It was the number one movie in the country, out-grossing tentpoles like Guardians of the Galaxy, but American Sniper is apparently too controversial to be shown on the University of Michigan campus. The powers-that-be have canceled a planned screening of the film this week after students complained that it perpetuated “negative and misleading stereotypes” of Muslims.
According to an online letter that garnered more than 300 signatures, Clint Eastwood’s film “not only tolerates but promotes anti-Muslim rhetoric and sympathizes with a mass killer.” Both students and staff members signed the petition, and the backlash against the film drew support from campus groups like the Muslim Students’ Association.
“Chris Kyle was a racist who took a disturbing stance on murdering Iraqi civilians,” said the letter. “Middle Eastern characters in the film are not lent an ounce of humanity and watching this movie is provocative and unsafe to MENA and Muslim students who are too often reminded of how little the media and the world values their lives.”
Deciding they would be promoting “harmful content” if they screened the film, the Center for Campus Involvement decided to replace American Sniper with a screening of Paddington Bear. No word yet on whether students have managed to find any objectionable content in that one.
Shield Us From Different Opinions!
How is it that watching a movie can make a person “unsafe?” Obviously, the people making this claim have already seen American Sniper and lived to tell the tale. They obviously wouldn’t make all of these claims about the film’s content if they hadn’t watched it, right? Of course not.
Anyway, the smear campaign against American Sniper continues. Has there been a more misunderstood movie in recent times? If you haven’t seen the film, you would think it’s this two-hour glorification of a Muslim-hating serial killer. If these idiots ever get around to actually seeing the movie, they’ll think it’s been re-edited for home video. Because they will find it isn’t anything like what they’ve claimed. It’s actually a moving picture of war, and a psychological study of what happens to a man when put into some of the worst situations imaginable.
But the merits, cinematically-speaking, of American Sniper are not the issue. The issue is this new belief that our college campuses should be “safe spaces,” free of any thought, opinion, or idea that might make a student uncomfortable. If there is any place in America where ideas should be allowed to flow unfettered, it is within our universities. You don’t teach young men and women how to think by shielding them from “dangerous” and “unsafe” views.
Of course, today’s universities aren’t trying to teach their students how to think. They’re trying to teach them what to think, and it has frightening ramifications for the future of this country. For many students, a college campus will give them their first real exposure to political ideas. And if certain mainstream political ideas are not only derided but actively banned from campus, the outcome is predictable. And if today’s liberals feel their safety is jeopardized by a movie, it’s no wonder they can’t relate to a man like Chris Kyle.
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