A Comparative Critique of the Controversial Trauma Narratives in Hollywood and Local Films about the Iraq War

Films about the Iraq War created by Hollywood and Middle Eastern filmmakers present notably different trauma narratives. While Hollywood productions tend to highlight the war’s impact on soldiers, local films present civilian’s collective suffering. This divergence raises the contentious question of whose suffering deserves greater recognition. Using the Hollywood film American Sniper and the local film Turtles Can Fly as case studies, this paper addresses this debate by applying Edward Said’s Orientalism and Michael Walzer’s theory of just war. It examines how these films construct opposing trauma narratives and the motivations behind them, ultimately advocating for higher attention to the anti-colonial perspectives expressed in local films.