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What Are The Stereotypes In The Body Of Lies

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Body of Lies is at its core a critique of the U.S.’s War on Terror, yet winds up discussing too many underdeveloped ideas. Set in the Middle East after Post War Iraq, the movie focuses on a CIA operative’s mission to catch the terrorist leader Al-Saleem, a task that sets most of the setting in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria. The operative and main character Roger Ferris is played by Leonardo DiCaprio who collaborates with the head of his division Ed Hoffman, played by Russell Crowe, and the head of the Jordanian intelligence Hani Salaam, played by Mark Strong. Director Ridley Scott ensures a well-produced movie, utilizing techniques that gear towards driving its narrative. The film provides the name of every location through a quick black backdrop with white letters or does so at the bottom of the screen. The music sets the tone through a …show more content…

Crowe’s character embodies the U.S. Machiavellian in nature, Hoffman is cold, calculating, and does not have much respect or understanding for the Middle Eastern people and its culture. This is evident in that Hoffman makes no efforts to pronounce Arabic names correctly, but is well acquainted with the intricacies of terrorist warfare. In contrast, Al-Saleem’s followers are not the smartest terrorists, at times leaving themselves wide open to attack by driving eye-catching black vans and carelessly peeking their heads from behind cover. As the New York Times review of the movie put it, “the movie is a hodgepodge of borrowings and half-cooked ideas flung together into a feverishly edited jet-setting exercise in purposeless intensity.” The movie does its job of being a spy thriller with plenty of twists, turns, and intense action sequences. However, it struggles to obtain a lasting impact through the bigger picture ideas it pushes that end up being nothing more than interesting dialogue to the average

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