Charlie Wilson’s War is a drama grounded on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson’s clandestine dealings in Afghanistan, where his determinations to aid rebels in their combat with the Soviets have some startling and long-reaching outcomes. In this film, there are several morals or messages that are either conservative, or if anything, non-ideological in their orientation. The movie “Charlie Wilson’s War” establishes the phenomena of war and International relations. From this, we are able to link various events and concepts in relation to daily life.
In this film, there is the rise of propaganda over truth. An overriding theme in the movie is the strong conservative depiction of Soviet demeanor and policy in Afghanistan as entirely evil. This movie is significant milestone depicting the Soviet Union in a different light. Tom Hanks movie pushed the theme that the combat Charlie Wilson, who was in love with the Afghan Mujahedeen after being in love with a Texas woman, Joanne Herring. Major U.S. policymakers have cited most representations in the movie as lessons to control the present U.S. military business in Afghanistan (Hendrickson par. 4). “Charlie Wilson’s War” has raised the thorny query: “What should American policy be in the aftermath of a nation’s liberation from cruel repression?”
After the Soviet departure from Afghanistan, the film shows Charlie Wilson attempting and failing to obtain congressional funding for modest reconstruction assistance for Afghanistan (Hendrickson par. 3). The U.S. government was aware of the grievous human rights felonies of the Afghan “muj” but still regarded them as honorable “freedom combatants” to the Americas. The inference is that if the U.S. had built hospitals, schools, etc., perhaps the country could have averted allowing a vacuum to form that ultimately was filled by the Taliban. Official Washington’s conservative wisdom regarding Afghanistan originates from this movie. The movie has depicted the anti-Soviet combat of the 1980s as a contest pitting noble “freedom fighters” against evil “occupiers” and which impugned Afghanistan’s future descent into disorder on feckless U.S. politicians leaving as soon as Soviet troops deserted in 1989 (Hendrickson par. 5).
The dealings in “Charlie Wilson’s War” are considered as ‘water over the dam.’ These events seem to have been implemented in Bush’s Administration’s policy in Iraq. The events seem to represent what Charlie Wilson intended for Afghanistan—to assist it rebuild after freedom from brutal oppression. The movie drives keen insights into the daily reality of how the gigantic federal governments operate. There are clear vignettes of turf-protecting logrolling congressmen and bureaucrats. Charlie Wilson earned his congressional associates’ support for increased money of weapons aid to the Mujahedin because he had gathered more IOUs in comparison to other congressmen (Hendrickson par. 6). His secret was that his constituents anticipated so little from him that he was at liberty to trade his vote in backing of other representatives’ pet matters for future paybacks. Joanne and Charlie knew exactly how to control Rep. Doc Long, a major congressional subcommittee chairman, into backing their initiative, and that is the manner in which policy is often made in Washington.
In conclusion, the movie ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’ concerns a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson’s secret dealings while in Afghanistan. In this film, there are several messages that are conservative and non-ideological in nature. The main theme in the movie is the establishment of the phenomena of war and International relations. From the film, there are different inferences that can be drawn from its events in relation to daily life.
Work Cited
Charlie Wilson’s War. Dir. Mike Nichols. Perf. Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour. Universal Pictures, 2007. Film.
Hendrickson, Mark. “Charlie Wilson’s War”—movie review.” (2008): n.pag. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
