An unflinching look at the anatomy of the American war machine. The film moves beyond the headlines of various American military operations to the deeper questions of why – why does America fight? What are the forces – political, economic, ideological – that drive us to fight against an ever-changing enemy?
Release Date: January 20, 2006 (NY, LA; wider release: February 10) Studio: Sony Pictures Classics Director: Eugene Jarecki
Screenwriter: Not available Starring: Graydon Carter, John S.D. Eisenhower, Chalmers Johnson, William Kristol, John McCain, Richard Perle, James G. Roche, Gore Vidal Genre: Documentary Official Website: WhyWeFight.com
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for disturbing war images and brief language. Runtime: Norway:55 min / USA:98 min
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SYNOPSIS
"Why We Fight," the new film by Eugene Jarecki which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, is an unflinching look at the anatomy of the American war machine, weaving unforgettable personal stories with commentary by a "who's who" of military and beltway insiders. Featuring John McCain, Gore Vidal, William Kristol, Chalmers Johnson, Richard Perle and others, "Why We Fight" launches a bipartisan inquiry into the workings of the military industrial complex and the rise of the American Empire.
Inspired by Dwight Eisenhower's legendary farewell speech (in which he coined the phrase "military industrial complex"), filmmaker Jarecki ("The Trials of Henry Kissinger") surveys the scorched landscape of a half-century's military adventures, asking how – and telling why – a nation of, by, and for the people has become the savings-and-loan of a system whose survival depends on a state of constant war.
The film moves beyond the headlines of various American military operations to the deeper questions of why – why does America fight? What are the forces – political, economic, ideological – that drive us to fight against an ever-changing enemy?
"Frank Capra made a series of films during World War II called 'Why We Fight' that explored America's reasons for entering the war," Jarecki notes. "Today, with our troops engaged in Iraq and elsewhere for reasons far less clear, I think it's crucial to ask the questions: 'Why are we doing what we are doing? What is it doing to others? And what is it doing to us?'"
The influence of the military-industrial complex (MIC) does indeed call for an examination.
It is no longer a threatening sounding concept; it is the way of life in this country. We have become so used to the MIC that we hardly notice how extensive it is. Jarecki lays out some of the facts that we need to hear to oversee the “meshing” of these giants.
—Continued
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