"The War Tapes": What Are They Good For?

I chose to watch "The War Tapes" because I was interested in how a movie could be directed by an outsider (Deborah Scranton) and yet be the product of the soldiers themselves. While the soldiers did shoot a great deal of the footage that made up "The War Tapes", the mood of the movie is heavily influenced by "post-production" editing.

I realize that a heavy amount of post-production was needed to create a cohesive film for public viewing, but I felt that this at times prevented a somewhat pure experience of the footage. Rather than being a film created by these soldiers, "The War Tapes" became more of Scranton's project to tell these men's mini biographies.

This being said, Scranton should be applauded for doing her best to give a voice to the voiceless- specifically the American soldier. So rarely does the media actually ask for these men to speak.

Scranton often chooses to include footage of the soldiers filming the television. By directing focus to television screens (televised press conferences with George Bush, Tom Brokaw on the evening news), Scranton highlights just how misleading and vacuous conventional media reporting can be.