When the Fighting Stops

Watching Da 5 Bloods was like watching my uncles on the big screen. The main mission of the film was to retrieve some gold they found while fighting in the Vietnam War.

 There’s plenty of gun violence, Black fathers being absent from their children’s lives (either physically or emotionally), and Black men falling in love with women who have many ancestors who have surely called Black people the n-word.

 I like how Da 5 Bloods doesn’t seem to glorify Black men being in the military and is still critical of the idea of Black people fighting for a nation and causes that are not anywhere near the best interest of Black people in America or elsewhere.

 Black people are not exempt from criticism for their choice to join the United States military and aid US imperialism. While I don’t think people should join the military, especially marginalized people, I also acknowledge how the capitalist government coerces its citizens into doing all kinds of things for money. There really aren’t any perfect employers in the US who are just completely innocent of perpetuating some social issue. The universities these fancy professors work for, the Walmart that your cousin DonQuetta works for, and the military that your trifling ex-lover works for all-cause intentional harm in society, regardless of how grand or petite.

 The main cast of Black Vietnam veterans are clearly hungry for money and resources, which is probably why they enlisted in the military in the first place if they weren’t all drafted. It makes you wonder if military veterans are being supported financially and medically as they need. Just go outside. American society is not in a shortage of nigh poor veterans with mental health issues and suicidal thoughts.

The film does share an important message about PTSD and how it can destroy family dynamics. You see Paul, one of the Vietnam veterans, confronting some past war trauma that fuels his PTSD. He accepts his responsibility for the accidental killing of his dear friend and comrade, and it helps him overcome his mental health struggles. I wonder if this oversimplified way of healing sends the wrong message to the audience. I would imagine that it takes more than a dream or daydream to make significant and long-lasting strides in the journey of PTSD healing.

 The veterans and the White seductress lady get their money and redistribute their newfound wealth to various places, including family and advocacy groups.

 I felt like the film wants the audience to so badly think that because people were killed on both sides of the war, we should have some grace for the US military. Maybe I missed it, but I wish the film would’ve taken a deeper dive into the root causes of the war and the US’s intention to involve themselves in the war.

 All in all, it’s a fun adventure film that depicts older people, instead of “steaming hot” muscle heads, still moving whooping ass on the big screen. It was a nice mix of fiction and non-fiction. It’s clearly fiction, but the accurate historical information that is laced throughout the film keeps you balanced.

 And major shame on capitalism for forcing these old Black men to risk their lives over some damn gold!