# American Sniper: What's the main point of the movie? \[Open spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 26, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sniper-whats-the-main-point-of-the-movie-open-spoilers/710951 "2015-01-26T21:31:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sniper-whats-the-main-point-of-the-movie-open-spoilers/710951/1 "2015-01-26T21:31:41Z")
I understand what American Sniper is about, overall. But those who have seen it, can you explain what the main point of the movie is? Is Clint Eastwood trying to tell us that war is hell and damages people, is it a ra-ra-USA movie, something else? ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sniper-whats-the-main-point-of-the-movie-open-spoilers/710951/2 "2015-01-27T00:42:00Z")
Well, your conservative friends on Facebook will tell you that it’s a “ra-ra-USA” movie and don’t you DARE disparage it or Kyle because that would make you anti-American and a troop hater when you should really be putting a picture of Kyle about that picture of Jesus in your living room because he’s a REAL AMERICAN HERO (!!!) and if you don’t like it you can get the f **k out of America you piece of s** t f\*\*\*\*\*g traitor!!! Please like this post if you think Chris Kyle is a TRUE AMERICAN PATRIOT. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sniper-whats-the-main-point-of-the-movie-open-spoilers/710951/3 "2015-01-27T01:52:55Z")
Can we get a less frothing-at-the-mouth answer? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sniper-whats-the-main-point-of-the-movie-open-spoilers/710951/4 "2015-01-27T02:44:15Z")
It’s meant to be a biopic about a guy and his experiences. Clint Eastwood might not be a left winger, but empty chair aside he isn’t known for being a filmmaker with a political ideology. He doesn’t need to sell you on anything like political films do. He has said that [there are antiwar themes in it](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/26/clint-eastwood-american-sniper-anti-war_n_6547068.html), via its effects on the troops. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sniper-whats-the-main-point-of-the-movie-open-spoilers/710951/5 "2015-01-27T22:01:02Z")
I guess I don’t really care so much about the “themes” in the movie. What’s important to me: it has an interesting story arc. The characters go through some (believable) transformation over the course of the story. I’m interested in the characters and their fates. The story involved me emotionally. American Sniper had all of these. I found the movie very involving and believable, for a movie. Maybe my tastes are less discerning than others, but I really enjoyed the movie. J. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sniper-whats-the-main-point-of-the-movie-open-spoilers/710951/6 "2015-01-27T22:18:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Is Clint Eastwood trying to tell us that war is hell and damages people, is it a ra-ra-USA movie, something else? Both. Neither. > [@jharvey963](#): > > I guess I don’t really care so much about the “themes” in the movie. What’s important to me: it has an interesting story arc. The characters go through some (believable) transformation over the course of the story. I’m interested in the characters and their fates. The story involved me emotionally. > > American Sniper had all of these. I found the movie very involving and believable, for a movie. > > Maybe my tastes are less discerning than others, but I really enjoyed the movie. > > J. Yeah, I agree with all this. It didn’t seem either pro-war or anti-war to me, it was just the story of one man who had good and bad aspects. It certainly did _not_ proclaim him to be simply a flawless hero. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sniper-whats-the-main-point-of-the-movie-open-spoilers/710951/7 "2015-01-27T22:26:09Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > Is Clint Eastwood trying to tell us that war is hell and damages people… That’s it. That’s the central thesis of the movie. And Clint does that part well. He does a good job of showing the strain on soldiers and their families. As I’ve said elsewhere, it could have been a _better_ movie if it had allowed for more ambiguities. I wouldn’t call it a “rah rah USA” movie exactly, but it is definitely a hero’s tale. It does not allow the war to be anything other than just. It does not allow the people Kyle shoots to be anything other than straight-up villains. I think the movie would have been better if his enemies had been less cartoonish. Maybe Clint could have allowed for the possibility that they had reasons for fighting, too, not the least of which was that their country had been invaded. And I think the movie could have been better if it had given us an honest warts-and-all look at Kyle himself. He is a flawed hero, and the movie could have showed us that. But we don’t get any of that. We get a nice simple war and a sanitized Kyle. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2015, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sniper-whats-the-main-point-of-the-movie-open-spoilers/710951/8 "2015-01-28T11:24:05Z")
Yeah, the movie would have been far more interesting if it had been more nuanced. Kyle was shown to be very black and white in his worldview, which he was in real life from what I gather, but the movie seemed to go further than that and actually justify his worldview. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2015, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sniper-whats-the-main-point-of-the-movie-open-spoilers/710951/9 "2015-01-28T11:59:42Z")
Hero worship. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2015, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sniper-whats-the-main-point-of-the-movie-open-spoilers/710951/10 "2015-01-28T12:10:27Z")
[QUOTE=Polerius] Is Clint Eastwood trying to tell us that war is hell and damages people… [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Spoke] That’s it. That’s the central thesis of the movie. And Clint does that part well. He does a good job of showing the strain on soldiers and their families. [/QUOTE] Too easy, obvious, and overdone. War is straining? Thanks for the enlightenment, Clint. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sniper-whats-the-main-point-of-the-movie-open-spoilers/710951/11 "2015-01-29T01:12:11Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > Can we get a less frothing-at-the-mouth answer? I was only hoping for a relevant one that sort of, oh, I dunno, addressed the OP. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sniper-whats-the-main-point-of-the-movie-open-spoilers/710951/12 "2015-02-01T09:04:27Z")
I viewed it as one man’s war experiences and how it affected him and his family. Being gone so much put quite a strain on his marriage. Especially after his 2 kids were born and his wife was alone raising them. I’ve read the book. I hope to see the movie in the next couple days. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sniper-whats-the-main-point-of-the-movie-open-spoilers/710951/13 "2015-02-01T11:19:06Z")
My sister gave the movie five stars. Typically that means I should avoid it… ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sniper-whats-the-main-point-of-the-movie-open-spoilers/710951/14 "2015-02-10T15:08:56Z")
I saw this last night and I quite liked the film. I’m pretty liberal for what its worth. I didn’t think it was pro-war by any means, probably more leaning towards the anti-war side - but it’s definitely pro-soldier, and I’m fine with that. It was an interesting character study. Bradley Cooper absolutely earned his Oscar nod. He was really great.