In Why We Fight, Eugene Jarecki strings together footage from every war the United States has fought on camera with interviews from experts on the subject in order to prove a point. The film is essentially an opinion piece set on film. Nevertheless, it is as engaging as it is informative, and it ultimately leaves you asking not only why do we fight, but why are we fighting in Iraq right now?
This may sound similar to Fahrenheit 9/11, but Why We Fight has a bigger theme. Yes, the immediate topic is the war in Iraq, but Jarecki ties this war to every war the United States has fought since World War II, and he implicates every president, Republican and Democrat, for his part in maintaining the military-industrial complex.
But Why We Fight is really about President Eisenhower. In his farewell address, he warned the country of the grave consequences of the military-industrial complex, and everything he warned us about in 1961 seems to have come true. If it does nothing else, Why We Fight finally explained to me, in clear, visual terms, just what the military-industrial complex actually is.
Yes, you might enjoy this film more if you already oppose the war, and I don't know how many minds an editorial like this will change. But it has a lot more integrity than the wild speculations of Michael Moore, and even if you ultimately disagree with Jarecki, there's no denying he's crafted this documentary perfectly.
Michael Moore did something similar in Farenheit 9/11, but Why We Fight is different. While Farenheit may have been more urgent at the time, Why We Fight has a bigger theme. Yes, the topic is the war in Iraq, and the immediate message is "Why the hell are we fighting this war?" but Mr. Jarecki ties this war to every war the United States has fought since World War II, and he implicates every president, Republican and Democrat, for his part in maintaining the military-industrial complex. But Why We Fight is really about President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Though the clips are short, the footage of Eisenhower's farewell address is what holds this documentary together and gives it a purpose that will stick with viewers longer than Moore's wild speculations in Farenheit. Eisenhower warned the public and his successors in the government of the grave consequences of the military-industrial complex, and everything he warned us about in 1961 seems to have come true. But don't worry if this sounds too much like a history lesson; if it does nothing else, Why We Fight finally explained to me, in clear, visual terms, just what the military-industrial complex actually is. The film also takes a look at the Frank Capra film series of the same name. Capra's Oscar-winning Why We Fight series was propaganda (back when propaganda didn't have so many negative connotations) commissioned by the government to explain and encourage the United States' involvement in World War II. Though Mr. Jarecki's film takes the same name, the function of this film is the complete opposite. The role of the film industry in politics has reversed; while Capra's series was government-sponsored propaganda, Mr. Jarecki's film attempts to expose the lies and propaganda that the government feeds us through other media. My only complaint is that the clips and references to Capra's films are too brief in this film.
The person interviewed in the film who makes the most sense turns out to be Senator John McCain. He describes the military-industrial complex as a system in which war benefits corporations instead of benefiting the country, and he talks about "legal corruption" so eloquently that I'm tempted to vote for him if he runs for president. And yet, it's often the "person on the street" interviews that elicit the most simple and profound responses. Why do we fight? Says one southern white woman: "Oh, I wish we didn't, but sometimes you have to." Above all, the film urges us not to forget past wars when undertaking a new one, for it claims that we all live in a place where a government's mistakes are forgotten as soon as it creates a new enemy to go after, a place one of the interviewees calls, "the United States of Amnesia"
