Lone Survivor Part I: Necessary Awareness

I’m not as big of a movie guru as I would like to be, but I am working on expanding my repertoire. The most recent new release I saw was Lone Survivor, based off of the book written first hand by Navy SEAL, Marcus Luttrell. For the first time in a long time, I left the movie theatre deeply moved by what I had just seen. This movie hit home in so many ways for me, maybe even in more ways than it did to my husband who was at war twice. Many movie critics are comparing Lone Survivor to Saving Private Ryan. I probably can’t compare the two as well as I can discuss Lone Survivor alone, nor could many of my generation. Saving Private Ryan is a classic war movie, however, this generation can not quite relate to it as much as they would with Lone Survivor. For starters, Saving Private Ryan was released in 1998; most of this generation was merely conceived at this time and for people my age, we were walking and talking, but not old enough to grasp the concept of war.

           

Mark Wahlberg (left) who plays Marcus Luttrell (right), author of Lone Survivor and former Navy SEAL 

I have decided to make my commentary on Lone Survivor a two part blog; not to bore you, but also because there is so much this movie did for me that I feel it necessary to express. Today I find it imperative to address the awareness this movie could and will bring to people of our generation worldwide, not only about war itself, but about the ongoing war in Afghanistan. In our household, we are actively aware of OEF; not only what it stands for, but also different measures of its depth.

The average freshman college student believes we are NOT currently at war. 

NEWSFLASH – even the sometimes unreliable Wikipedia is able to tell us when googling “OEF” that this is the War on Afghanistan and that it is “ongoing” AKA…STILL HAPPENING.

In terms of awareness, the part about this movie that moved me most was HOW REAL all of this was. 

As a nation, we rely on our media for just about everything. So when we hear through the media that troops are being pulled out of Afghanistan, and when we do NOT hear about activity occurring overseas, it is natural to be unaware and more or less ignorant to war's reality.

Troops are still being deployed. I see it first hand in my Facebook timeline. Two of my Facebook friends just sent their husbands off for their 3^rd and 4^th deployments in the past two weeks. Both of these men are from very different units. For those that war has been “real” to, this movie will touch your soul, pull your heartstrings, and cry for those hurting, wounded, missing or gone before us. For those of you who are not as cognizant about war and how real it is on this day, at this moment, I ask you to watch this movie; take it in from all angles. I hope this will also touch your heart, even if you can not relate.

For me, Lone Survivor allowed me to reflect on feelings and emotions I had when my husband was in Afghanistan for two separate deployments. The second time around wasn't easier, but I learned how to manage and filter my emotions more. I didn't cry as much, I didn't mope as much and I was able to find more positive outlooks during the journey. Because I held a tough skin during the deployments, this movie is what sent those emotions escaping from my body; sad but refreshing. In another light, Lone Survivor brought out even more consciousness about the darkness of war; the emotional fight, the physical pain, the genuine dedication and determination of our military...which brings me to my final point...

"Never judge a person until you walk a mile in their shoes."

We may never be able to walk in the shoes of our military heroes, but keeping our eyes and hearts open, can help bring the appreciation and gratitude to the men and women who keep us free, while they aren't always safe.