War's dirty little secret is that some men love it.
Interpretation
Some individuals find a sense of excitement and purpose in war despite its destructive nature.
In this quote, Kathryn Bigelow highlights the paradox of war: while it brings devastation and suffering, there are individuals who are drawn to it, perhaps due to the adrenaline, camaraderie, or a sense of duty it offers. This complex relationship between humanity and conflict suggests that not everyone views war solely as a tragedy, illuminating the darker aspects of human nature and the allure of violence.
In practice
In a discussion about the realities of war, one might use this quote to emphasize the unforeseen allure some individuals find in battle.
Those of us who work in the arts know that depiction is not endorsement. If it was, no artist would be able to paint inhumane practices, no author could write about them, and no filmmaker could delve into the thorny subjects of our time.
I'd love to just think of myself as a filmmaker, and I wait for the day when the modifier can be a moot point.
I began to exercise a lot of cinematic muscle with the precepts I had learned in the New York art world. Film was intriguing. I began to think of art as elitist; film was not.
If there's specific resistance to women making movies, I just choose to ignore that as an obstacle for two reasons: I can't change my gender, and I refuse to stop making movies.
There should be more women directing; I think there's just not the awareness that it's really possible.
In Vietnam, our soldiers came back and they were reviled as baby killers, in shame and humiliation. It isn't happening now, but I will tell you, there has never been an American army as violent and murderous as our army has been in Iraq.
The young bloods of the South: sons of planters, lawyers about towns, good billiard-players and sportsmen, men who never did any work and never will... They are splendid riders, first-rate shots and utterly reckless. These men must all be killed or employed by us before we can hope for peace.
So many nurses had turned into emotionally disturbed handmaidens of the war, in their yellow-and-crimson uniforms with bone buttons.
We know now that in modern warfare, fought on any considerable scale, there can be no possible economic gain for any side. Win or lose, there is nothing but waste and destruction.
Women are so much a part of war, even if they tend to see another side of it. To say they don't understand war is ridiculous.
The wars don't end when you sign peace treaties or when the years go by. They will echo on until I'm gone and all the widows and orphans are gone.
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