People watch movies to be entertained and thrilled for an hour or two. What they don’t normally want is a watered-version of what is supposed to represent real life. Some people might prefer the cinematic version, but the danger inherent in this practice is that by accepting the fantasy, the reality that awaits just outside the theater becomes exponentially harder to accept. By describing and showing the true horrors of terrorism and the conflict it brings in the theater, by being brutally honest about the issue, filmmakers can at the very least say that they have followed true to the source material and left nothing to the imagination. How a director goes about this is of course all dependent on the film, but for those stories that are attempting to cling to realistic background, hiding the truth is sometimes worse than actually showing it.
Here are five things the movies get wrong about terrorism:
The lone wolf soldiers that operate outside the law are efficient methods against terrorism
In films there are always those that buck the law in order to get things done, and quite often they appear to redeem their actions near the end of the film. Those “loose cannons” that are so highly prized in film fantasy are known as vigilantes in real life, and are not above the law in any way. In fact those types are often the first to take the fall when the situation finally reaches a point of control that can be managed, and are not generally considered the rugged hero that gets to go home at the end of the day.
All terrorists are foreign-born
It is very easy to classify a foreign-born individual that seeks to topple a government as a terrorist, but trying to do so to a citizen within one’s country seems to be constantly met with opposition that the citizen either didn’t know what they were doing, are generally a “good person”, or are mixed up somehow in the head. Homegrown terrorists are very real, and are as much of an issue as foreign-born terrorists. In fact those that are homegrown are more of an issue simply because they are already here and can’t be so easily detected.
All terrorism is religion-based
This is an easy misconception to make considering that so many movies have been made showing that terrorists are willing to kill or die for the sake of their god and/or country. Some films get this correct however in that the terrorists are not striking out in the name of their deity but instead because of their desire to cause chaos among their enemies. Terror doesn’t always need to be religiously inspired.
There is always one central bad guy
For the sake of the film industry this is the case largely because a scapegoat is needed to drive the story. While it is true that in the real world there are very important figureheads in terrorist groups, the truth is that these groups will continue no matter if you remove the one person. While the loss of that important influence might hinder the group for the foreseeable future, it will not kill it outright.
Greater violence stops terrorism
In the movies the bigger gun and smarter side usually wins, or at least puts up a good accounting of itself. In real life however violence against others tends to increase the violence that is returned to the sender. There is no doubt that fighting terrorism cannot be done with zero violence, but the thought that violent acts will not create a violent reaction is rather juvenile.
Conclusion
Without really knowing what terrorism is all about and the very real horrors it can bring many people are forced to rely on the movies to see the hardships that are experienced due to terrorist acts. Reality is sometimes easier to accept, but obviously harder to deal with than film violence.
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