Harbaugh & American Sniper
There is some controversy on campus about the University showing American Sniper. It was cancelled after some protest, but it has since been rescheduled. I know that politics aren't supposed to be talked about on the board, but it involves our beloved coach.
Harbaugh weighed in on the matter via twitter:
"Michigan Football will watch "American Sniper"! Proud of Chris Kyle & Proud to be an American & if that offends anybody then so be it!"
Apologies for not being sure how to embed twitter posts.
http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/04/08/michigan-football-jim-harbaugh-american-sniper-screening
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/04/08/after-university-canceled-american-sniper-showing-football-coach-harbaugh-made-this-announcement/
Harbaugh has stirred a bit of controversy on campus with this tweet- a minority of students have complained about this.
My personal opinion on this is that I like Harbaugh more because of it. He is not afraid to step on people's toes, and voice his opinion. He is unapologetic. That's exactly how a coach should be.
As far as the film goes, I would prefer the University show it. Although I am not a big fan of Chris Kyle, I can understand why people would be. There are a lot of inspirational things about him, but also some negatives. I think the film addresses the negatives of war adequately, and makes a nuanced argument- Kyle is a controversial figure.
[ED-Seth: Aaaaand we're locked. Handed out one ban. Leaving because it's news that Harbaugh waded into it. This is why we don't talk about politics. But see Comment 14 for a good example of why I wish we could sometimes.]
Is how it's been turned into a divisive political statement depending on what side of the aisle you sit on.
To me, it was an above average movie that was really well acted, especially by Bradley Cooper.
Chris Kyle himself was a very complicated person. He was a hero that definitely fabricated stories in his book who died tragically. It's such a mess of an issue.
I hate that Conservatives cling to the movie like it's the greatest film of all time.
I hate that Liberals hate the movie based on the fact that some crazy racists, who were already racist, saw that movie and said some stupid crap on social media.
I have an issue with the movie because it portrays Kyle as a complicated hero when in fact he was accused of committing war crimes by shooting un armed civilians, is a racist, and claims to have shot people in New Orleans after Hurrican Katrina.
The idea that we would consider that man a hero simply because he wore an American uniform in war is an incredibly dangerous thought process. It has nothing to do with how I feel about the Iraq war and everything to do with the man himself being deifyed as a tragically flawed hero rather than the bigot and pathological liar he was.
I agree.
I wonder if he was still living if people would have attacked him with the same tenacity that they attacked Brian Williams with...?
We get it, He fabricated stuff. He has not a real likable guy.
Lets look at Martin Luther King, who was arguably the most important man of the last 60 years and a great man. Wanna hold a microsope up to his personal life?
How about JFK?
Malcom X?
FDR?
Reagan?
Nope, don't think so. But I bet 90% of the pepople saying they don't like this movie because Chris Kyle was a liar or whatever, soaked up Selma and all the JFK movies.
The movie was powerful for many people. Most movies are bullshit, fabricated stories made for entertainment.
CENSORSHIP IS BAD.
people who didn't end up seeing the movie should be thankful...it stinks! So cliched and poorly done with Cooper's bad texan accent. Thankfully I downloaded it and was able to close the laptop after 10 minutes.
I think it's probably time to delete this topic. I'm amazed that anyone gives a a shit about a movie at UMix that literally dozens might go see or what Jim Harbaugh thinks about that movie. Then again, I also don't understand why anyone would care that Harbaugh drives an F-150 or loves shitty daytime TV.
Mods may want to consider a thread lock now. The discourse was generally pretty civil last night but there have been some inflammatory comments today.
This is a political issue. Philosophical if you want to be really generous. Just because the coach weighed in doesn't make it not political.
I prefer my Michigan sports blog without bad political analysis, soapboxing, and America dick-wagging.
(This coming from a guy who lives, works, and breathes politics as my full time job and passion)
I'm with you up to the dick-wagging part.
I didn't go to one of these "UMix" things when I was a student. I don't know too many invdividuals that did. That being said, I hope this film is packed when it shows. Also, can we all have an MGoHug now?
I have to believe this tweet will play well in SEC country.
Lol at the film showing a nuanced opinion and showing flaws. Chris Kyle is accused of killing multiple unarmed innocent people in Iraq, brags about shooting people in New Orleans after Katrina (almost certainly not true but who the fuck would brag about that?) Is a pretty unabashed racist and islmaphobe in his book and all of that was taken out of the film. And of course the movie was a pretty clear good v. evil too. The movie is not nuanced at all. That doesn't mean it should be censored but the idea of Chris Kyle as an American hero is a sad day for America.
The movie portrays Kyle as tragic hero- he suffered in the end, and lost his life. Do you think that more people end up supporting the war after seeing it? I actually became more repulsed by the idea of war after, for what it does to the soldiers who fight it, and later develop PTSD. There is more than a good/evil paradigm at work. The movie leaves the viewer with more questions than answers- that's nuanced.
This is no different. It's not surprising that a coach who hired a Marine Colonel for Director of Football Ops didn't like the hyperbole equating a soldier fighting in war to a mass murderer. I have no doubt that Harbaugh sees this as standing up for his guys, and from much of the reaction, here and elsewhere, it's not unwarranted.
This isn't a big deal.
I don't comment frequently here, but I do frequent the site. I'd like to point out that a lot of what the book and film is criticized for is Kyle's use of the word "savage." People, Muslims in particular, felt that was degrading and dehumanizing.
You know what? It is degrading, and it is dehumanizing, and it is the EXACT WORD CHOICE to describe what it was that Kyle was describing.
Kyle wasn't describing Iraqis or Muslims in general, he was describing the enemy he was fighting. These people murder children playing soccer with mortars to stir up sectarian violence and decapitate innocent people at mosques. If we can't call that savagery, if we can't name the perpetrators savages, then what can we call them? They deserved everything Chris Kyle and his brothers in arms gave them, the very least of which was mean names in a book.
Kudos to Coach Harbaugh for standing on principle instead of bowing to the overly sensitive nature of our society.
Would Jim allow a player to opt out of attending the team showing for political, moral or any other reason related to the subject matter of the film? I hope so--for consistency sake.
Harbaugh's quirks are on full display--including on his twitter feed. Judge Judy, khaki pants, Cracker Barrel, Bo ball cap, tweet to Madonna, blue sharpie. So far, they have been endearing to the press and to UM fans ever since he officially became the head football coach.
But everytime he comments about things on his twitter feed (which is not controlled by the university or the AD) outside the borders of the program, he opens himself up to possible controversy and detracts from his main priority, i.e., the football team and itis players. You have to imagine that his next press conference is going to include questions about "American Sniper" and all the issues that have been discussed on this board--censorship, religion, patriotism, tolerance, etc. Do you really want to have Jim Harbaugh offering social or political commentary while holding the position with highest visiibility at the University of Michigan?
As a reminder of how sticky things like this can be, go back to 2007. While Harbaugh's comments were about football, don't forget that he rattled a lot of people at Michigan (including Lloyd Carr, Jamie Morris and Mike Hart) about what he said regarding athletics for the football team and how Stanford didn't have a General Studies major. Nobody has really asked him about them since we're in a honeymoon period, but now that he's UM's head football coach, here's some questions that Harbaugh or Jim Hackett could be asked in 2015:
1. Do you still stand by your 2007 comments about Michigan football and athletics regarding General Studies majors?
2. Will Michigan be directing football players to majors other than General Studies?
3.. Does Michigan have a target graduation rate for the football team comparable to Stanford's?
4. If yes to (3), what will the football program be doing in terms of recruiting, retention and development to achieve that rate?
Now just think about the kinds of questions he might get about "American Sniper" and all the other topics rolled up into that movie. If you don't like politics on a UM sports blog, just wait until the talking heads in the media get a hold of Harbaugh's tweet about the "AS" movie.
As background, ere's a few of his comments from this ESPN article from eight years ago (see http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=296…):
"My motivation was positive," he said. "I see how it's done now at Stanford, and I see no reason to believe it can't be the same there. I have a great love for Michigan and what it's done for me. Bo Schembechler was like a second father. Michigan is a great school and always has been, and I don't see why they can't hold themselves to a higher standard.
"Most avid college football fans, unfortunately, just think about how exciting it is to watch college players play and not about what happens when the football comes to a screeching halt. They need to get a degree -- a quality degree -- and develop a skill set that helps you for the next 60-70 years.
"There is no general studies at Stanford. In my opinion, that major does not give you the skill set to compete [in the working world]."
If I remember correctly, Bo said he would show Eastwood movies at the hotel to the team on the Friday nights before games.