By Torey Dixon

The idea behind Americana is simple, loud and brash. Draping yourself in the American flag as you chug a Natty Light is as USA as Lincoln and capitalism, to an extent there is nothing wrong with that. Being proud of where you come from is common all throughout this blue planet. That flag flying mentality evolves into more of an issue when it comes to American media however.

I recently saw a film titled “Hacksaw Ridge”, a World War 2 movie that stars former Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield, as Desmond Doss. Doss was a WWII vet who followed God’s holy commandments as the law of all laws. Doss spends the majority of film arguing on behalf of the Lord, spending most of the film as a savior to those stuck on ridge in Japan.

The film is typical R-Rated American action with flairs of smoke and gore, with a theme throughout it “please let me get one more”. This refrain is repeated throughout the entire movie as a the mantra that enables Doss to repeatedly subject himself through a loop of hell in order to save his brothers, again hard-lining Americana. This is where the issue rises.

In a scene of blinding, ardent action, a number of Japanese soldiers are killed in a montage of silicone and red corn syrup. As this occurs a Japanese general of some sort is seen committing the act of harakiri, a Japanese tradition originated by samurai that involves taking a blade into your stomach and killing yourself as a way to preserve the honor of your family.

This occurs amongst a flurry of kills, many showing Japanese soldiers flying through the air losing limbs with a thumping Hollywood score that might of well been chanting U-S-A, U-S-A underneath it. This is the problem with daunting flag waving.

In the fray of flying bodies and great practical effects, I couldn’t help but a feel a little dirty watching countless Japanese men lose their lives for a cause they truly believe in. I wasn’t the kind of person who threw a parade at the death of Osama Bin Laden as I believe that deaths of any nature shouldn’t be celebrated. In a year where America as a whole have mourned the loss of countless icons, random “yellow” bodies on a screen don’t seem to be an issue.

In a broader sense, this represents the divide of America today. Doss is the prototypical American who is all Hoo-rah and Red Bull when it comes to anything capitalist made but has only a little bit of empathy towards the other side. In the film, Doss, as previously stated, saves the life of a Japanese solider underground. Doss gives the man morphine to quell his pain and continues on his way. This is America.

We, as a country, have been self made rebels since the dawn of our society. This nation is a one-in-a-million shot against the monarchy’s death star, being self-involved is embedded into our countries DNA. This self-sufficient attitude is permeated all throughout American culture to the point of it becoming detrimental to the rest of the world. America’s empathy is dying.

In Syria, the fighting has lead to 200,000+ deaths with America doing very little in terms of help. This election was won by somebody who claimed to put America first and lost by a party that promoted the idea of helping each other, neither of which were concerned about making the world itself better.

People on social media were sending death threats to each other about a man who sat during a national anthem in response to unjust police practices. All of these things are born of Americana.

Patriotism as a whole isn’t going to be the fall of an Empire, it’ll be a lack of humanity. In an age where people can talk to each other in an instant across the globe there has been a surprising lack in communication. The information age has lead to information being self contained to those in communities and those willing to seek out understanding and solve their itch for curiosity.

Will more people branch out and engage with another viewpoint or will American society crush under the weight of a divided foundation? Only time will tell.

In closing, I would like Hollywood and America in general to just imagine a world where the Japanese soldiers were actual neighbors. The general who stabs himself in the stomach played basketball with your kid at the local YMCA and an ideological dispute lead him to be your enemy.

What song would you want playing for him in the montage? A gloating rock anthem that raises your heart rate and makes you want to end more like him or a slow piano that hollows out a refrain for your fellow man “please let me save one more”?

Torey Dixon