'American Sniper' (2014)

'American Sniper' (2014)

From That's Not How It Went Down by Lewis Howard & Elliot Fitzpatrick

February 24, 2026 · 1h 2m · Season 1 · Episode 72

About this episode

The episode discusses the complexities and controversies surrounding the film 'American Sniper' and its portrayal of war and its protagonist.

It's never easy to tell a sympathetic story when war is the main focus. But following the invasion of Iraq in 2001, the opportunity to reinvent the war movie genre on a different battlefield seemed like too goood a chance to ignore. Jarhead, The Hurt Locker and Green Zone all take place amidst conflict in the Gulf Wars, but few movies are as deeply "patriotic" and culturally divisive as Clint Eastwood's 'American Sniper'. Despite becoming the highest-grossing war movie of all time upon its release, questions soon began to be asked about the message the film was making as well as the veracity of some of its claims - not just about Middle Eastern warfare, but about the movie's protagonist himself. Was Chris Kyle the deadliest sniper in US history? Was he really up against an ex-Olympian Iraqi sniper? And what the hell happened during Hurricane Katrina?! Join us to find out on That's Not How It Went Down! Subscribe now for further listening: https://tnhiwd.supercast.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Lewis Howard, Elliot Fitzpatrick

Topics covered

  • war movies
  • American Sniper
  • Iraq War
  • patriotism
  • cultural divisiveness
  • film analysis

Keywords

  • American Sniper
  • Clint Eastwood
  • Chris Kyle
  • war movies
  • Iraq War
  • Hurricane Katrina
  • film analysis
  • patriotism
  • cultural divisiveness

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: 'American Sniper', Jarhead, The Hurt Locker, Green Zone

Places: Iraq, US

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