A SOLDIER’S RESPONSE TO “THE HURT LOCKER”

Written by Greg VictorcloseAuthor: Greg Victor Name: Greg Victor
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About: Greg Victor (Parcbench Culture Editor) is a historian, pop culture critic, and theatrical dramaturg and has stage managed theatrical productions on Broadway and on tour, including Billy Joel's "Movin' Out", Monty Python's "Spamalot" and more.See Authors Posts (97) on July 29, 2009

What follows is my conversation with a soldier (“Maverick” – not his real name) currently in Iraq (not on his first tour). He viewed “The Hurt Locker” and, given his familiarity with the subject matter, has an opinion that deserves to be heard (an opinion that probably would not be heard anyplace else)…

Greg:
What was your impression of the movie?

Maverick:
It was terribly fake and I couldn’t stand how stupid it made the army look. I didn’t like it. I thought it was just so inaccurate and fake. It was meant to glorify the EOD unit (“Explosive Ordnance Disposal”), when in fact they can’t leave the FOB (“Forward Operating Base”) without a full convoy. I’m just very judgmental when it comes to military movies because it’s my job.

Greg:
The movie hasn’t opened in most cities in the U.S. yet… How did you get to see it?

Maverick:
We went to one of the ‘haji’ shops here on our FOB and got a bootleg copy.

Greg:
That’s brilliant — just like the scenes in the film where Staff Sergeant James (Jeremy Renner) buys DVDs from the ‘haji’ shop on his FOB… Did you watch it alone, or with others?

Maverick:
Alone. But most everyone I know says the same thing.

Greg:
Do you know anyone who does the job of dismantling bombs?

Maverick:
They don’t really dismantle them we just blow them up as they lay. We have EOD teams for that, we call them out if we need them.

Greg:
Do you remember that little kid in the movie – the one named Beckham (after the soccer star)?

Maverick:
Yeah.

Greg:
Do you know any little boys like that over there?

Maverick:
Nah. We don’t let Iraqi kids on the FOB, just a few adults. These are the ones that run the shops.

Greg:
Do you trust the kids over there?

Maverick:
Nope. I don’t trust any Iraqis except our ‘terp’ from our last deployment.

Greg:
‘Terp’..?

Maverick:
Interpreter. We just call them ‘terps’ for short.

Greg:
Are “body bombs” that common over there?

Maverick:
I’ve never seen or even heard of one.

Greg:
Have you ever used a Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifle? I must admit I was impressed by they way the film used that weapon.

Maverick:
I’ve shot them a few times and we’ve used them on op’s (“Observation Post”), but never shot anyone with one before.

Greg:
In the film, the director basically states that war is a drug… any opinion on that?

Maverick:
Hmmm. It can be at times. You miss it when you’re not here, and you hate it when you are.

Greg:
Is there an adrenalin rush that comes when that plane touches down and you are back in Iraq?

Maverick:
Yeah, definitely.

Greg:
Given the amount of attention “The Hurt Locker” will probably receive, I think it is important to run your opinion alongside my review. If you want to say anything about the film, now is your totally unedited chance.

Maverick:
I just thought the movie was some failed attempt at a recruitment ploy.

Greg:
Do you think there is an agenda to it?

Maverick:
Not really, but it doesn’t show how disciplined and tactical we really are.

Greg:
So you give “The Hurt Locker” a ‘thumbs-down’?

Maverick:
I just didn’t like seeing a two (or three) man renegade EOD team do all this crazy stuff. I guess it’s a cool movie if you have no idea what it’s really like.

Greg:
Once again, the point man has a point…