The Invisible War (2012), Kirby Dick
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Latest American investigative documentary regarding the wrongdoings of the U.S. Army deals with the epidemic of rape of soldiers within that institution. In this review, I won’t meddle in its content. You’ll just have to watch The Invisible War instead. Rather, my brief approach concerns two other problems, the problems which the documentary indirectly provokes, but does not actually dissects: the aperture in the feminist movement and the matter of the U.S. Army’s independence.
By definition, feminism is a ”collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women.” But, neither that definition, nor its representatives tell us what happens when that equal gender right is established within the organization that is powerful enough to operate independently from the Government it represents, as is the case with U.S. Army, an organization that rests on the rules established, dictated and implemented exclusively by men. What happens is precisely the subject of The Invisible War: young women are enabled to chase their dream of being U.S. soldiers, to wear uniforms, defend their country (or at least act according to the wishes of their superiors), in a nutshell – to live a military life. Anyhow, that same right that gave them an opportunity for equality within one system instantaneously cancelled their more basic right, the right that every civilian, every U.S. citizen enjoys – the right to pursue and attain justice. In short, the moment you sign up for the U.S. army, you become their personal property. You cease to exist as an individual and become somewhat of an inventory in a strictly established hierarchy. This kind of system naturally favors the strong and devalues the weak, and since woman, no matter how tough and skilled she is, is still the member of the more delicate sex, it can only exploit her status while facing little or no repercussion for its inhumane offen- ses. In a microcosm free of any responsibility on account of avoiding any major political scandal that could shake its foun- dations and its reputation, a microcosm ruled by ancient silent agreements rather than contemporary written laws, woman is still a prey and there’s not much one can do in order to secure her well-being, i.e. to protect the victims and punish the offenders.
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