and I also lived through the Vietnam war, and have heard it all. It was great to hear from the new generation as to the similarities on how their war is affecting their lives. . . it will definitely become a MOVIE FOR THEIR TIME . . . and hopefully an Oscar nod for Phillippe.

[Sanjong Thapa]

Americans KIA in Iraq -4,000
Americans KIA in Vietnam - 58,000

If STOP LOSS is this generation's DEER HUNTER, can you name this generation's Vietnam?

[albino]

Bill Moyers did an excellent piece about this film on his P.B.S. program Fri. night. I can't wait to see the
film when I get a chaance. I was fascinated to learn the film had been produced by Phil Donnahue.The
young woman who shot the film is heaadquarted in Austin, Tx.
Being a Viet Nam vet, I was deeply moved by what I saw. It definitely is not "romantic."
Bush, who couldn't even passs his flight physical, is such an idiot.

[Merg]

If movie makers or MTV want to attract this young demographic to this type of view of the Iraq War, they should make a futuristic one in which the Draft has been re-instated and activated. Under this scenario, young men and women are called up. The scences could revolve around the shock to the lives of, say, a 22 year old stock broker, who suddenly finds him/herself called to serve in Iraq. How he/she must suddenly stop his/her life, make the arrangements to 1) get out of the apartment lease and pay off bills...all that little stuff that must be handled (like making out a will) in case you don't come back. 2) then you can tack on the rest of the war movie as is. In this way it will kind of personalize it and make it real for them. It just isn't real for them now because they don't have skin in the game.

[heywhat]

I am against the war and I abhor the dimwitted, delusional shrub and I understand that movies give us insights into events that most of us will never experience first hand; that being written, I don't think we need to rely on movie renditions for our understanding of war anymore than we need to rely on a romantic numbskull.

http://strictlyanecdotal.com

[FatherOfAllLife]

http://www.fandango.com/stoploss_102121/movietimes
STOP THE STOP LOSS POLICY, SIGN THE PETITION:
http://act.credomobile.com/campaign/stoploss/i3guu6ur07nj6dek?

[RTOTrainer]

The petition should at least offer a full and correct explanation of how the policy works.

[pinkerman2]

I really enjoy your writing and hope that you and many others with a voice will start to include the dead
or wounded of the countries that we so readily, illegally, invade. Starting with the indigenous people in this country and, with the exception of WW two, we have bullied ourselves into a reputation of being the bully on the block. We were once known as a great nation; I'm plagarizing here, "'we lost our greatness when we lost our goodness" Which invasion was that? Where did our goodness go!

[nomoredead]

If factories can move to a foreign country and corporations can have a off-shore address then young people should have the option to move ' off-shore ' for a few years during a war. Wheres big businesses patriotism ?

[LeonBNJ]

Although the film 'Stop-Loss' is produced under MTV films part of Time-Warner, which specializes in films for the 15-25 age crowd that mainly goes out to the movies, I doubt it will do well in the box office. That age group goes to the movies to get out of the parent's house, for dating and such so a film like Stop-Loss will not attract that crowd that want's more sex and violence entertainment, not films that are of subjects important to them.
While there may be factors that caused the person featured in this film that made him subject to stop-loss, they and others in the same position joined the military and have to obey their laws, not skip out despite their personal feelings. This war is ruining our military and in turn our country from the inside. Our National Gurard troops and their equipment have been ruined in Iraq and are unavilable to help with natural disasters or domestic defense needs. Until we really do something to end this commitment of our soldiers in Iraq we may see even more troops challange a return to Iraq under Stip-loss orders to save their sanity, their bodies from horrible injuries, their families being made destitute by their repeated re-deployments and their lives.

[RTOTrainer]

Subjects important to them?

Over 4 million people become of age for military service annually in the US (source: CIA World Factbook). Only about 250,000 join one of the services each year. Some percentage of those are not in this 17-18 year old group, but we'll ignore that for a moment.

That's slightly more then 6% that might find this a subject important to them. And that portion, presumably ideologically disposed to miltiary service, seems unlikely to see a film which is unlikely to portray their choices favorably, as attractive.

No surprise to me that it's not doing well--most don't care and those that do are predisposed to view a military choice negatively and would likely go for the purpose of validation of that view.

Has anyone here seen it? The one factor that interests me about it is how badly they get the actual function of the Stop Loss policy wrong. One review I've seen indicates that the main character is actually discharged and then subjected to Stop Loss, which would be impossible. Is that accurate?

[HuffJob]

no, he thinks he's suppose to be discharged but gets the stop-loss order as he's going through what he thinks is the discharge and is ordered back to iraq.

[witdarealness]

Actually, that is possible... When you sign up, you sign up for usually four years of active duty, then four years of either active or inactive reserve duty...

[shockmagog]

I don't know, is it? I haven't seen the movie either, or even the review you mentioned.

Many more movies to come. Just wait until the frenzied troop pull out, then the continued and multiplying hearings, then the recriminations, and then the indictments, etc., etc.

After that, the unjustified Iraq invasion and occupation will be the fodder for countless movies for a generation or more--mostly involving hubris and incompetence at the executive level, and added to it, a healthy dose of heroism mixed with cruelty and fear at the troop level.

[castlerider]

Deer Hunter wasn't a big box office hit either.

But it was a major cult movie, and standed the test of time in a major way. I saw this movie, and I know people will watch it for years and years just the same to see what our kids went through fighting Bush's occupation.

How shameful. See? that's the differene. This isn't really even a WAR. Nam was a war. with organized armies fighting us back. This is an occupation with desperate citizens who hate us for invading their land to steal their oil. And whether we are their to take their oil or not, doesn't matter. It's what they, and the whole world understands and believes is what's going on. The entire mistake and disaster behind this is all Bush.

[shockmagog]

It grossed 48M domestically, too, but yes, it was a cult movie, as well, long afterwards, and before everyone had VCRs.

it's worth noting that The Deer Hunter was released 3 years after the Americans pulled out of Viet Nam. Iraq will be depicted on the screen (realistically--or in other words, negatively) for many years after the United States has withdrawn from Iraq, much like the French ditched Algiers.

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0907-07.htm

[Ramirez]

"Deer Hunter wasn't a big box office hit either."

It won five Oscars including Best Picture. 1978.

[Hallucinocynic]

My dad was a first sergeant in the army in WWII, Pacific theater. Did the whole Solomons, Gilberts, Marianas campaigns (was at Tinian when the Enola Gay flew out with the A bomb...) and when I got drafted (I tried to fight it - was laughed out of a review hearing) his advice to me was : Keep your mouth shut and do what you're told. I did. It was, in fact, when I deplaned at Da Nang that my personal political philosophy changed. It was impossible, with all the materiel on hand, not to see how much money there was to be made by waging war. (I remember row upon row of WATER TRUCKS parked about 100 yards from the repl depot.)

Was I wrong? Someone above mused about what he would do if he had been levied for a second time to RVN. I know what I would have done. I would have headed somewhere for political asylum. The war in RVN was wrong, from the first day. The war in Iraq is wrong and has been wrong since the first day. There is NO logical argument to be made in the defense of this profiteering and plundering of a sovereign nation, anymore than there was a legitimate argument (Domino Theory? Feh and double Feh!) for the incursion into Vietnam. But still, young men and women in the armed forces will go and try to do their best...what a waste of an important resource.

[Kundera]

Wait a minute, I'm shocked! You watched a Hollywood movie, walked out and hated George Bush. How could this be??????

[SamEllison]

Are you blaming Hollywood?
I think you need some help, a doctor or something.

[MPCarr]

Stop Loss failed at the box office on Friday, and should be over within a week.

[OrleansCatalan]

But the Iraq war is forever.

Hey Republicans! Have you enlisted yet?

[Kundera]

Just because you support something doesn't mean you have to participate. That's like Repubs demanding all lefties have partial birth abortions.

[MarkFinelli]

Just wait until my movie comes out, about the sole WTC 9.11 Survivor to Enlist in the Marines and fight in Iraq. The silent majority between NY and LA who support the troops and the mission will come out in droves to see a pro-troop, pro-USA, pro-mission, pro-courage film.

The same people who told Mel Gibson that a movie like "Passion of the Christ" would not work will be shocked when this one does. That movie made Mel Gibson a near billionaire.


My movie will put the children of Fallen Marines through college www.mc-lef.org

CPL Mark Finelli, USMC, inactive-Sole WTC Survivor to Enlist in the Marines and Fight in Iraq

[wadenelson1]

29% of America thinks GWB is a genius. Frankly, I think YOU'RE a genius for fleecing these idiots.

[KarenZipdrive]

How I wish I could duct tape Bush and Dick Cheney into stiff lawnchairs with their eyes taped open and force them to watch a continuous loop of StopLoss until they vomited all over themselves.
These draft-dodging clowns think nothing of using our precious troops as glorified toy soldiers so their cronies and families could get even richer off the blood of our troops.

There has to be a special section of Hell for people like Bush and Dick.

[RTOTrainer]

Precious troops?

I have a problem with that idea.

The job description is to go into harms way and to hazard our lives. If we have become so precious that we arn't allowed to do that, why have a military?

During the Clintion Admininstration, the military culture was stood on it's ear. We subordinated mission accomplishment to force protection. That's backward. It's calous but ti's true that we spend lives to achieve goals. If we can't be allowed to do that anymore, than ewe need ot stand the whole thing down.

The other side of that wis that the job description is also to kill people and break things. If we aren't willing to do those either the same principle holds--stand it down.

I can understand not liking it. I can't understand denying the reality of it. This was all a part of the calculus I made in deciding to enlist almost 14 years ago. I had to affirmatively decide that there were people who shoul dbe killed in this world an that I could be the guy to do that. That's one reason why this job isn't for everyone.

[castlerider]

That's right, that job is not for everyone, so do it.
When you're not doing it, you can stand down or be in prep for battle should it occur.
During the Clinton administration, one of the first big things he did was work to allow gays in the military. Boy, was that stupid. Although a noble idea keyed on efficiency and improving a strikeforce by attempting to take out damaging politics in the field, every military man who had anything to say immediately hated him for it. It was the first big shot in the arm that gave hate talk radio their start. Of course, it was all about hating Clinton. And then, of course, libs, or Dems, in general.
So although your possibly ugly fightin' dog face may not see yourself as precious, no big deal. Parents and those who love their kids cannot describe how precious their love is, and that's what is being talked about here. So go on and do your job, and let people who have their high value on the ones they love say what they have to say.