(DON'T WORRY, NO SPOILERS)
Many of you who know me well are aware of how much I enjoy watching movies and especially going to watch them in movie theaters. I've always said, besides my parents house and the Catholic church movie theaters have always made me feel comfortable, feel at home.
Cinemas have always allowed me to open myself up to other ideas, gave me a view on how other people live their lives — though they may be fictional. It has always been an escape for me, a place I can be vulnerable and feel however I want to feel.
Last night, I caught a movie at a local cinema and the experience I had is something I've never had before, and one I will probably remember for a long time.
I watched “American Sniper” the movie based on Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who is considered the deadliest sniper in U.S. Military history. His story portrayed on the silver screen is intense, to say the least. But the even more intense thing that happened was after the movie finished.
In a theater, with probably 100 people, the entire room was silent. There was no music that went along with the credits. People got up from their seats and made their way to the exit, not saying a word. It was like leaving a funeral. Goose bumps formed across my skin, because I knew that what I just watched wasn't just a movie or just a story about some U.S. soldier killing a bunch of people. I knew that what I and the other people in that theater felt was absolute respect for a man who risked his life for his country.
I've never felt so sad after watching a movie or so moved. I was mostly moved, of course, by Chris Kyle’s story, but also by the silence I shared with the other people who sat through those two hours watching this man fight for what he believed in and struggle with the job he had to do and the lives he had to take in order to save others.
Today, I've read several articles about Chris Kyle’s life and reviews on the movie. Some people have said “American Sniper” is similar to propaganda, and the film is idolizing a cold-stone killer. Now this is my opinion, but it broke my heart reading some of these reviews.
I know as an American I am truly blessed to have men like Chris Kyle volunteer their lives to go to places like Iraq or Afghanistan or wherever to fight a war to keep my country safe, and ultimately me and many of the people I love safe.
I've had family members and friends who did tours in Afghanistan and put their lives at risk and saw horrific things that I could never imagine belittling what they did to protect my freedom.
Yes, “American Sniper” is a movie and it may be ‘Hollywoodized’ but this story is about a real person who got the job done — a job that many of us would be too cowardice to ever do if we had to.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but remember this; you’re able to have an opinion and express it because for years people like Chris Kyle put their lives in the front lines to fight for that freedom, along with many more.
The life we’re blessed to live here in America is something that can be ripped away in an instant, but let’s hope there’s always a Chris Kyle out there willing to go out and protect our house.
