An Examination Of Modern War And The Politics Behind It

Tonight's marathon is about exploring several modern day war stories along with the sacrifices and hidden truths that come with them. Most if not all of these stories are heroic ones, but they all don't come without a certain cost. The presentation of  modern war and the politics behind it are examined in this 8 hour lineup. We have on tonight's menu:

Black Hawk Down 2001, Lone Survivor 2014. Jarhead 2003, and Courage Under Fire 1996

We begin tonight's lineup with Ridley Scott's epic war drama titled Black Hawk Down. Nominated for four academy awards and winner of two, Hawk brilliantly tells the story of 123 elite U.S soldiers being dropped into Somalia to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord while also finding themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily-armed Somali. The second film Lone Survivor, tells the story of Marcus Luttrell played by Mark Wahlberg, and his team being sent out on a mission to capture and kill Taliban leader named Ahmad Shah, in late June 2005. The end result is Marcus and his team being left to fight for their lives in one of the most brutal fights in modern warfare. Lone Survivor was nominated for two academy awards in sound and sound effects editing. The third film takes a more dramatic approach in terms of representing the harsh realities of war in Jarhead starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx. Based on former Marine Anthony Swofford's best selling 2003 book about his pre-Desert storm experiences in Saudi Arabia as well as his experiences fighting in Kuwait. Whereas the first two represented the scope of war, this film is more about the soldiers feelings towards it and trying to understand the predicament they're in. The fourth and final film in this incredible lineup is Edward Zwick's drama titled Courage Under Fire. In this film, Denzel Washington plays a US Army officer who is hired to investigate a female chopper commander's worthiness for the Medal of Honor, while also dealing with a deadly mistake he made on the battlefield. Unlike the first three films, Courage Under Fire examines the politics of war, an has a story that starts off as being full blown heroic tale into a major cover up. Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan both give powerful performances in a film that covers themes such as war, military, investigations, friendly fire, forgiveness, sexism, courage, and truth.

The message that each film possesses is Black Hawk Down saying that bad military planning leads to unimaginable disaster, and if you understand the opponent better then you shall prevail. Lone Survivor says that not everyone on the enemy side is bad and that war can be hellish. Jarhead shows that war can change people, and all wars are an exercise in insanity. The message that Courage Under Fire leaves the marathon with is that the truth shall set you free. It is better to honor those who died by telling what really happened instead of fictionalizing events.