As I rewatched Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down for the first time I more than a decade, two other
war Berchtesgaden more than a year later. The similarities are numerous. Both
are based on books that attempted to recount, in as much factual detail as
possible, the events surrounding are large contingent of American soldiers in
conflict. Both were released toward the end of 2001, coinciding with post-9/11 American
jingoism. Both focus heavily on the responsibility soldiers in combat feel
toward each other more than to the ideology or politics behind the war. And
both unflinchingly portray some of the horrors and carnage of war. The other is
the more recent Lone Survivor, whose
primary focus is on the fact of soldiers in harm’s way pulling for each other. The
latter film has faced criticism for being a form of war porn, which you could
also say to some extent about Scott’s film. But I think the positives to take
away from all three far outweigh any negative observations regarding the
depiction of blood and guts in battle scenarios.
