Leon's Topic and Foci

Topic: Ways of people dealing with the negative effect caused by traumatic war experience

Sources: American Sniper & Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

1. Psychological damage. Both productions depict an American soldier returning to home after fighting a brutal war in Afghanistan. There's clear evidence throughout the stories that both of the heroes suffer from mildly serious PTSD. Although their age and military service history differ, they share numerous common features when facing the haunting memory. Especially Chris Kyle from American Sniper, who served four tours and had 160 confirmed kills as a Navy SEAL sniper, gradually becomes more and more and eventually extremely anxious, despairing and self-doubting with each additional enemy he takes down. It's a marvelous production that vividly captures the agony that most soldiers have to cope with.

2. Social pressure. As returning soldiers, both of our characters receive heavy focus from the society. It is more obvious in Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk that the 19-year-old protagonist is constantly trying to figure out his role and responsibility as a "decorated war hero". He is treated as a hero, poser and mere tool to make money at the same time. Such environment urges the young mind to look for the meanings of being a solder. Along with several other miner characters, the production presents the modern opinion on military and shows how war changes people's status in society.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2018 at 2:15 PM

    Although I have not seen either film, your summaries lead me to believe you chose two great pieces to compare and contrast how Chris Kyle and Billy Lynn act, are treated, and respond when facing a conflict (psychological damage/social pressure).

    I believe both foci are strong, although the second one seems to focus more on Billy L than Chris K. Are they both praised equally or does one have more negative feedback than the other? Also, does Chris Kyle also search for the meaning of being a soldier? If so, what do they both find?

    Also, I noticed some ties between both foci: both characters feel isolated because no one understands what they have gone through, not even themselves. Is it possible that these two negative effects of war are complementary? For example, has this societal pressure enhanced/eased/caused their psychological damage?

    Lastly, I got curious when you said Billy Lynn was 19 years old, so I googled Chris Kyle. I could be wrong but I found that he was 24 when he joined, and 38 during the movie's time period. If this is the case, does their age alter either of the negative effects?

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