The Invisible War is a documentary directed by Kirby Dick. This film reveals to its audience the immorality of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the U.S. military. The film compiles the stories of several men and women who were victims of sexual assault. This is by far the greatest film directed by Dick. Dick has produced other works with a similar idea. The Hunting Ground is quite similar to the invisible war, but it deals with sexual harassment with college students.
Throughout his film he interviews the victims of sexual assault and how their dreams of serving their country turned into a nightmare. These individuals were proud to join the military and even put aside other opportunities to join. Unfortunately, their perspective of the military changed dramatically after being attacked by people who they had believed were the heroes of our great nation. In addition to their loss of purity, when they began to seek justice they were threatened and casted away as liars. Despite the astronomical number of sexual assault cases that continued to grow, the power to judge was given to their commanding officers who believed that their reputation was more important than the well-being of the men they commanded. After many years of unfair treatment, this power was taken away. However, the victims were still subject to difficult times. One of the victims in the film was seeking assistance for the Veteran's Hospital, but they continued to deny her for lack of evidence.
The film itself was to inform people that the military is not flawless and needs some work. Each interview was from a different branch of military. This film did an excellent job displaying to the audience that enlisted men and women could be potential victims of sexual assault/ harassment. It illustrated a great deal of pathos expressed through the emotional distress of the victims. This film would probably be more suited for sympathetic viewers.
The film also incorporates the everyday lives of the victims into the story, where it shows how the terror did not end when they left. Many experienced PTSD and were sometimes afraid to go out into the public and be exposed to men. This is a key element to the film that greatly added to the seriousness of the situation. It shows how sexual assault is not something that you can get over easily.
The film provided some statistics about how many cases were heard and not heard. 20% of women were sexually assaulted in the military which equates to 500, 000. This is an excellent element to add to this film and should not be taken out. However, the other statistics within the documentary about the cases was a little confusing.
Dick did add an interesting part to the film where all of the victims came together to make people aware of what happened to them publicly. This was an effort to help make some changes to the military and protect future soldiers.
Overall, the film is informative to those who wish to join the military and an inspiration to promote change in the military as well as in society. I would recommend this film to everyone, however, this is one of those films that I would not watch a second time due to the sensitive information it covers. Many people would stray away from a film like this but it is indeed excellent.
Throughout his film he interviews the victims of sexual assault and how their dreams of serving their country turned into a nightmare. These individuals were proud to join the military and even put aside other opportunities to join. Unfortunately, their perspective of the military changed dramatically after being attacked by people who they had believed were the heroes of our great nation. In addition to their loss of purity, when they began to seek justice they were threatened and casted away as liars. Despite the astronomical number of sexual assault cases that continued to grow, the power to judge was given to their commanding officers who believed that their reputation was more important than the well-being of the men they commanded. After many years of unfair treatment, this power was taken away. However, the victims were still subject to difficult times. One of the victims in the film was seeking assistance for the Veteran's Hospital, but they continued to deny her for lack of evidence.
The film itself was to inform people that the military is not flawless and needs some work. Each interview was from a different branch of military. This film did an excellent job displaying to the audience that enlisted men and women could be potential victims of sexual assault/ harassment. It illustrated a great deal of pathos expressed through the emotional distress of the victims. This film would probably be more suited for sympathetic viewers.
The film also incorporates the everyday lives of the victims into the story, where it shows how the terror did not end when they left. Many experienced PTSD and were sometimes afraid to go out into the public and be exposed to men. This is a key element to the film that greatly added to the seriousness of the situation. It shows how sexual assault is not something that you can get over easily.
The film provided some statistics about how many cases were heard and not heard. 20% of women were sexually assaulted in the military which equates to 500, 000. This is an excellent element to add to this film and should not be taken out. However, the other statistics within the documentary about the cases was a little confusing.
Dick did add an interesting part to the film where all of the victims came together to make people aware of what happened to them publicly. This was an effort to help make some changes to the military and protect future soldiers.
Overall, the film is informative to those who wish to join the military and an inspiration to promote change in the military as well as in society. I would recommend this film to everyone, however, this is one of those films that I would not watch a second time due to the sensitive information it covers. Many people would stray away from a film like this but it is indeed excellent.