The US Embassy in Madrid has a branch that does cultural outreach events, like English-only conversation classes, literature and culture classes, and an American Film Series called CineForo. This year, my friend MK has been leading the discussions surrounding CineForo, and another friend of mine, C, and I were approached to take it over in the spring.
The CineForo this year is focused on the portrayal of civil and human rights through bio-pics. They've shown films such as Selma, Boys Don't Cry, and Straight Outta Compton. Last night's film, American Sniper, was perhaps the least directly related to civil rights, and yet, the discussion was still fascinating.
People said they thought the realism of the film meant that it was critical of war. While there is a critique somewhere in the film, I don't read it so much as a critique of war. I think the realism of the film is just realism. I had a tough time watching all of the gory violence shown on the screen, as did all of the Spaniards who stayed for the discussion. But I can also see that there may be young men and women in the States who might be energized by the patriotism expressed. Who might identify with protagonist Chris Kyle and want to become like him.
The critique that I took from the film was aimed at how we in the US treat our veterans. From the lack of understanding of PTSD to the expectation and training of soldiers to function like machines (sidebar: humans are not machines), the film revealed the emotional and physical toll that we expect our veterans to somehow bear alone. And yet, it offered no solutions to what we can do as a country (other than honor our veterans) in order to avoid war.
The most interesting part of the discussion to me came when Spaniards asked about gun culture in the States. You see, the night before CineForo, Spanish TV showed a documentary about guns in Texas. Roommate C was appalled at how easily guns are available in the States. She asked me if I owned a gun (I don't), and if M2 owned a gun (nor does he). And then she thought I was lying because the documentary said that almost all Texans owned guns. She then also told me that she would never visit the US now, because she doesn't want to be anywhere where guns circulate that freely. I don't really blame her.
Regardless, gun culture in America was really present in the minds of most of the Spaniards participating, thanks to this documentary, and so what stood out to them was how prevalent guns were in the home of Chris Kyle. It's hard to explain gun culture in the States to foreigners who associate guns with violence, fascism and authoritarianism. All the arms stores that I have passed by in Spain look terrifying, but then I realize that they only sell airguns (or BB guns) and that assuages my fears.
The CineForo this year is focused on the portrayal of civil and human rights through bio-pics. They've shown films such as Selma, Boys Don't Cry, and Straight Outta Compton. Last night's film, American Sniper, was perhaps the least directly related to civil rights, and yet, the discussion was still fascinating.
People said they thought the realism of the film meant that it was critical of war. While there is a critique somewhere in the film, I don't read it so much as a critique of war. I think the realism of the film is just realism. I had a tough time watching all of the gory violence shown on the screen, as did all of the Spaniards who stayed for the discussion. But I can also see that there may be young men and women in the States who might be energized by the patriotism expressed. Who might identify with protagonist Chris Kyle and want to become like him.
The critique that I took from the film was aimed at how we in the US treat our veterans. From the lack of understanding of PTSD to the expectation and training of soldiers to function like machines (sidebar: humans are not machines), the film revealed the emotional and physical toll that we expect our veterans to somehow bear alone. And yet, it offered no solutions to what we can do as a country (other than honor our veterans) in order to avoid war.
The most interesting part of the discussion to me came when Spaniards asked about gun culture in the States. You see, the night before CineForo, Spanish TV showed a documentary about guns in Texas. Roommate C was appalled at how easily guns are available in the States. She asked me if I owned a gun (I don't), and if M2 owned a gun (nor does he). And then she thought I was lying because the documentary said that almost all Texans owned guns. She then also told me that she would never visit the US now, because she doesn't want to be anywhere where guns circulate that freely. I don't really blame her.
Regardless, gun culture in America was really present in the minds of most of the Spaniards participating, thanks to this documentary, and so what stood out to them was how prevalent guns were in the home of Chris Kyle. It's hard to explain gun culture in the States to foreigners who associate guns with violence, fascism and authoritarianism. All the arms stores that I have passed by in Spain look terrifying, but then I realize that they only sell airguns (or BB guns) and that assuages my fears.
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