War in Iraq (rated R for violence and nudity)

Depictions of war have come a long way.
War.
The first depictions of war that I can think of is the Greek epics. That was oral, as well as written, and there are also accompanying drawings of death. Then I guess some artists decided to tag along with armies and draw noble steeds and brave soldiers defending their way of life against the Barbarians/Jews/Pagans/Ajam/crusaders/Imperialists/racists/communists/terrorists. Artists, however, were soon overtaken with the advent of photography, but not quite. For a great example of this, one can see photographs of the American civil war and compare them with illustrations. This was when there was competition. Photographs were black and white, while drawings could be any color. And I say that this is when depictions of war began to shift from Romanticism from Realism. But black and white is still black and white. It didn't offer what war really looked like, but it was a step closer. And then in the 1900s, a miracle happened: moving films! That's right, you can now see action. Hence World War 1 footage. And after the war, All Quiet on the Western Front, an antiwar novel, was published. And of course let's not forget the contributions of Wilfred Owen. And by world war two, movies had become well established. But the start of world war two also introduced a new chapter into depictions of war: propaganda. Of course, propaganda is as old as war itself, but the extent of propaganda in world war 2 was massive. The flag at Iwo Jima, the Hammer and Sickle on the Reichstag, the videos of "Russian soldiers" surrendering, Der Ewige Jude, Triumph des Willens, and so forth. It became glorious to die for one's country again. But this only lasted for a while.
Enter Vietnam.
This was another revolutionary war, in the sense that the media was heavily involved in it. And in color! Imagine that! Draftees could see on television what their fate was. Romanticism is dead now. "This is war" finally carried a negative connotation. Kim Phuc's picture was ingrained into us all.
Exit Vietnam.
And then wars such as the Iran-Iraq war, Chechnya, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, India vs Pakistan, South American revolutions, etc. came along. Video cameras on the front lines. And then the first Persian Gulf war. Flip to channel whatever and you can see someone with PRESS written on them. Imagine if such things were told to Eisenhower or Napoleon! Or even Saladin! What would they say? Who knows.

But now the war in Iraq. The youtube war. Homemade videos of soldiers getting hit by IEDs, shooting insurgents, handing out candy to children, shooting civilians, or in other words, just being soldiers. And we even have the other side now; insurgent videos abound. People can see exactly what both sides compose of.

We've come a long way from cave drawings of one tribe battling the other. But what's next? Who knows.

Relax, take a moment and breathe

April fools day

So April Fools Day happened. Nothing special, bye.

now that was good

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