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 5 Bloods." 

     It's also a good bet that scripts about Kabul's evacuation are being written as we speak, and documentary filmmakers are hard at work in the streets even as we read this article.  (Consider a non-fiction example of evacuation: Rory Kennedy's 2014 " Last Days in Vietnam," an Oscar-nominated documentary featuring helicopters as the means by which the "good guys" were able to get out of Saigon. ) Archival footage showed the vehicles rescuing marines from the American Embassy's rooftop while local residents stormed the Embassy's gate. All the while we watched the helicopters coming, landing, loading and taking off again, flying precariously across the dangerous urban landscape, embarking on American Navy carriers. Indeed, these helicopters became the "stars" of the movie. If not the actual stars, perhaps, at least the primary "characters."

          What would a fictional film look like about the evacuation's recreation? Obviously, the characters would not be helicopters, since Americans controlled the air space but instead varied land vehicles, like SUVs, jeeps, and other military transports, would figure predominately. The primary characters, therefore, would no doubt be journalists, Americans and Afghan allies ( people who had helped our cause during the 20- year war). The plot would realistically involve an Afghan family, complete with children, grandparents, and an extended household.  Or a "group" of people with broad-ranging demographics ( such as those popular in catastrophe epics, like "The Poseidon Adventure").

     The plot would also follow the conventional "steps" : introduction of the problem ( the difficulty of leaving Kabul); introduction of the characters; the goal (being airlifted from the Kabul airport); the barriers  (getting to the airport itself, clearing the various checkpoints, escaping the Taliban); and the resolution ( several dramatic conclusions are possible here  because some people will inevitably be left behind or decide to stay in Kabul, all based on unfolding real-life events).

     Let's face it, stories about survival and sacrifice, life and death, and filled with a range of human emotions, are particularly memorable. And meaningful.

    Yet very few stories mirror events that played out in actual time on our TV sets, seemingly just a few scant weeks ago.  A time when we sat mesmerized, imagining that we were among those people struggling to get out of Kabul.