Thursday, September 12, 2013

The Invisible War

Kirby Dick's The Invisible War, a treatise on the little known and extensive, disturbing trend of sexual assault in the armed forces, features several victims telling their own personal horror stories before testifying before Congress. The film was so shocking, it stirred Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to issue a direct policy change order regarding how military assaults were reported, just the day after he viewed the documentary. While it has been a success in this commendable aspect, that is as art serving as an agent for social change, the film is very sensationalistic in covering a subject that puts it beyond critical reproach, and is as stilted and amateurishly composed as the Army promo video that opens it.