Depression Grows

 

The Cold Hard Truth

 Everything we do in life is political.  We choose a side for almost every aspect of life we participate in, whether it is party affiliation, sports team or religion.  There will be judgments received from others for  the decisions that we make.  Every decision you make in life will affect yourself and sometimes other people as well.  In Restrepo, the soldiers are forced everyday to make potential life changing decisions for themselves or other Afghanistan citizens.  They wake up wondering their next move.  Will they open fire or bomb other people.  These decisions are life changing and definitely political.  Although most decisions in everyday life do not involve killing other people, each and every choice in our lives is political.  We will be judged based on what we believe, choose to wear, where we go to college, or what food we eat.  These decisions may not be as serious or involve another human's life, but we are still choosing one thing over the other, classifying it as political.   

Restrepo is "political" because it only shows and offers interviews/scenes of war from the American side, though, overall the film is apolitical.  The theme focuses on the real aspects and truth of war.  It teaches you to appreciate what you have and accept the cold hard truth because sometimes life is not always perfect.  Restrepo doesn't beautify war or show soldiers only as heroes.  It never attempts to offer conclusions about the pros or cons about the war in Afghanistan or any debates.  No one within the movie judges it or drives you to feel a certain way; you are able to develop all these decisions on your own.  It allows you to create your own views and opinions about the war.  The film is not about actors portraying war, it is war.  There was no director adding in the shaky affects of the camera or loss of sound, it is the raw truth. The impact the film seeks to have on people is that it wants the viewers to have the ability to create their own opinions and judgments on war.  It provides the pictures and words of actual war to allow us to have the experience of being in the war with the soldiers.  The only ways the film is seen to be political is by providing after war interviews from generals and the soldiers.  In the interviews, the soldiers stay on the topic of the hard times and troubles that they experienced during war.