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What We Don't Talk About in "Spec Ops: The Line"

🕑 Added 2024-10-10 15:00:10 +0000 UTC

Comments

Dang Nguyen

Another beautiful, dreadful piece of work. I am obsessed with the mural in this game which depicts the female victim of the white phosphorus attack clutching her child. As somebody who was brought up in Catholic schools my whole life, I immediately saw the deliberate reference to the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus. Associating these symbols of utmost holiness and innocence and purity in western art with the victims of a horrific attack is a very effective way of levelling an accusation of evil at the ones responsible for their deaths. It reminds me of some art I saw during the black lives matter protests, which depicted an orthodox icon of the Virgin Mary holding, the child Jesus in her lap in the motif known as the throne of wisdom, but the Christ child was simply a black outline, like the image on a target at a firing range

Krispy Kimson

That brings up an obvious question, the video alludes to the usage of WP itself as a war crime, but only seems to frame it in the context of its usage against civilians. So I wonder what Jacob’s stance is when it’s applied in a purely military context, does it make it okay then too? If not, I have to note the absence of the most recent and abundant example of liberal WP usage in the 21st century, the Russian Military in the Ukraine war. WP as a military tool is undeniably efficient at its stated goal, to burn and flush out targets in an entrenched position, which the Russians have demonstrated to quite the effect. The footage from r/combatfootage of WP raining down on Ukrainian positions in the Donbass is haunting. Does the absence of such an example mean that this video essay only condemns WP usage against civilians and endorses it against military targets? Or is Jacob’s stance is that usage of WP regardless of intent or target type is a war crime?

Jake Brabec

This was really excellent work. It’s emotionally exhausting to look at the way we casually write off civilian lives like this. This game really feels a little ahead of its time. If it was released now people would say it’s too political/woke/whatever.