Trailer for "One Man's Terrorist" - My Anti-War Short Film

[David West]

Hello everyone! Just thought I'd share the trailer for the anti-war short-film I'm preparing to release in just over a week. The film is 40 minutes long and I will be releasing it as a 3 episode web-series on February 15, 22, and 29. The film, which is largely inspired by my time in the military and deployed to Iraq as an Army Ranger, was shot for less than $400, but we're pretty proud of the way it has turned out.

Check it out, and be sure to share it with your friends and check back for the first episode on the 15th if you like what you see!

Fair warning: both the trailer and the film contain several references to Ron Paul. Sorry if that rubs you the wrong way, but please don't let it stop you from watching it as it's by no means the crux of the project. This film is, first and foremost, anti-war... period.

Hope you enjoy it!

[greiner3]

1. Too much like 'Red Dawn;'

And I did not care too much for that movie either.

This glorifies guns, anarchy and revolution. Did I mention it glorifies guns?

[David West]

3. I'm not really sure how this glorifies "anarchy" or "revolution."

While politically I consider myself to be something of an anarchist (I prefer the term voluntaryist), I really don't see how this is glorifying anarchy or revolution. The "revolution" being fought in the film is far from glorious. The whole intent of the film is to get people empathizing with the people of the Nations America - or any other nation, for that matter - invades.

There is a notable right-to-keep-and-bear-arms message in the film, I'll admit that. Indeed, one of the first things that started waking me up to how wrong the war in Iraq is was when I started having to enforce draconian Iraqi gun laws. It bothered me that I was expected to haul someone off with a bag over their head simply because they possessed more than 1 gun or 50 rounds of ammo when I myself possessed FAR more than that back home. And I didn't even live in a war zone!

But it still isn't "glorifying" guns. They aren't some magical, deus-ex-machina plot device that saves the day, they're simply necessary for the story I'm telling. Ultimately, the film isn't glorifying anything. It's simply humanizing people that have been dehumanized for far too long.

Douglas: thanks for the positive feedback! I'll be sure to post the episodes here as they premiere online.

[Douglas Carpenter]

2. sounds like a wonderful film

I don't know why Americans don't understand that people around the world might feel patriotic to their countries and might feel obliged to defend their homelands. I really cannot even begin to grasp why Americans have such an incredible blind spot. This sounds like a a film that is trying to to remove these scales from the eyes of ordinary Americans. I hope they have at least some success in getting this across to people. I don't know what it would take to convince Americans to have basic human empathy on something so patently obvious. I hope this film helps.

[David West]

4. That's what we're hoping for.

I really hope this film ends up being something that people can share with their pro-war friends and family and maybe open up their eyes a bit. We made it with an extremely low, virtually non-existant budget - less than $400 - and a cheap consumer camcorder but so far people seem to be pretty impressed with how it looks. The few people I've shown it to so far (and in rough cut form, no less) have told me it's very powerful.

No matter what though it'll at least help me move on from here. I have pretty big plans. This will by no means be my last film!