STOP LOSS: Not just a movie

by: Jon Soltz

Tue Apr 01, 2008 at 16:28:31 PM EDT


The new MTV film "Stop Loss" is obviously a work of fiction, and like any movie, you have to create a story that fits into 90 minutes and follows a three-act structure, and market something that will sell.  And while the movie takes a couple of liberties to those ends, the issue it addresses is all too real.

While we've seen America's youth interested in current events like they haven't been for generations, far too many in the MTV audience still aren't taking the time to understand the issues that affect them and the people of their generation.  If this film causes 10,000 young Americans to go home and Google, "Stop Loss" and get educated about the policy, and what it does, then the movie has served an important role.

The facts are as shocking as they are troubling.  Repeated extended deployments have been linked to depression, PTSD, and even suicide.  If I had to pinpoint something that's most responsible for breaking our overstretched military (other than the war in Iraq itself), it would be Stop Loss.

Maybe after reading up on the facts, thousands of America's youth, and others, will feel compelled to do something about it.  And, thankfully, to that end, Credo Mobile Action (a project of Working Assets) has started an online petition to end the Stop Loss policy.

Let's face it, we troops and veterans can use all the help we can get from the American people.  Stop Loss, while not a perfect movie, presents us a real opportunity to recruit tens, if not hundreds of thousands of young Americans into the fight for responsible military policies.  I say we take advantage of that opportunity.  Sign the petition and pass it on.
Jon Soltz :: STOP LOSS: Not just a movie
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STOP LOSS: Not just a movie | 7 comments
Jon, you are arguing that "Stop Loss" (0.00 / 0)
is a vehicle.  A pretty flawed vehicle, from what I understand.

The American People don't need a vehicle.  They need minds.   Minds to understand that without a draft, all military action is subject to purely political, and criminal, control.

They have minds. (4.00 / 1)

 Sometimes they need a vehicle to shake them to their senses.


[ Parent ]
I've not seen "Stop Loss." (0.00 / 0)

[ Parent ]
But I hear about its inaccuracies. (0.00 / 0)
For example, calling the sargeant "sir."

Yes, a vehicle can be valuable.

But I'd wish for a vehicle containing some truth.  "Platoon" had a little truth.  So did "Hamburger Hill" and "84 Charlie Mopic."

[ Parent ]
The problem is, (0.00 / 0)
anybody who knows things like you don't call a sgt. "sir" is probably associated in some way with military life and already knows what stop loss means. Civilians typically don't know. If more civilians did know, they might actually start to care. That's why the movie is important. Also, if it makes money, more movies will be made, and that puts the wars back in the civilian conscience.  
[ Parent ]
no one was paying attention... (0.00 / 0)
this film brought 4 million on friday...i'm not sure how it did on saturday. fridays number one film was about playing blackjack. do you honestly think for two seconds some 17 year old kid is going to stop watching TRL to google the stop-loss? hell no. they don't care-there's not a draft they have to worry about. they would rather watch horrible music videos and reality shows about people trying to find true love. i'm almost glad no one was paying attention...the whole tone of the film was negative.  
Saying that (0.00 / 0)
Saying that ACORN is a good example of an organization is just a fiction. ACORN is a slightly nutty organization.  ACORN, a community organization group, founded by Wade Rathke, has started an empire of community activism that do things like pressure banks to make risky subprime loans and make them through its Self-Help bank partner, commit voter fraud, bully unions and get money from them, and they also commit acts that makes them guilty of rank hypocrisy.  They've actually tried every method possible to pay their employees less than minimum wage, if at all.  It doesn't sound odd that an organization that wants higher wages for poor people to not pay their employees, does it?  This ACORN fell a long way from the common sense tree.
STOP LOSS: Not just a movie | 7 comments
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