Posted by offthetrack on April 23, 2008
Stop-Loss Steals the Show
Imagine returning back to your hometown, after proudly serving a year in the Iraq war, after watching one of your best friend’s die on the frontlines, after they dub you a town hero. Then image being stop-lossed. Not only is this is the case with director Kimberly Peirce’s new film Stop-Loss, but, according to the end credits of the movie, it is also a regular occurrence in the military. Some soldiers can even be stop-lossed three or four times. While many of us are probably not familiar with the term “stop-loss,” it basically acts as a backdoor draft. In this situation, the president, as commander-in-chief, can override the military and extend the soldiers call of “duty beyond their discharge date.” While moving to Mexico or Canada appears to be the obvious solution in avoiding returning back to war it is, as shown by the main character in the movie, Brandon King (played by Ryan Phillippe), not that simple. In fact, the entire movie revolves around King, going AWOL and then trying to escape the wrath of the military. Meanwhile, back at home, the other soldiers in his troop experience the harsh effects of war in the form of post traumatic stress disorder. Nonetheless, this film is extremely diplomatic in neither condemning nor praising the Iraq war. Certainly, however, it does (despite its obvious eye-candy with actors Ryan Philippe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) provide needed education on the topic of the Iraq war to teenagers (like myself), who are nearly the same age as the soldiers fighting in the war.
By: Emma B.
