COMING SOON: EVACUATION OF KABUL AS A MOVIE
For those of us who remember the 1990-1991 Gulf War, labeled DESERT STORM by the media, the TV broadcasts were scary yet mesmerizing. One reason was their reminder that the real events appeared to mirror a Hollywood movie. Thus, what we watched recreated a traditional fictional film plot: introduction of the problem ( Iraq invaded Kuwait); establishment of the characters ( both journalists and America's fighting forces); the goal ( winning the war); the barriers to this objective ( notably foreign terrain, inexperienced military, unfamiliar culture ); and the resolution. While the recent evacuation of Kabul's populace was not related to a motion picture in actual time, it's apparent that it will make an exciting movie. Consider other war films about Vietnam, for example, which continue to live in our memories: "Platoon," "The Green Berets," "The Deer Hunter," "Hearts and Minds," and Spike Lee's recent " Da