"13 Hours" and the promotion of hypermasculinity

After 9/11, the United states gained a strong sense of nationalism. A few Republican congressmen decided to cash out on this, changing French fries’ name to “Freedom Fries” after France refused to participate in the Iraq war, starting an obsession with the word “patriotic,” and conjuring up a hatred of anything foreign. The latest thing to prey on America’s ardent flag-waving is the new movie “13 Hours: the Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.”“13 Hours” is a steaming pile of propagandist poop about the soldiers who protected the American embassy in Libya from rebels and the officials who mismanaged the 2012 attacks. The makers of the film claim it’s not political.But Michael Bay knew what he was doing when he directed “13 Hours.” Michael Bay knew what he was doing when he premiered it right by Dallas, Texas: home of the raging tea-partiers. Michael Bay knew what he was doing releasing it near the time of presidential elections, where the right is spouting conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton and Benghazi and e-mails. And Michael Bay certainly knew what he was doing releasing it during a time where Republicans easily turn into fired-up apes just by the mention of Benghazi.“13 Hours” is a lot of things. It’s an overly-macho propaganda film. It’s a wet dream for any straight, white male who wears Oakley brand sunglasses and baseball hats. However, one thing it’s not, is apolitical.One of the things that irks me most about the movie is its stubborn paranoia. In the beginning of the film, one of the soldiers, when talking about a Libyan, mumbles, “He’s a good man, but there’s a few we’ve got our eyes strapped on.” Later in the movie, another soldier says, “You don’t know these guys, it’s not safe.” There’s constant mention of not trusting any foreigner and simplifying any matter of war into “good guys” vs. “bad guys.” This is part of the reason we got into the Middle Eastern wars: our knee-jerk reactions to anyone different and exhausting persecution complex.Since the 1970’s, war films have drastically changed. Due to the horrors of the Vietnam War, a medley of films came out condemning the atrocities of war. Masterpieces like “Full Metal Jacket” showed the mental impacts of war, while “Apocalypse Now” showed its absurdities. But in the new age, war movies veer towards the sheer, visceral feeling of bloodlust, absolute destruction and unbearable Southern accents.A couple years ago, “Zero Dark Thirty” was released, ushering in a new era of war movies. The propaganda film skewed the realities of capturing terrorists, making it seem like torture is not only effective, but ethical. The film shamelessly glorifies America’s desire for dominance by any mean, and glamorizes gore.A couple years after “Zero Dark Thirty,” a film almost as despicable was released: “American Sniper,” starring Bradley Cooper. While it is impressive how this film portrays PTSD in the military, this cheesy action flick turns the famous sniper, Chris Kyle, into a saint despite his record of racism and lying about the number of snipings he had. It seems to me, that over the years, action flick after action flick scrubs away the utter chaos of war adding a sheen of disinformation.While I realize our soldiers — and the ones in this movie — are mostly heroes, I don’t like when war movies mythologize the experience of the army. In “13 Hours,” John Krasinski’s character, in the only insightful line of the film, says that he’s fighting, “In a battle I don’t understand.” Another soldier quickly retorts that he’s giving himself “to something bigger,” as if defending his opposition to the audience. While I agree it’s one of the most honorable things to do to serve your country, this just sounds like a politician falsely leading innocent, young men who just want to do the right thing into a baseless war, promising glory and martyrdom.You’d be kidding yourself by saying these films have no impact on impressionable minds. Yes, I realize it’s futile and oppressive trying to prevent people from watching a movie. And yes, I realize that people probably only view these movies with a grain of salt. The way these action movies affect how people think and interact, however, is ridiculous. By showing female characters as one-dimensional objects who are only in it to help the males, and the destruction of lives without any consideration of the utter atrocities of murders -- no matter if the person is good or evil-- desensitizes everyone that views it into emotionless robots, including Samo students. When future generations see these films, I’m pretty sure they won’t think fondly of us.So do yourself a favor, take a deep breath and wonder: are these films really worth watching?