CINEMA VIEWS by Kevin J. Walker http://cinemaviews.tripod.com

"Blackhawk Down" is "Zulu" Revisited; Prepping U.S. for African War?

by Kevin J. Walker, Film Critic, kevinjwalker@lycos.com

With troops in another urban fighting situation in the cities of Iraq, with Black bodies laying face down in the sands of the Middle East and starting to be shipped home in body bags and others held as prisoners of war, a revisiting of the videos of war is appropriate. This week its “Blackhawk Down,” a prescient film about the US throwing its might at a smaller country under specious circumstances.

“Three Kings” from the screenplay by Milwaukee area writer John Ridley is a military must-see. “Wag The Dog” is another film in the series, where propaganda is shown as an effective tool against the people to make them forget politics when the nation’s patriotic fires are stoked.

“Tears Of The Sun” starring Bruce Willis as a renegade soldier trying to save a village against marauding and genocidal (!) African forces is another in the War Video series. Although its currently in theatres now, unfortunately most will see the worthy although slanted “Tears” on video.

This week “Blackhawk Down” is the lead-in, because of the assault on the capital city of Baghdad, and the possibility of street fighting thyat occurred with disastrous results to the US military. As in the Haiti revolt over two centuries ago, an African power faced down another White nation and ejected them from their land. This isn’t the stance of the film, however, quite the opposite

"Blackhawk Down" cannot be divorced from real world events; this was true even a year ago when they were only dealing with the Afghanistan war, now forgotten.

The film and its makers and backers took no such pains to separate, in fact they ratcheted up the connection. The film was originally slated for a Summer of 2002 release. After September 11 it was rushed up to a December release so it could qualify for the Academy awards. Indeed some rushed to judgement and proclaimed it Best Picture. Puh-leese! Cooler heads prevailed.

The news is that when a bootleg copy of the war epic "Blackhawk Down" was shown in Somalia prior to the films release the audience cheered when the helicopters, shot down by rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), crashed and Americans died in their streets from gunfire, seeing the film as a celebration of their great victory over the invaders they repelled after killing 18 Americans. Some of the viewers said if Americans come back they'll get their asses kicked again just like the last time!

"They'll be making more films about their defeat if they come back here" boasted one interviewee to a newsman. This was as the US Military prepared the public for its Act Two after Afghanistan. The propagandists even put out the cover story that Osama bin Laden may have made his way into Somalia from the cave redoubts of Afghanistan, so that is where the military must go with their Daisy Cutter bombs and flame-throwers.

This is the larger real world backdrop that explains the appeal and the relevance of "Blackhawk Down," made by "Gladiator", "Blade Runner" and "Alien" director Ridley Scott from the best-selling book by Mark Bowden. A return to the land might be what some consider adequate payback for the Somalians dragging those dead servicemen through the streets.

The TV images of those where flashed worldwide, and caused President Bill Clinton to pull Americans out of the country when no straight answer about what was being done over there.

Somalia is also being highlighted as the holding areas where September 11 terrorists come from. The Most Wanted lists show Somalians amid the Saudi Arabs and Middle Easterners.

The Battle of Mogadishu is also why the US Military swiftly switched their service training into what they call “Asymmetrical Warfare,” and “Urban Pacification” after they were played by someone who knew the Art of War, and they were lured into a deadly ambush and cut off from support or rescue for hours.

The battle for Baghdad was being seen worrisome by some as “a million Mogadishus.” Indeed its been reported that besieged Iraqi president Saddam Hussein passed out copies of the “Black Hawk Down” video for his commanders to study so they could replicate its success.

As a film "Blackhawk Down" is an entertaining, virtually all-male war romp that has loads of action, and "Saving Private Ryan" style gore as well. William Fitchner of "Armageddon" is among the ensemble cast; as are "Attack Of The Clones" Ewan MacGregor, and Kim Coates of "Waterworld."

Tom Sizemore is a Ranger again as he was in the period film "Saving Private Ryan." He strides unperturbed as Gen. Patton on a W.W.II battlefield as bullets whiz by and the others duck, one bullet striking the flashlight on his shoulder epaulet. He doesn't even break stride.

"But I'm wounded!" complains one soldier when he's sent on an errand. "We're all wounded!" Sizemore tells him. IRL the Americans had sustained several wounds each while they sat throughout the night waiting for rescue. That’s why servicefolk wear those bulgy jackets filled with all manners of stuff; it helps deflect incapacitating wounds to the torso.

"Pearl Harbour" co-star Josh Hartnett is back in uniform again as the leader of one of the groups who is pinned down. This film doesn't glorify war in the least; Hartnett's Everson tells his superior officer that he doesn't want to go back to downtown Mogadishu again. His eyes are watery and he is clearly scared. This is not exactly normal in a war movie, where the soldiers are supposed to laugh at death and willingly sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Not in this film they don't!

Don't look for much balance in "Blackhawk Down;" this film is a White yahoo's wet dream as gung-ho, apple-cheeked American boys are shown as the valiant human beings fighting against savage hordes of marauding Blacks, like a modern day “Zulu Dawn.”

“Tears of The Sun” with Bruce Willis has a similar standpoint; nowhere it is explained why the army might have a beef against Christians, nor is there any character development on the other side.

Lost in the translation to film of “Blackhawk Down” is the story behind those attacking Somalis (called "Skinnies" by the serviceman for their thin build) who were trying to repel interlopers on their land who started killing their young men under the guise of pacification to keep the food flowing to fight the famine. I guess it would have been too hard to shift the food shipments inland from Mogadishu where the warlords couldn't get to them, and then nobody would need to get killed or "pacified." But I digress.

"Blackhawk Down" shows the upper Somalian rebel leaders -- I mean faction leaders, since it was a civil war -- as intelligent and crafty. You know, like the Japanese and Vietnamese in those war movies. The film neglects to show how the Americans were suckered into an ambush by Aidid, the Somalian faction leader and ruler of Mogadishu.

Since the Marines have the credo of "Nobody Gets Left Behind," all the Somalis had to do was shoot a couple of helicopters out of the sky, then lay in wait for the would-be rescuers. They studied the American response and noted they did the same thing over and over: they'd send in a recon copter, followed by a column of lightweight HumVees that can be shot through by an AK-47 rifle.

Aidid's men caught the American invaders in a crossfire, although they foolishly stood up on a rooftop, which makes as much sense as doing it on a ridge line, backlit by the sun. A sign saying "Shoot Me" wouldn't be much more effective. Also, the marksmanship of the Somalis is something that was more true to life. If there was ever another group that couldn't shoot for effect nobody knows who they are.

"The Skinnies can't shoot fer shit, sir" said a serviceman as they prepare to leave out for a routine patrol. A Newbie is ridiculed for putting his armor in as the seasoned ones take their rear plates out to decrease weight.

"I don't plan on being shot in the back while runnin' away" says the blonde White boy. He should have a sign on that said "Dead Meat," because we just know what's going to happen to him!

"Blackhawk Down" also shows the jingoistic naiveté of the hot-to-trot soldiers as they proclaim "I came here to kick some ass!" in the Big Mo, as they called the port city of the country on the Horn of Africa with the longest coastline of the continent, and incidentally a pinch point for the shipment of Western oil after passing through the Suez Canal.

As a film critic I strive to critique a film on its merits as cinema. This inability of some commentators to do the same is why some cannot comfortably watch entertaining historically based films such as "Malcolm X" or "Ali" because they can't absorb that a feature film isn't a documentary.

The glaring errors and Eurocentrism of “StarGate” doesn’t stop me from watching that entertaining science fiction feature staring James Spader and “Dark Blue” star Kurt Russell, where aliens are shown as the builders of the Pyramids, and the Northeast Africans (“Egyptian” is their Greek name are shown with features more akin to Latinos than the dark-skinned African Descended people they were before they were transformed into Middle Easterners. Surely this was one of the largest feats of moving in human history. But I digress.

The brutality of war, the weariness, the blood is unflinchingly shown in “Blackhawk Down.” A body is blown up by an RPG that misses a jeep; chests are riddled by rifle fire. Stupid Somalians shoot at an American they’ve caught as they are on opposite sides of him. Seeing them, he slips from fright falling down, and they shoot at each other, and one gets a chest full of automatic AK-47 fire.

"Better hose the blood outta those HumVees before you send that next group out" says a laconic Ranger. A soldier's weapon strangely doesn't fire; he looks down and sees his thumb has been almost detached by a bullet. A medic takes a roll of tape to strap it back on as he just switches hands. The chaos of war is shown by "Blackhawk Down" as well.

"I told you, don't fire that thing so close to my head, I'm deaf as it is!" complains one soldier with a 50 cal. as they are beset on all sides by Skinnies. Later, as they are planning their evasion, the other queries him.

"Understand? I'll come after you, but you have to motion me when you get to the point, so I'll know its all-clear. Got that?"

"Huh?" says the oblivious soldier, who hadn't heard a thing he said, indeed being deafened by the chatter of the big gun.

The film also makes the Americans the heroes at the expense of the Africans and the United Nation; second only to the French as wimp villains these days. The UN forces are shown in the sports stadium debating about routes to take when the American general, played by Sam Sheppard, is calling for support and armour for his pinned-down men. Later, the Blue Helmets are shown driving their jeeps away at speed when war-weary soldiers, dripping blood, are trotting to keep up after being refused admittance inside because they were filthy and it would be too cramped.

The release of the film came after the jingoistic war sabre-rattling that some knuckle headed African-Descended participated in, as though they could really curry favour with the nation's Whites. They now have to face the dilemma of being patriotic in what might become a Race War as Caucasian forces are sent back into a Black land to kill people that could be their ancestors.

As Eddie Griffin pointed out so devastatingly in his comedy concert and family mini-documentary “Dysfunktional Family”, “All that good will lasted about a month.” Because after Nine Eleven, they were lovin’ us now, tho,’ when those buildings started to go down on live television.

The Black Congressional Caucus haven’t distinguished themselves during the ultrapatriotic fervor. In fact, they’ve revealed themselves to be a buncha scared wimps and punks, with the exception of the brave and principled Rep. Cynthia Lee of California.

All those fiery, strong thunderous brothas in the US Congress, even damn-near Socialists like Calif. Ron Dellums et al formed a straight line, saluted smartly, and voted for the worrisome P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act, and the declarations of a "War On Terrorism" that may now be turned against the land of their ancestors. If we’re lucky it’ll be after they’re done after the Iraqis, Iranians, and North Koreans.

More troubled would be the Black serviceman who would have to put the crosshairs on, and then decide to pull the trigger on fellow Africans of the Motherland. Or give the orders, such as Secretary of state Colin Powell and National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice, the former from Harlem, USA, and the latter originally of Birmingham, Alabama.

Dr. Rice knew the families of the girls who were blown up in the Sixteenth Street church. Coincidentally, a friend of those girls was another famous Californian whose family also moved away from the city that came to be known as "Bombingham," and who was shaped by what happened there: Angela Davis.

These are interesting times indeed!

Write, email or call kevinjwalker@lycos.com ; visit the website http://cinemaviews.tripod.com ; call (414) 454-9673, or write P.O. Box 1324-53201. -- kjw

--30— --- kevin j. walker, Netitor-in-Chief of The Word NetPaper, Web-based news service p.o. box 1324-53201 milwaukee, wis. usa 53201-1324 ph: (414) 454-9673

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