Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is centered around Billy Lynn and his
experiences after returning to the States from Iraq. Through Billy’s naïve and yet realistic
account of the Super bowl in 2004 (one of many stops on Bravo’s Victory Tour) it becomes clear that
Americans not only worship football and its players, they idolize the entire
violent nature of the game itself.
However, this obsession with aggression and violence is extremely
negative when applied to soldiers and the idea of war. Instead of offering genuine support or even
concern for the soldiers, many citizens at the game seem to only care about the
blood and gore of the attacks and want to know about Billy’s firsthand accounts
of the killings and battles in Iraq. In
fact, they seem to cheer Billy on as he recounts the horrific experiences and
treat him as though he is a reality TV star; not a decorated war hero.
Throughout these civilian encounters Billy goes back and forth between telling
the people what they want to hear and feeling extremely uncomfortable as he
watches their enthusiasm. He thinks, “This
is what he truly envies of these people, the luxury of terror as a talking
point, and at this moment he feels so sorry for himself that he could break
right down and cry” (114). This clearly
shows just how terrified Billy is of returning to Iraq and how deeply he feels
that this American view of war is far from reality when compared to his current
situation. Yet another conversation sparks
similar feelings for Billy when he is talking with a few of the Cowboys’
cheerleaders and one says to him
“No, yeah you were! You put it right out there
and that’s strong, a lot of people can’t talk about those kinds of things I
mean, like, death, you friend’s death?
And you were right there with him?
It can’t be easy talking to a room full of strangers about that.” Billy responds to this saying “It is sort of
weird. Being honored for the worst day of your life” (149).
Once again, this encounter just goes to show
how gluttonous the citizens are when it comes to the death and bloodshed
involved in the war in Iraq. I cannot
imagine bringing a soldier’s lost comrade up in conversation. It’s also ironic that this cheerleader
encourages Billy for openly speaking about Shroom dying on the battlefield when
in reality, Billy had no choice but to speak about Shroom. The soldiers in this novel are put on a stage
and expected to give an intimate account of their horrific experiences. Many fans simply laugh at times when Billy or
one of the other Bravos are being honest and serious about their experiences. There is no other option for the Bravos
except to bear the constant questioning unless they wish to disappoint all of
the expectant American citizens and lose support altogether. They must be actors when it comes to pleasing
others and forgo all of the grief, anger, sadness, confusion, and shock that
they are truly feeling due to the reality of their experiences. This is a sad but true fact throughout the
novel, and it definitely leaves Billy wondering if life itself has any purpose
at all when war is worshipped in this way.
I totally agree with your post, Morgan. This is one of the issues that stick out to me while reading this book. The civilians Bravo interacts with are blood thirsty and violent, even if they don’t realize it. A lot of them pretend to be Godly and church-going, but then claim watching the film of Bravo in battle were exciting, almost like a game of football.
ReplyDeleteAnother big similarity I drew between American’s mindset on football and war is the concept of division. I find it interesting that America appears to be so “unified” when they are singing the national anthem, but they’re so quick to support the killing of other people. It seems like people are only willing to support the people they elect to support. We don’t view each other as fellow humans; we view ourselves as competitors divided by geography.
This is shown in both football and war. In football games, Americans get so worked up over their team and defensive against competitors simply because they live in a separate area. This is a lot like how Americans are so supportive of the troops and “pro-war” even if it means killing other humans. They justify it because they see the others as “bad guys,” because they’re not from America.
This concept is a very sad reflection of how a lot of people feel. We’re not united as humans; we’re pitted against each other and are taught to use violence as a solution.
Morgan, I definitely see where you are coming from in regard to war and football in American culture. I would have never made such a direct connection between war and football until this novel-- and frankly, I find it upsetting that we as Americans would dare make such a comparison. Yes, football players may sustain serious physical and psychological injuries in the process of playing, and they must endure rigorous training to play professionally. But soldiers train as well, and their psychological issues go much farther than a football player's. Football players do not put their lives on the line for their country every single day; they play a violent game merely for American entertainment.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet we as Americans buy into this violent sport as a masculinity that apparently equals, if not surpasses, that of war. Even those who play football for the Cowboys have deluded themselves into thinking that their entertainment value is preferable (for the public, anyway) to our armed forces. After Billy tells Octavian, "You wanna do extreme things, join the Army," Octavian counters with, "You think we gonna quit our job go join some army?" (187) Here, Octavian undermines Billy's noble cause and emasculates him, as if playing football as a career would make Billy more of a man. How sad it is that a soldier who is willing to sacrifice his life, who saw his friend die right before his very eyes, receives not respect but a crowd gawking at him and a Cowboys player belittling him.
I agree with your post, but in particular it resonated with me when in reference to the soldiers you wrote, “They must be actors when it comes to pleasing others." In class and throughout many of these blog posts we have compared the Army to football, but we have not connected the institution to the entertainment industry as a whole, of which football and film are each a part.
ReplyDeleteAmericans indulge in entertainment in order to escape, and both football and film allow for Americans to lose themselves in fantasy. To viewers, there are no real consequences within these mediums; Americans are never left pondering difficult, unresolved issues, because by the end of a film or a game, all conflicts have been resolved. Americans are comforted by this sense of closure, so being denied closure makes them uncomfortable. This is why Billy and the other soldiers feel obligated to tell the American public what they want to hear. After doing his best to answer press questions, Billy wonders:
by what process virtually any discussion about the war seems to profane these ultimate matters of life and death. As if to talk of such things properly we need a mode of speech near the equal of prayer, otherwise just shut, shut your yap and sit on it, silence being truer to the experience than the star-spangled spasm, the bittersweet sob, the redeeming hug, or whatever this fucking closure is that everybody's always talking about. They want it to be easy and it's just not going to be (137).
Billy hits the nail on the head with his last statement. Americans want the soldiers’ talk of war to provide them with this sense of closure even if it is false, because closure is easy and unresolved issues are hard. This is also why the film industry is hesitant to tell Bravo Squad’s story or would rather set the soldiers’ feat against the backdrop of WWII. Films are meant to allow people to escape loose ends, and as Bravo Squad’s story stands, it is too current, too unresolved, and too real. Like you said, Americans want a "good" war story, not the truth.
I think you bring up a really good point. The desire for a "good" story is very evident from the beginning. When the names of the members of the Bravo squad goes up on the jumbotron with the line "America's Team Proudly Honors American Heroes," the fans behind Bravos "come to their feet...push and shove, grab at his [Billy] arms and talk too loud" (37). People view them as a form of superheroes from the movies, and they are celebrating soldiers' good work in Iraq. In a way, I feel like people are getting their sense of "adrenaline rush" through the Bravos. It is similar to why we read books, watch movies/sports, and play video games. They can all serve as mediums through which individual can have the experience they cannot. With the Bravos, the people are sharing a sense of patriotism. Norman Oglesby says, “You have given America back its pride” (112). Interestingly, Billy then thinks, “America? Really? The whole damn place?” (112).
ReplyDeleteThe only difference is that such methods of "gratification" have endings, while the Bravos need to go back to the war. Through these mediums, people usually get a full positive closure. I agree with Logan. Closures are easier on the mind. We don’t need to think about it. Perhaps that is why Zero Dark Thirty is one of the only successful movies about Iraq because it has a definitive end: bin Laden’s death. Unfortunately, the Bravos do not have such luxury, and most in the stadium are oblivious to this peace of reality. Fasison is the only one who becomes aware, and her expression sums up how most feel about unresolved issues. She says, “You-what? You’re going back? But nobody said, wait, everybody just assumes, oh my God, yall were done” (156). When in doubt, most just assume there is a happy closure.