American Sniper/American Liar? The Story Behind the Most Successful War Movie of All Time

American Sniper (2014) made half a billion dollars at the box office - more than all the other films about the War on Terror that came before combined. But the story this film is based upon paints a quite different picture of Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in American history. How did a film turn a controversial person into the ideal war hero? And how do we critically reflect on the genre of soldier autobiographies as a whole?

A special thank you to Dr. Deborah de Muijnck (University of Gießen), who was my first ever guest on this new podcast. If you want to learn more about Deborah's projects, you can follow her on Instagram (@deborahdemu) or on her website: www.uni-giessen.de/en/faculties/ggkgcsc/about-us/docs/research-profiles/team-profiles/demuijcnk

00:00 - 04:05: Intro

04:06 - 09:24: Religion and Othering

09:25 - 13:14: How do soldiers justify their actions in war?

13:15 - 17:27: The lie about weapons of mass destruction - can we actually believe soldiers' memoirs?

17:28 - 18:55: After Iraq: Chris Kyle becomes a celebrity and dies a tragic death

18:56 - 22:56: The typical structure of soldier memoirs

22:57 - 26:27: The structure of American Sniper - the autobiography

26:28 - 33:27: Why do soldier memoirs follow the same structures?

33:28 - 35:53: American Sniper - a controversial bestseller

35:53 - 39:29: Book vs film: two very different Chris Kyles

39:30 - 42:30: Conclusion: How American Sniper influences our memory of the Iraq War