War in Pop Culture

The war in Iraq has had an obvious influence on some of the movies that have been produced the last few years. Introducing aspects of terrorism and war to the big screen is what draws people to the theatres. Americans want to see instead of read or hear about events in the Middle East that soldiers must endure each day. Lord of War, Syriana, Babel, Jarhead, and The Kingdom are all movies associated with weapons, terrorism, and oil. The events that are presented in these movies either have occurred, presently occur, or could occur in the future. They are representative of the actual hardships soldiers, reporters, and civilians have to suffer through during a time of uncertainty and conflict.

Additionally, the main characters in the last season of Prison Break were Americans held captive in a prison in Panama. This is analogous to members of Al Qaeda being held captive at Guantanamo Bay. In both the TV series and the real life situation, the prisoners are being watched by armed soldiers in uniforms. There is also obvious corruption in the prison in the TV series, which could be reflected by the stories some former prisoners of Guantanamo Bay have that include abuse and torture. Also, inmates attempting to escape the prison can be equated to the insurgents escaping the grasp of American soldiers in order to finally live lives free from war and conflict. Some of these connections are quite obvious and it is no secret the war has even affected our pop culture.