Guest Blogger: Austin M2

Black Hawk Down retells the story of a raid by the U.S. military that went wrong in Somalia in 1993. The troops were supposed to help humanitarian relief to provide food to thousands of Somalians and instead they ended up having to pull out because of the events to come. The mission was never supposed to be any longer than a couple hours but instead it ended up being a lot longer than any of them had packed or planned for. The actors chosen are hard to follow simply because there’s so much destruction going on throughout the movie, but Josh Hartnett is a Staff Sergeant leading the raid and portrays the part very well. He is a stern leader and always wants to move further to gain the edge on the enemy. The movie is an accurate display of the mayhem that went on as the U.S. went to rescue the men still alive on the Black Hawk helicopter that went down after being fired on, it displays the drive and caring nature that the military has for every man in it. It shows the side that no one else gets to see in the line of battle where no matter if they are dead or alive, no soldier is left behind. Roger Ebert said it perfectly when he said, “They help audiences understand and sympathize with the actual experiences of combat troops, instead of trivializing them into entertainments.” (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020118/REVIEWS/201180301/1023) Its not a movie simply for the entertainment it, for many, is a touching story that many civilians will realize what the military life is all about, the man to the right and left of you.