Is military service considered THAT bad? (SPOILERS!!!) - Day Zero (2007) Discussion

[–] xaviermunguia 16 years ago

The title of your post isn´t so bad, but then you screwed it up with the terrorist *beep*

Military service like we have in most of the world, does help a citizen in providing a sense of belonging, civility and pride for your country.

However, a draft calling you to fight for a country with no identity for a pointless war does merit suicide. No, I´m sorry. Fleeing would be more appropriate.

Although a country full of hicks like you, who probably has never, and has no intention of serving in the military in the future, and who can be so judgemental maybe does call for a suicide in such situation. Who in the world would die for people like you?

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[–] DarrenDirt 16 years ago

2 movies/books will answer your question:

#1. "Born on the Fourth of July" (Tom Cruise shows off his acting chops in this Oliver Stone epic)

#2. "Johnny Got His Gun" (the Metallica video "One" includes clips from the film version)

The TV Series "Space: Above and Beyond" kinda hints at it too. War is anything but "glory", it is murder of those who are "different", who live "over there" and thus are less valuable than you and your neighbours. And usually the publicly-touted reasons for the war are different than the REAL rea$on$...

- - -

Chipping away at a mountain of pop culture trivia,
Darren Dirt.

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[–] kingdio 16 years ago

Yeah! Kudos for the Metallica reference. Best video EVER. Although I've never been able to find the movie at any rental place.

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[–] chort 13 years ago

"Tom Cruise shows off his acting chops "

cruise and acting don't belong in same sentence.

Gott ist tot.
Nietzsche

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[–] easol 16 years ago

xaviermunguia, no, the question is who in the world would die for someone like you, who are incapable of getting through a criticism of a single person without falsely slandering their entire country?

Answer: wherever you're from, nobody. So sad. For you.

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[–] GMustache 14 years ago

"""Although a country full of hicks like you"""

Wait, what?? A country full of hicks? What country is he from? Did he mention it in his post somewhere that I missed? USA has hicks, yes, but the country is NOWHERE NEAR 'Full' of them. A hick, from anywhere, no matter the country they reside in, is a bottom feeding, racist, waste of space. But, if you are speaking of America and saying our country is full of them, then you've got a serious f'ing mental problem.

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[–] law573 14 years ago

A country with no identity? That's an interesting thing to say and I kind of believe we're on way there now. National identity and pride went out of fashion a few decades back and that night be the cause of many of our current problems.

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[–] HarryMTs 16 years ago

tfox2k1
Suddenly I realized he jumped for another reason. Elijah realized no matter how many tattoes, head shavings, piercings, or other forms of self mutilation he subjects himself to, he would still be a 30 year old hobbit look alike.

That is hilarious. He probably jumped because he had premature ejaculation.

The military should send girls and only girls to the front lines. Feminists in the military like to command and order young men to their deaths, so it is only fitting that girls take their place for the sake of Equality.

Ignorant, Weak, Submissive men support Feminism in order to feel secure.

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[–] Deathkneeler 16 years ago

You must have been beat up by girls when you were growing up!!

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[–] SKITTZo 16 years ago

Perhaps you missed the part where his therapist wrote him a prescription. This was before he set out & had his hair shaved & tattooed, also before he went searching for a prostitute. More than likely he was prescribed some type of antidepressant and unfortunately those SSRIs have some awful side effects, like violent tendencies leading up to suicide, sometimes homicide.

Voluntary military service is not bad at all, but when you have unfinished business to take care of & all of a sudden you are drafted into an ILLEGAL war, that's what's bad about the entire situation. Who in their right mind would want to volunteer to invade a sovereign country for an illegal war that involves killing innocent women, children & military-aged males that could end up with you being blown to bits because the people don't want you there!?

Jesus wept.

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[–] mer_de_pensee 16 years ago

Wow thats rather ignorant!! So i assume you've been there right?? Watching all those innocent women and children being killed eh?

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[–] wmarcy 16 years ago

LOL, he said "Illegal War", dude, you didn't get the latest talking points? Even Hillary voted for the war.

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[–] knuppeldikje 16 years ago

by - wmarcy on Sat Jan 26 2008 05:54:35
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOL, he said "Illegal War", dude, you didn't get the latest talking points? Even Hillary voted for the war.

Just because Congress votes for something doesn't mean anything. The so-called "reasons" for going into Iraq where all lies. There was no connection with the 9/11 terrorists, there where no weapons of mass destruction, there was no UN sanctions for it, and that makes it an illegal war!

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[–] monsterkatt 16 years ago

"Perhaps you missed the part where his therapist wrote him a prescription. This was before he set out & had his hair shaved & tattooed, also before he went searching for a prostitute. More than likely he was prescribed some type of antidepressant and unfortunately those SSRIs have some awful side effects, like violent tendencies leading up to suicide, sometimes homicide."

Fluvoxamin, fluoxetin, paroxetin, sertralin, citalopram and escitalopram oxala. Thoose are the SSRI's. Wich one SPECIFICALLY causes you to become violent? None.

Irritable sure. During the first weeks of medication you might even, usually, have a dip deeper into depression. Something a doctor is well aware of. Besides, SSRI's are the anti-depressants with the LEAST sideeffects.
However, SSRI's are usually not used for treatment of anxiety. There are other drugs for anxiety disorders. Same with psychosis.

The bottom line. A normal person who is considered a low risk for suicide will not go slit his wrists from eating an SSRI. You'd have to be borderline or heavily depressed. In wich case, the doctor most likely would prescribe some sort of anti-anxiety drug. I'm not a doctor but Hydroxyzine comes to mind.

Wich probably is what the guy in the movie should have been given in the first place. Anti-depressants take months to start working, if they will work well for you at all, wich is not at all a given.

If you enjoyed any of Alexander Nevsky's titles our database also recommends:
You get lobotimized

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[–] Nimaza 16 years ago

I am not under the impression that Elijahs character killed himself because he got drafted. If anything he was the one preparing to go. He was the only one that never hesitated. The thing that stuck in my mind was the phone call he made to his sister (I think). Of the three friends he was only one who had NOTHING and NO ONE. His family didn't care, he had no girl, his writing job was basically a fraud, he was a virgin. Someone mentioned the anti-depressent which I forgot about. Coupling all these things together, drafted, having no one that loves you and suffering from a depression, suddenly suicide looks like a good option.

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[–] I_amindeed 16 years ago

Bit of an ignorant OP. And, as has been pointed out,it missed the point as to why he (Aaron not Elijah!) took the action he took. Drafting might have been the catalyst but it was to do with depression, increasing isolation and desperation.

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[–] Patrick487 16 years ago

It's hard to say what made him do it, because he's smiling at the end of the movie. He was desperate indeed but being under the influence of drugs might have had some effect too.

*´¨)
¸.•´¸E.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•W´

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] Patrick487 16 years ago

I'm sorry I didn't mean medication by drug. He smokes pot.
But what you say makes sense too. He had issues before, because there's a part at the therapist where he says he's been visiting her for many years

THE 4th SEASON IS COMING... 4 8 15 16 23 42

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] Patrick487 16 years ago

Yes, I'm not very informed on the effects pot has on people, I just assumed that it might have been another cause of his decition

THE 4th SEASON IS COMING... 4 8 15 16 23 42

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[–] erlingn 16 years ago

Do you mean that smoking pot can make you commit suicide?

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[–] Patrick487 16 years ago

No, what I mean is that it was probably one of the factors that changed his personality.
Anyways, I don't know anything about pot, I want to make that clear because some people here seem to know more about it than me (whatever the reason is...)

THE 4th SEASON IS COMING... 4 8 15 16 23 42

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] dollfacecrafter 16 years ago

don't go on these message boards if you haven't seen the films!! we are discussing the films, what do you think? spoilers do not need to be posted! IMO.

I think that Aaron was a very disturbed and depressed person for a long time and this was just the straw that broke the camel's back for him.

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[–] user-9699 16 years ago

Illegal War? The war is Very Legal. It was approved by Congress as the Constitution guidelined.

I served my time and it was tough at times but a strong military presence by the United States is VERY necessary. We must defend our borders and our citizens. If half of you dimwits were in another country you would be killed for your insults and blasphemy towards your country. But since this is the United States you spit in the faces of those who fought and died for your right to say as you wish but are able to live unharmed beacause of what the soldiers/veterans have done to preserve your right to say what you wish.
Semper Fi

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[–] holyhyperion 16 years ago

We're not defending our borders or our citizens here. We're invading other countries for what? Implementing democracy? Keeping the religious fanatics from killing each other? Maintaining a peace-keeping presence? Taking their oil? So far, we've failed on all of that.

If the native citizens of another sovereign country don't want us Americans in their land, interfering with their policies, and messing all of their *beep* up, then we shouldn't be there in the first place.

If some religious fanatics WHO BELONG TO THE SAME SEMITIC RELIGION want to kill each other over some dispute over scripture, I say let them finish each other off. I fail to see how it's America's responsibility to prevent two perceived enemies from killing each other off.

Hell, we even failed to steal their oil, because prices are as high as ever.

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] mjswooosh 16 years ago

user-9699 - you, sir, are a complete moron and totally missed the point of this film. You are also totally wrong about the war being "legal" or justified or even necessary in any way, but that's another discussion.

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] jbaker1-2 14 years ago

Does it hurt to be that stupid, son?

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[–] chort 13 years ago

Semper Fi my arse.
The war is illegal by international and UN standards. The US has invaded a soverign nation and is killing it's people.
There is no sympathy for the brainwashed soldiers that go there for the occupation.
They are not heroes, rather war criminals instead. Their deaths and injuries at the hands of the inhabitants defending their country is deserved.

Gott ist tot.
Nietzsche

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[–] cityforever1974 16 years ago

Sorry Hollywood writers, but serving your country isn't a bad thing. If not for the military the terrorists would put you at the front of the beheading line. <<<<<<<<<<<<<

Now tell me what military service did you or your father participate in?

Chickenhawks always want others to fight for their cause!

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] Thomasrq 16 years ago

My guess would be that he finally came to the conclusion, that he was alone in his life. Like he said in the movie he was a fraud, with his book, towards the end, his sister I take it, wants nothing to do with him. He has no contact with his family.

To him his draft notice is a death sentence. Or the fact that he has been in mental care with his crazy shrink for 7 years. I think alot more of it has to do with his mental health and his view of his "life after" if there is even one, from serving.

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[–] ikuto-yagawa 16 years ago

Go read "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque if you want to find out the universal effects of war on the human psyche. Or maybe I'll just tell you: It destroys men. The ones who die, and the ones who fight and live. It's unimaginable trauma leading to a lifetime of post traumatic stress and chronic depression. There's no drug or psychiatrist who can fix that. Only a world of sanity and reason can end war.

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[–] moijk 16 years ago

I must admit I didn't like the move just because it was all about a bunch of guys going crazy by the thought they have to be drafted and the possibility of going to war. Here in Norway, Draft is standard so I have served my time in the armed forces. But no chance for any war on my part. But in Israel they serve years in the army - even women. And there you almost can bet on at some point there is one war or you are called out to something potential deadly.

So are americans such cowards they can't even do what their fathers and grandfathers saw as their duty?

So how can America fight for freedom from terror against people who take suicide (suicide bombers) for what they belive in when the American in this movie took suicide for what he didn't belive in?

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[–] Deathkneeler 16 years ago

As you are prior service you know just as good as anybody else that some of them are insane to begin with, seems like it anyways. When we were over there we had a guy put a rifle to his head just so he could get back home, and he got an honorable discharge. Some are made for war and some are attracted to what they think it should be. I guess it depends on the person and mental status.

On another note to Harry. I would like to ask what the deal is with your outlook on 'girls' in the military, females is the more appropiate word for your next SO. I would like to know how many females you have served with, or did you even serve at all? There are some women who I would rather have my back, why beacuse no matter what, they know they have to better or equal to there male counterparts to earn there respect. Just remember them 'girls' have bigger balls than you!

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[–] 16 years ago

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