Black Hawk Down Analysis

Youth are the preeminent guiding force for change today in society. They inspire innovation, aspire to influence the world, fight for those without a voice, and are tomorrow’s legislators. Throughout all modern time, the youth of all nations believe in something larger than themselves and something which will change everything known. In the current civilization that goal is equality, both of the genders and of the races. Kurt Vonnegut writes about the youth in Slaughterhouse-Five and their mission. Yet these motivational sources differ a large amount from those of the current day. Their task, war. The youth in Vonnegut’s novel are naive children, sheep following their shepherd. Without these misguided young adults, the machinery of war

Mark Bowden once wrote, “No one gets behind, you know that.” The story, Black Hawk Down, provides information not only about war, but values in life. Mark Bowden expresses these values throughout the story and they are beneficial for a teenager in high school. In this story, the soldiers experience the true horror of the Battle of Mogadishu and are exposed to combat. Mark Bowden expresses the terrors of this war through the voices of the soldiers on both the American side and the Somali side. Although this book has many unpleasant features, it can educate an American teen valuable lessons. The book, Black Hawk Down, provides academic, social, and nationalistic benefits for a high school student.

“Nobody asks to be a hero; it just sometimes turns out that way,” SSGT Matt Eversmann said this while explaining to a solider the hardship of trying to explain to civilians the duties of a soldier. There have been many battles fought, and many have been lost. Black Hawk Down is an adaptation of the failed attempt to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid during the Battle of Mogadishu. It started on March 2001 and it was released January 18, 2002. During the real operation there was a dramatic change between it being a simple capture operation to it being a rescue mission that is shown in the movie. Black Hawk Down is historically accurate because the chronological sequence of the operation and rescue mission are correct.

Ryan Smithson was born in California, but then early in his life, his family moved to New York. The book starts off with him in high school talking about typical high school things like his job, girlfriend, and what it means to be “cool”. He continues by telling how September 11, 2001, was a normal day in school until the teachers all turned on the TVs in their classrooms. He saw the North tower of the World Trade Center on fire; he thought it had to be an accident and it was just a rogue plane. Then, he witnesses the second plane come and hit the South tower and realized it was an act of terrorism. That day changed him, he started thinking about joining the Army once he got old enough. “If I don’t do something, who will?” (Smithson, 16).

This book also shows the dark sides of the generation that fought for our country. It points out the racism and ignorance shown towards those of different backgrounds and ethnicities. Although those who served in the military fought their hearts out, they still held the prejudices that they had learned and grown up knowing in their hearts. They treated those that were dissimilar with ignorance and in some cases malice. An example of this is the story of Johnny Holmes. During his military service, he was forced to undergo medical experiments such as getting his teeth drilled without Novocain. Holmes was an integral part of one of the first all-black tank battalions and served exemplary. Even

The opening scene of the movie American Sniper, “which tells the story of Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL who shot his way to 160 confirmed kills in Iraq,” (Buckley) starts out when Chris Kyle was just a child and him and his father are out in the forest shooting deer and him beating up a bully who was picking on his little brother at school. Later on into Kyle 's young adulthood he made a decision to quit being a cowboy rodeo star and instead enlist with the Navy SEALS in 1998. During this time Kyle meets his future wife. Then, once after the trauma of 9/11, the war in Iraq puts Kyle to work as a sharpshooter, and the film shows his skills as frightening and strange. From this point, the arc of the film essentially follows Kyle across his missions as a sniper. An important element of the plot is his face-off with an enemy sniper Mustafa, A Syrian sniper who was a former Olympian rifleman, who Kyle does manage to take out near the end of the film. Kyle was shot and killed later on by a veteran who he was actually trying to help. Even though every Iraq citizen isn 't a terrorist, American Sniper should be known for its stereotypes against race because the invisible norm of the white dominant culture and the display of the male body, white males in particular. Also to add to that the movie is showing the masculine spectacle and its collapse by portraying Iraq and how all they want to do is kill Americans.

The nonfiction piece “American Sniper feeds America’s hero complex, and it isn’t the truth about war” written by Alex Horton explains a major question most Americans have about war. Are the movies we watch and the video games we play a correct perception of real wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? By using three literary devices: analogy, tone, and anecdote, Horton is able to persuade us to believe those accusations made are false. As soon as Horton gets out of the hook of the piece he begins talking about Call of Duty and movies such as “Black Hawk Down” and “Zero Dark Thirty”. These movies are set during times of war and try their best to explain war, and the affects it has on people.

At times, everyone could use a powerful motivational book; none more than young adults. With college, careers, the real world right around the corner, teens sometimes need an extra push of determination. Eric Greitens provides a compelling source of ambition through his book The Warrior’s Heart: Becoming a Man of Compassion and Courage. In the book, Greitens intimately shares his story from growing up to humanitarian work to becoming a Navy SEAL. Along the way, he teaches the importance of choosing courage and compassion in all walks of life, ending with a personal challenge to the reader.

Not only is Black Hawk Down informative,but I believe it should be a necessity for high school students because of the wide variety of perspectives. In this day and age we are raised with narrow-minded ways. It’s not often that we are encouraged to consider other’s opinions, let alone their entire perspective. That’s why I believe it 's important for highschool students to experience this book because it captures the importance of recognizing other’s point of view in order to be able to fully comprehend something. Through Bowden’s writing, he shows the readers inside the somali men’s lives and how they treat/feel towards the American troops. Most of the Somali men perceive the American troops as being frightening, that is why they set out to kill them. On the other hand, readers are able to understand how the Americans feel towards the somalis as well, and methods of killing they use. This book is a great literary example of this, due to Bowden going to great lengths in order to write the book as accurately as possible. An Anonymous writer’s “Book and Movie Review” states, “ Bowden’s 1999 book is a marvelous rendition of the events in Mogadishu, told from the viewpoint of those who actually participated in the battle. Bowden’s ability to record both the Somalis and American’s position/point of view allows us as readers to not only comprehend the battle better, but also in a more educational and historical way.

The book, “Vietnam-Book Two: Sharpshooter”, is the sequel to “Vietnam-Book One: I Pledge Allegiance”. This story gives a different perspective on the characters from the first book; more background information and instead of giving the insights of the character Morris, it explains the unique life of Ivan Bucyk, who is destined for the Army. Ivan knows he will go to war in Vietnam, just like his father fought in WWII, and like his grandfather in WWI. He is a senior in high school, just waiting to be drafted. His tightly-knit group of friends are all willing, but hesitant, to go with him.

Violence, death, profanity. Usually a book containing these subjects, along with many other disturbing aspects, would not be recommended for teenagers to read. However, looking past all of those details, Black Hawk Down actually has valuable lessons within it. The author, Mark Bowden, writes about the Battle Of Mogadishu that occurred from December 1992 to October 1993, and includes useful information within his novel. He focuses on the truth about war, weaknesses and strengths within it, and also lessons that can be learned from these subjects.

A parent will always believe that their child grew up too fast without them realizing it throughout the years. Going to war is something a parent can’t always accept when their child is a part of it. Alexievich’s project shows the world what war is really like from the perspective of others that were a part of. The author tries to explain in Zinky Boys, that the argument of loss is involved throughout the whole book. The loss that occurs isn’t always from a loved one, but soldiers within themselves. Alexievich tries to make everything come out from the background voices to bring the truth together about what really happens at war. There are different losses that emerge within the story like loosing someone important, loosing hope in the motherland and soldiers themselves. There are different ideas of loss in each interview but as we put everyone’s experience together we finalize that the truth of what war is really

Military academies, a big cliché in movies, and homegrown terrorists are two aspects of my book that I don’t agree with. Zach the protagonist in I Am The Mission has to go back to finish his mission. He has to kill his first targets two children. Military schools and terrorism a fun book for all.

1. What is the true subject or the theme of the film, and What kind of statement, if any, does the film make about the subject? Which elements and which themes contributed most to addressing the theme of the film?

When persuading through the story Black Hawk Down, it seemingly may be like any other dull book that teenagers have to read in school, but there is more to this book rather than words. By reading Black Hawk Down, a person like yourself or any other teenager may gain life lessons during the session of the chapters, including significant life lessons. The author of this book, Mark Bowden expresses the experiences of real life people, which he had congregated all the experience and applied a book to it. The book can relinquish us many life lessons, especially for the people's future and of course, why this book is also good for teenagers in this generation. When reading Black Hawk Down, a reader may identify life lessons such as brotherhood work, immoral violence, and being prepared for anything in this world. Somewhat, these life lessons affect our future, especially teens in the MUSD due to what is going on a daily basis around our world.