Tonight I sat down and watched the Bruce Willis film "Tears Of The Sun". For those who haven't seen it it's set in Nigeria in a middle of civil war that is basically ethnic cleansing. We see alot on the news about ethnic cleansing and I think I've begun to tune out despite the tremendous pity and sadness I feel when I see footage on the TV.

But the film was nothing less than shocking. It embraced the horror and savagery and really rammed home what is going on in Africa & other parts of the world stuck in civil war. I saw "Black Hawk Down" the other night too & that was pretty harrowing but the things that our elite troops have to face each day when involved in evac operations are worse than just facing the possible death of their friends & themselves, which is shocking enough. The soldiers in "Tears Of The Sun" had to face what other human beings would do to each other in the name of purity.

The Navy SEAL military techniques were very interesting as were the weapons they used & the exclusive use of AK style rifles by the Nigerian Militia made me think about how the easy availability of these guns have armed those who consider no lake of blood too deep to wade through in order to impose their wishes on innocent populations. Overall I thought it was a great film. Bruce Willis, although typecast, played his anti-hero role well and the interplay of the SEAL team and the other African characters was also excellent.

Who else has seen this film? What did you think?

A rare seemingly pro-war movie, akin to the Green Berets in my opinion. No surprise Willis was the star.
If its an interest, similar conflict is occuring in the Sudan with janjaweed Muslim raiders displacing and killing, and Nigerian militias are intent on dismantling all oil operations in their country on Oct. 1. The Nigerians should be mad, as they're one of the largest oil exporters, and their citizens have nothing to show for it. Rebels can't fight the gov't, so they chose to hit its pocketbook, and in turn ours. Wonder who's side we'll pick there?

A rare seemingly pro-war movie, akin to the Green Berets in my opinion. No surprise Willis was the star.
If its an interest, similar conflict is occuring in the Sudan with janjaweed Muslim raiders displacing and killing, and Nigerian militias are intent on dismantling all oil operations in their country on Oct. 1. The Nigerians should be mad, as they're one of the largest oil exporters, and their citizens have nothing to show for it. Rebels can't fight the gov't, so they chose to hit its pocketbook, and in turn ours. Wonder who's side we'll pick there?

I found it to be a very well made, thoughtful movie, that showed just how creul mankind can be to others just because of ethnic differences. Willis did, I feel, an outstanding job addressing the various obstacles facing our spec. ops teams in these types of operations. Too bad we don't have more movies like this and less like Michael Moore's

If the general public knew how much of that is going on right now around the world with the US Special Forces they would mess themsevles...

I wonder if there is an African outlook on human life that differs substantially from ours, because humans aren't always at the top of the food chain over there.... just a thought.

It's not just an African outlook on life, it's a third world outlook. Outside of the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, and a FEW areas in Asia, life is cheap. That is the problem that we face. You can't ask someone to value your life or your family's lives when they don't place much value on their own. In most third world areas, women are property and large families are the norm due to labor intensive, primarily agrarian lifestyles. Infant mortality rates are huge, death by violence or disease is rampant, and life is hard, brutish and short. Politics in the third world reduces to "might makes right", and as a result you get places like Nigeria, as depicted in the film. This depiction is pretty close to the reality on the ground in the third world, especially Africa, as almost any country in Africa with the exception of the Republic of SA is like this, or darn close to it.

Would have to agree almost down the line - the only thing left unsaid is that blood feuds and perceived slights account for much carnage in that part of the world.

Strength is understood and admired. Meekness is held in contempt.

Whatever particular opinions you may have against a Christian-based society those socieites, in most cases, where Christianity has had it's stronghold are the ones that have slowly but ultimately eliminated things like killing for killing's sake. Where ever beliefs exist that encourage worshipping of gods whose entire purpose is war and vengeance while worshipping other gods for fertility & wisdom there are going to be cycles of mass bloodshed. When people are angry & want revenge they pick who they'll worship. While various European coutries heavyhandedly imposed Christianity upon Africa for the sake of "saving the savages from ****ation" it never effectively removed the polytheism that was a part of Africa's dark past. Furthermore, it left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Africans because they were treated like 2nd class citizens in their own land. It's a small wonder they have so little respect for the west. It took Europe around 700 years during the dark ages to overcome the same sort of tribal attitude and really be fully under the power of the church and there was still plenty of babarism even then. Africa's been going longer than that if we believe the "birth place of humanity" theory.

I'm not sure that "Tears Of The Sun" is pro-war, but it certainly does not deplore violence completely. I was both fascinated and horrified by the fact we train men to be, for want of a better word, angels-of-death. And don't misconstrue my words. In the world we live in obviously it is a necessary evil & they do a job with tenacity & courage that I could never equal. They deserve our respect & support. The quote at the end "All that it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing".........What is good? Too often it seems it is anything that scourges evil. The choices in the film were clear although the Lieutenant struggled with them. In our own lives however things are so often very grey.