What if you could blast clouds out of the sky with a series of targeted glances? What if you could scramble NASA's entire computer system with a single thought? What if you could stop the heart of a goat with a single unrelenting stare? What if the people asking those very questions were not 12-year-old boys or aspiring science fiction writers, but the United States Army circa 1979? Well then, you've got one bizarre story on your hands.

Made up of scenes and lines that are alternatively laughable, eyebrow-raising, and thought-provoking, The Men Who Stare at Goats is essentially the story of the New Earth Army, a branch of psychic soldiers created after the Vietnam War, as uncovered by floundering reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) when he suddenly finds himself on a secretive mission with its star Jedi Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) some twenty years after the unit has been officially disbanded. What makes it funny: more than one scene in which men try to run through walls, army recruits channelling hippies and saluting the sun, and George Clooney attempting to save the world with nothing more than his piercing eyes and a glorified can opener. What makes it bizarre: see above. What makes it thought-provoking: that although the journey taken by Wilton and Cassady in the film is not true, almost all of its strangest lines, scenes, and characters are taken from Jon Ronson's non-fiction book based on interviews with men who were once part of a real psychic warfare unit of the United States Army.

Although the film's 2009 release finds the United States in a slightly different place in regards to foreign policy and warfare than its 2003 setting, the fact remains that United States forces still remain in Iraq and their presence continues to be a hotly-debated topic. Are we actually doing more good than harm? Are we actually needed there or would the country be better off if we never showed up in the first place? And at the end of it all, is what we are doing in line with any of the reasons we claim to be there? As one scene in the film both hilariously and pointedly reveals, we may be singing "I Love You, You Love Me, We're a Happy Family," but the way it's coming out is inflicting not love but torture on those who hear it&ellips; and most of us know that full well.

Enter the New Earth Army's alternate philosophy. What if we actually pursued peace, well, peacefully? What if we didn't fight with our hands, but resolved conflict with our minds? What if instead of sending armies to find rogue war criminals, we did so without ever actually entering a country? Sure, many of the methods that the New Earth Army comes up with in place of "fatal-warfare" are just plain absurd. Employing psychics to locate stealth weapons programs and secretive missile stockpiles... maybe not a program I'd want my taxes going towards. But to, say, leverage increased research, non-violent intelligence gathering, and purposeful communication to keep track of potential threats instead of just bulldozing towns and cities with tanks in hopes that we we'll run into them? I'd be on board with that.

Continue: 1 2