Chris Kyle and the Clint Eastwood biopic of him, American Sniper, have been in the public eye in recent weeks. The movie has become quite the hot button, famous for its divisive nature among American citizens.

The movie itself follows Bradley Cooper as famed sniper Chris Kyle during his tours in the Iraq war and his struggles at home.

There is course language, politically uncorrect rhetoric, and some pretty unfiltered glimpses into the war and its effect on soldiers.

Many were critical of the film, saying it glorifies NavySEAL sniper Chris Kyle and the war.

In his memoir, Chris Kyle called Iraqis “savages” and says he “loved killing bad guys” to protect his fellow soldiers. Yeah, it doesn’t sit well with a lot of people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgFDL4FaIBs

However, even Nicholas Schmidle, staff writer for The New Yorker, admits that that kind of talk is status quo in the military.

Schmindle wrote an article about Chris Kyle and the man who killed him.

He said, “Chris Kyle’s story is an uneasy story. He did dehumanize the enemy.”

He added, “That is something, however, that is part of training. That’s part of preparing young men and women to go to war.”

This is something that supporters and critics of Chris Kyle haven’t exactly come to terms with yet. And they might never be able to, since many soldiers and former soldiers take the position that a person can’t understand war unless they’ve been there.

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For example, former Marine Jacob Schick, a warrior relations specialist with the Brain Performance Institute in Dallas, was traumatically injured, but says his most debilitating issues were post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury.

“Physical pain lets you know you’re alive; mental pain will test your will to stay that way,” he says of warriors like Chris Kyle and himself.

What do you think? Do you feel that the movie detailing the life of Chris Kyle glorifies war and bloodshed or does it expose the gap of understanding between those who have experienced war and those who have simply commented on it from a comfy desk?