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Hollywood and 20 years of war in Afghanistan

Thursday, 07 July 2022 12:33 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 07 July 2022 1:05 AM ]

Abdullah Amirzada

Press TV, Kabul

The war in Afghanistan which lasted almost 20 years, was the longest and one of the most expensive wars for the United States. However, only less than a dozen American movies have been made about this conflict so far.
World War II on the other hand, lasted only six years; nevertheless, thousands of American movies have been inspired by this war. As it seems, Hollywood is reluctant towards Afghanistan just like US politicians, but why?
In the earliest days of the US mission in Afghanistan, many aspects of the war were veiled by the Pentagon and several restrictions of access were placed for reporters. In the movies that are about the war, Hollywood has tried to cover up the horrible events that took place by US forces.
Soldiers who commit war crimes are often depicted not as representatives of the American army but people with mental illnesses. In the movie “The Kill Team” for example, we witness the brutal manslaughter of Afghan citizens from a psychopathic sergeant who collects mutilated body parts.
Movies, none of which are even shot in Afghanistan, are a far cry from the reality of the war from the perspective of the war-hit people. In the movie “12 Strong”, Hollywood tries to paint a picture of the bravery of its forces in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban, which is more like a work of fiction than any real event from the war. Of course none of the atrocities of the US forces, like soldiers urinating on corpses, are reflected in movies.
There is one common sentence shared by actors in Hollywood movies to show bravery and belligerence: “I have fought in Afghanistan.” However, the true story of Afghanistan and the events that took place during the 20 years of US presence in the country are never told in Hollywood. Why do you think this story does not interest them?

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