Drone Bomb Me: cinema & warfare in The Good Kill and Eye in the Sky

Abstract

This paper asks how popular Hollywood cinema can provide a cognitive map of the complexities of drone warfare. Starting from observations made by Chamayou and Schuppli, who argue that drone warfare undermines the notions we generally employ to understand the political and moral implications of warfare, the essay turns to two recent blockbuster films that seek to give a realistic depiction of drone warfare, The Good Kill (Niccol, 2014) and The Eye in the Sky (Hood, 2015). Both films, the paper argues, use innovative techniques and narrative structures to evoke the sensorial impact of drone warfare. However, they culminate in narrative sequences that depict gendered scenes of heroism and empathy that undermine the goals the films had set out to achieve. The paper argues that both films’ failure is symptomatic of a structural problem inherent in all cinematic attempts at depicting drone warfare. In conclusion it turns briefly to the song “Drone Bomb Me,” by American singer Anohni, to meditate on what an alternative way would be to depict drone warfare.