Black Hawk Down

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Chad Oman had come across the series in the newspaper. I don't know whether my agent tipped him off to it or he came across it on his own, but Jerry bought the movie rights off of the serial in the newspaper. He invited me to come out to meet him in Santa Monica. As part of the deal, I had given myself the opportunity to do the first draft of the screenplay, and I had never written a screenplay before. It's a great role for somebody as Lloyd. I think that right now there are a couple different studios that are interested in it. We haven't made a deal, but I think we probably will sell the movie rights here soon. Of course, many people sell the movie rights to things, but nothing gets made, so we'll have to wait and see if anything comes of that. Ken Nolan was credited as screenwriter, and others contributed uncredited: Mark Bowden wrote an adaptation of his own book, [9] Stephen Gaghan was hired to do a rewrite, [10] Steven Zaillian [11] and Ezna Sands [12] rewrote the majority of Gaghan and Nolan's work, actor Sam Shepard (MGen. Garrison) rewrote some of his own dialogue, [13] and Eric Roth wrote Josh Hartnett and Eric Bana's concluding speeches. [11] Ken Nolan was on set for four months rewriting his script and the previous work by Gaghan, Zaillian, and Bowden. [14] He was given sole screenwriting credit by a WGA committee. [15] The film has had a small cultural legacy, which has been studied academically by media analysts dissecting how media reflects American perceptions of war. Newsweek writer Evan Thomas considered the movie one of the most culturally significant films of the George W. Bush presidency. He suggested that, although the film was presented as being anti-war, it was at its core pro-war: "though it depicted a shameful defeat, the soldiers were heroes willing to die for their brothers in arms ... The movie showed brutal scenes of killing, but also courage, stoicism and honor ... The overall effect was stirring, if slightly pornographic, and it seemed to enhance the desire of Americans for a thumping war to avenge 9/11." [35] Lang, Brent (September 1, 2011). " 'Inside the Revolution Library: Where Joe Roth Went Wrong". TheWrap.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015 . Retrieved June 28, 2017.

All in all, this is one of the more pleasing combat narratives I've read. It's sad, poignant, impressive, silly, and most importantly, extremely well written. You enjoy the story, and you care for the protagonists, politics and all that nonsense notwithstanding. A soldiers' tale. The Rangers and Delta Force soldiers were not the only members of the U.S. military operation who walked the Mogadishu Mile; they included two CSO Marines that were also joined by soldiers from the U.S. 10th Mountain Division: Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards". Art Directors Guild. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015.

In 1993, the world watched as cable news endlessly replayed the bodies of Americans being hauled through the streets by jubilant Somalis. Soon thereafter, the White House ended the mission. It was an act of looking away. Ultimately, in the epilogue, Bowden gets around to these thorny issues. Based on the quality of what comes before, I shouldn’t have been surprised that he brings a deft touch to the controversial decisions to insert Task Force Ranger in the first place, and later to pull them out. Bowden allows his subjects to have their say, which often involves them teeing off on the Clinton administration. He gives voice to Jamie Smith’s father, whose white-hot anger brings to mind that of Cindy Sheehan who, a decade after Smith’s death, would turn the loss of her son in Sadr City into a sustained antiwar movement. Regardless, Bowden makes no real effort to interject his thoughts on the lessons we should learn. His portrayal is focused solely on "capturing in words the experience of combat through the eyes and emotions of the soldiers involved, blending their urgent, human perspective with a military and political overview of their predicament," (his words from his Afterword) and he's amazing at it. Every word does exactly that. For a true account of life on the battlefield, piercing, poignant, and full of emotion as well as heart-pulsing drama, there really couldn't be a better portrayal.

Niemi, Robert J. (2018). 100 Great War Movies: The Real History Behind the Films. ABC-CLIO. p.34. ISBN 978-1-4408-3385-4.I not only learned about the combatants from both sides, but why the mission was almost inevitably doomed to failure. In that regard the Somali perspectives were invaluable. Not simply because they humanized "the enemy" but because of their explanation of how the initially welcomed American intervention soured for them. As one Somali put it, the Americans "were trying to take down a clan--the most ancient and efficient social organization known to man." And the experience in Somali haunted US Foreign Policy to at least the events of 9/11. As one US State Department Official put it, "Somalia was the experience that taught us that people in these places bear much of the responsibility for things being the way they are. The hatred and the killing continue because they want it to--or they don't want peace enough to stop it." As a result, for better or worse America didn't get involved in Rwanda or Zaire's bloody civil conflicts. As a result of that firefight in Mogadishu, 18 American soldiers lost their lives, and 73 were wounded. The toll on the Somali side was horrific. "Conservative counts numbered five hundred dead among more than a thousand casualties." Even more sobering? It's twenty years later, and Somalia is still a "failed state" in the midst of war. And after that battle in Mogadishu, no one in the international community cares to come between them killing each other.