Terrorism And The Effects It Unleashes

Tonight's marathon is about the act of terrorism and the effects of it. We have several major story arcs coming into play with an all star cast among the likes of Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Bruce Willis, Jeremy Renner, Bradley Cooper, and Jessica Chastain. The story arcs range from pre 911 terrorism in New York to the diffusing of bombs in the middle east, an American sniper whose selected to protect his team from the enemy while having to make tough decisions on whether to take someone's life or spare them, and finally a decades hunt for the terrorist mastermind behind the events of September 11th being brought to justice. All makes for a very exciting and thought provoking evening. We have on tonight's menu:


        The Siege 1998, The Hurt Locker 2009, American Sniper 2014, Zero Dark Thirty 2012

We begin the evening with Edward Zwick's 1998 suspense thriller The Siege starring Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, and Bruce Willis. The plot centers around a secret US abduction of a suspected terrorists which leads to a wave of terrorist attacks in New York City. Through these terrorist attacks, martial law is declared and the city becomes under siege. The Siege was seen as a box office disappointment upon release but later became the most rented film in America after the events of September 11th. What The Siege introduces is the theme of terrorism, and the effects that it brings afterwards such as the declaration of martial law. The next film in the marathon continues the effects of terrorism with Kathryn Bigelow's Oscar Winning film The Hurt Locker. Set during the Iraq War, Jeremy Renner plays a Sergeant whose been recently assigned to an army bomb squad and is put at odds with his squad mates due to his tactical way of handling his work. Winner of 6 academy awards including Best Picture, The Hurt Locker flirts with the theme that some men truly desire and live off war. This is evident in the film that it follows up with in Clint Eastwood's American Sniper. Nominated for six academy awards, the film deals with a Navy seal sniper named Chris Kyle whose pinpoint accuracy ends up saving countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. The film focuses on his conflicts on and off the battlefield with his wife and kids struggling to cope with his four tours of duty. Much like The Hurt Locker, Chris character played by Bradley Cooper realizes that he can't leave the war behind when living at home. American Sniper is a controversial yet significant film that centers around the harsh realities of war. The fourth and final movie of the evening is Kathryn Bigelows Zero Dark Thirty, which brings everything together and gives the marathon its final epic closure. Starring Jessica Chastain, the film chronicles the decade-long hunt for al Queda terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May 2011. The films unforgettable climax makes for a perfect emotional payoff for all the tension that builds up from the start of the marathon to its epic finish.

So what are all of these movies trying to say? The Siege says that we shouldn't fight terrorism with terrorist acts of our own. The Hurt Locker says that war can be consuming and that some people thrive off it. American Sniper says to know your purpose, and that PTSD is a serious and awful condition. Zero Dark Thirty says that the chasing of terrorists can lead to obsession and enhanced interrogation techniques are brutal and no different from torture.