The cinema of revenge: Revenge films post 9/11

[rawstory]

From The Raw Story, http://www.rawstory.com

Post 9/11 films: A cinema of revenge

By Matthew E. Goldenberg
RAW STORY COLUMNIST

Even if one considers the fact that it wasn’t until a few years after the war in Vietnam concluded before any real cinematic testimonials to this event — “Apocalypse Now,” “The Deer Hunter,” etc. — were released, it’s difficult to overlook this simple fact: it’s been nearly three years since September 11th, and STILL no one in Hollywood is willing to speak up.

Aside from Michael Moore’s upcoming “Fahrenheit 9/11” — a film that lost its backing not once but twice as studio executives everywhere cowered — and “11'09"01,” the little seen collection of vignettes made by an international array of prestigious directors (including Ken Loach and Amos Gitai), mainstream cinema seems, frankly, too frightened to make a statement about what is perhaps the most politically and socially turbulent time in America’s history in thirty years.

That being the case, it still seems nearly impossible not to look at modern cinema through post-9/11 eyes. Few critics neglected to point out the newfound subtext of “Lord of the Rings,” “Black Hawk Down” and “Gangs of New York,” but those films started rolling before the phrase “let’s roll” had any special meaning.

Much more fascinating has been the strange influx of what might best be described as “revenge movies.” In a time when “an eye for an eye” is a more quoted Biblical passage than “turn the other cheek,” there can be no lack of importance to examining the underlying ideologies of these films.

<snip -- details from Mystic River and The Punisher>

What all of these filmmakers understand, either inherently or intellectually, is the lack of logic inherent in the need for revenge. But Hensleigh romanticizes the berserk state, concluding that the blind rage that comes with it can be an invaluable tool for justice seekers. And while "berserkers," overflowing with anger and without regard for their own lives, often do, consequently, become, “unstoppable killing machines”— Shay notes that soldiers often wanted to be patrol with these men because it made them feel safe — Hensleigh (and filmmakers like him) implies that it’s okay to exploit the berserker’s need for revenge.

No film understand this exploitation better than “Troy” (based, of course, on the “Iliad” of which Shay writes). Poorly written, blandly directed, and horribly acted, “Troy” is, nonetheless, the most politically relevant movie released since last year’s invasion of Iraq. Director Wolfgang Petersen and screenwriter David Benioff expertly portray the manner in which tyrant king Agamemnon (Brain Cox) takes advantage of both his brother’s desire for revenge and Achilles’ berserk state for his own “nation building” purposes. The film ultimately does even “Mystic River” one better: it expands the dangers of revenge from the personal to the societal, from the irresponsibility of the Hensleighs to the insanity of the Bushes.


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