Courtney Yule
January 23, 2015
My interview was scheduled at 11:15 on January 24th,
and after weaving through the hall ways to make it to my destination. I looked
around the empty library to see if Mr. Bakus, Assistant Superintendent, had
already arrived, but I only knew him through the emails we exchanged to arrange
this interview. I scanned the room three times, before taking a seat. The
library was vaguely empty for six period, and I quietly took a seat near the
door. A tall man walked through the
door in a long black coat suited for winter, leather gloves, and a tie. His
professional attire convinced me that if I needed to interview anyone about
this controversial topic it was him. His former background of a history teacher
intrigued me to contact him. After the movie, American Sniper, was released on
January 16, 2015, strong feelings resonated across the country for the film and
Chris Kyle. Therefore, I wanted to understand what a former teacher at Colonie
High School saw in the film, and ultimately what he took away from the movie as
a whole. Before, the interview commenced we formally greeted each other, and I
started the interview immediately since I knew he took free time out his day to
come see me.
CY: ‘After watching
this film, what kind of images, people, and themes stood out to you?”
TB: “I think the big theme for me was him as a
person. Like, you don’t have to get ahead of things, but the controversy that
goes on. I think kind of misses that this a personal story involved in a war,
and what he brings back and forth to it that’s what I took from it”
CY:
“Was that the major perspective you saw?
TB:
“I think so. You can look at it and some of the controversies that has come up,
and say okay what is Americas role in Iraq, what is Americas role over sea,
what are the responsibilities that type of thing. But I got to tell ya, I took
more out of what was going on with one person, what was the impact on with him,
and what was the impact on the family.”
CY: “Okay, you say family and how this was a huge
part of the movie. Was this what you thought as a movie as a whole?”
TB: “Do you mean before I saw it, or afterwards?”
CY: “Afterwards”
TB: “Yea, I did not see it as a, you know some of the
big things around I’ve seen is whether it is a pro war movie and an antiwar
movie. I did not see it that way. If you want to blame the war or the wars
there are two to three presidents you can blame those wars on or two to three
congress depending on how you look on it. I did not see as making a decision
that he was going off to war. Someone else told him he was going off to war,
and from that point on he had a job to do. His goal was to do the job the best
he could, but it wasn’t his responsibility of doing what he was asked to do.
Other people asked him to do that, so I looked at it as much more of a person’s
struggle through this.”
CY:
“Did you belief the ideas and beliefs of Chris Kyle, ex.(racism toward Middle
Easterns), shock you, after watching this film, or could you see his point of
view for being in that environment for so long.”
TB: “I think one of the big differences … I agree
with what you are saying from the stand point is he a product of his situation.
If he was around someone who was Arab or came from Arab descent in his
community or something like that… what I saw in the film, and I do not know
anything more than that. I do not believe he would be that way, but in the
setting of what he had. He definitely had concerns, but I think they were more
about what he viewed as the bad guys in the country. You know it wasn’t so much
about the race. You know the said things, but here’s the kind of thing I can’t
get behind the controversy of this. We
sit down and watch a movie about the Vietnam War and they may use terms about
the Vietnams that we may never use today, but we don’t get to upset about them.
I go and sit down to watch a movie from WW2 they would use terms against
Germans and other groups that we do not think anything about. What I find interesting is the movie I saw
beforehand was “Fury” with Brad Pitt,
which was a World War 2 tank movie, bad, bad movie, alright. It had every gore
cliché on the face of the earth. I was so disappointed. I haven’t seen a movie
in like six months, and I went to go see this and I’m like it stinks. But in
that movie, you know, it is all about the Germans and killing and all those
different things. Because we are far enough removed from it we do not get
concerned about it. I understand we are so far removed from clears sides that
World War 2. You know I think that the intent of the movie was to kind of
celebrate him so you are not going to have a balanced approach. You know, I
knew that going in Clint Eastwood is the director.
There is no way that that is going to go left.”
*laughs*
CY: “In what ways did you see Chris Kyle suffer
through the film internally because of his job?”
TB: “I think what he talks about, and he kind of
comes out towards the middle and end to one of the psychiatrists and the V.A.,
I don’t know which one it was, and he talks about not so much what he has to
do, but the people who he left behind like his buddies who were killed. He
talks about that, but you can see some of things he had to wrestle related to
women and children. They highlighted the balance. What is the responsibility to
his job and mission verses what he believes morally should not happen and be
done, but I think that what haunts him is the buddies and the people he served
with. That’s what I took out of it.”
CY: The media is saying this movie glorified war, and
we should not this man, who killed so many individuals in his lifetime, any
validation that what he did was right. What are your thoughts on that?
TB: “Great question. Here’s what I would say to that.
I did not leave the movie theater thinking that war was glorified. I left the
movie theater thinking that individual soldiers are put into tough positions.
Did they rise to the occasion. Average everyday people who then become soldiers did they rise to
that occasion, and I thought to myself more about the fact that I did not want
to put more people like that in harm’s way for foolish reasons. You follow
that. The meaning … makes sense?”
CY:
Yea
TB: “In other words if we are going to do this to
somebody there better be a damn good reason why we are doing that.”
CY: Yea
CY: A lot of famous celebrities chimed in on this
movie, after watching it. We have Michael Moore who wrote, “My uncle was killed
by a sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers were cowards. They will shoot you in
the back. Snipers aren’t heroes”, and in addition, Seth Rogan also stated
“American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that’s showing in the third
act of Inglorious … I’m not going to say the last word.
TB: “Inglorious
Bastards”?*laughs* That’s a great
movie by the way.
CY: Would you agree with those comments?
TB: No I would not agree to those comments. I mean
look I used Michael Moore films in my classes that I used to teach, but he is a
little off target on this one. I think that even in the movie you can see Chris
Kyle wrestle with the idea that he is a sniper, and the fact at some points
they make it apparent that he goes down and serves with some of the Marines on
the ground. And the reason for that is he thinks they are not trained well, and
he can help them out. On the other hand, he has to wrestle with the idea that
he is killing people from a greater distance. And he knows he has an easier job
than some people, or less likely to be killed than some people.
So he wrestles with
that, but I think that Michael Moore is a bit over the top on that one. And you
know I am not a big fan of the American policy in Iraq, I’m not. You know that is under Obama that is under
Bush, so I am under equal opportunity on that. But once again the more you look
into war and the impact, for me it comes down to the individual soldiers. And
Seth Rogan! Ah … don’t listen to Seth Rogan. I understand what he is saying. “Inglorious Bastards” was a good movie,
but it was pure fiction. So good war movie with Brad Pit opposed to “Fury”. That was a bad war movie with
Brad Pit. What else do you got?”
*slight
pause*
TB: Have you seen the movie?
CY: “No I have not. I heard wonderful things about
it, and I wanted to come into this unbiased”
TB: “You got to see it, after you’re done!”
CY: “Yes!
There has been another rumor going around that the film purposely came out,
before the trail against Ray Routh, the man who killed Kyle and a fellow Marine
Little Field, who went to go shooting.”
TB: “I have not heard that rumor. In fact, I didn’t
know exactly how he died. I knew he had died, but wasn’t until the final frame
that I had realized he was killed by someone. I thought he had some troubles
and actually committed suicide. So I was unaware of how he died. I think that
is a little … a little on top of the rumor mill to be honest with you.”
TB:
“Not an easy movie to watch”
CY: “I heard it just gets dead silent at certain
parts. No one is talking”
TB: “You know you watch and the lights come up and
everyone is talking. I am telling you there was not a word in the place. There
wasn’t a word in the place. My wife she thought the same thing. She thought the
strangest thing when we were leaving. It wasn’t a perfect movie. It really
wasn’t. There were … you know the thing is from a war stand point you right
about the idea there is a sniper, so he is not on the ground so there isn’t a
lot of action that way. But they do a good job about, you know when he comes
back and he emits to his difficulties and how it affects him at home”
CY: The War on Terror is a new innovation, and
America has been lucky to have few battles on its own soil. With that said do
you think this separation people who go into the movie theaters don’t actually
understand the tolls and what going on, so they are more likely to perceive as
this movie glorifying war than the actual experience itself?”
TB:
“I think you are right target there. I think the idea we view things as a big
video game or movie, and people like Chris Kyle were there living that is a
major separation, and I think it makes it easier for sometimes to commit people
to these things and not know the real total it takes on them.”
“Thank you very much” I said with sheer joy, after
the interview concluded. Before we
parted, he told me that now I had to go see the movie and email him about it.
After the responses he gave me, I will not hesitate to do so.
