The War Tapes

The War Tapes was quite a viewing experience. The concept of sending soldiers in with their own cameras to document their deployments as they saw fit was certainly a successful one. The War Tapes spanned many possibly areas of focus that a war documentary might be concerned with, and was really quite successful in each and every one of those areas. It was at once a story of the lives of the individual soldiers, particularly those who filmed, an exposing of the life, ideas, and attitudes of those who serve in the army, as well as a documentation of the way they live and work together. It was a political story, though again by no stretch was this its primary aim; the commentary of the soldier 'Bazz' and his interaction with his fellow soldiers, as well as the consistent juxtaposition of the true story of the war by those who were fighting it with the story of the war being widely reported created incredible levels of contrast.

One aspect of the piece that would be interesting to gain more information on would be the impetus behind the entire project, as well as the degree to which these men created the product we view from the footage and other source material that they collected. Regardless, the piece was a remarkable revealing, remarkably relevant, and truly thought-provoking view of modern war from a genuine inside perspective. It surely has the power to cause each of us to reflect deeply on each kind of peace that we are so lucky to have in our daily lives.