Youtube video - Restrepo Part 1
Youtube video - Restrepo 2010 documentary : Part 2
History : U.S. History since 1865
"Soldiers themselves are reluctant to evaluate the costs of war, but someone must. That evaluation, ongoing and unadulterated by politics, may be the one thing a country absolutely owes the soldiers who defend its borders."
-Sebastian Junger, Director of the film Restrepo and author of the book War (2010)
Respond to the following prompt in 1-2 pages (~500 words):
Successive U.S. governments and American media do a great job of disconnecting civilians from the reality of war, so that everyday life back home seems to exist on a different planet than the war zones. But actually, they are not two worlds apart.
Describe the ways in which the documentary Restrepo was intended to help the viewer connect with the American commitment to Afghanistan.
In what ways, if any, did the film persuade you that the war front and the home front are not so distant from each other, after all?
In spite of the government and the media's efforts to disconnect civilians and soldiers, are there any advantages to all Americans being more interconnected during wartime? If yes, what are the benefits? If no, what are the costs?