December 20, 2007: The war in Iraq quickly became a partisan political issue in the United States, and the Hollywood entertainment community largely followed their political leanings, and opposed it. That led to an investment of over $100 million in movies that took a decidedly anti-war message. Indeed, some of these flicks espouse a view that is largely shared by Islamic terrorists. Making these movies was unusual, historically. Wartime usually sees pro-war movies. Even during the Vietnam war, the anti-war movies didn't show up until after the war was over. Perhaps not surprisingly, all the current anti-war movies flopped at the box office. The film makers were perplexed at this, as they believed most Americans were against the war and agreed with the paranoid fantasies the movies often used in their plots. The film makers took comfort in better ticket sales overseas, where Hollywood fantasy has long been a popular entertainment. But in the United States, Americans saw in these films an attempt to besmirch American troops. Or, in some cases, the convoluted anti-war arguments presented just put audiences to sleep, or at least not in the mood to buy tickets.

Meanwhile, there has been a lot of unconventional movies about the war, taken largely by the troops themselves. These show up on the web, with YouTube having the largest collection. These are very popular. But no one in Hollywood managed to put this, and the fact that anti-war movies in the midst of a war have never done well, together. No one has yet made a war movie showing the war from the troops point-of-view. It may take a while for that to happen, like after the war has ended and the rhetorical dust has settled. Eventually, it will be seen as the right thing to do, to make movies about the troops who won the war, and how they actually did it.