In “The Hurt Locker”, the archetype of the rebellious bad boy is reinforced. James enters the movie as the person doing everything wrong, the outsider, the enemy. As the movie continues, we realize he isn’t an outsider, everyone else is. We spend the entire film building up to root for him. We try to find his soft spot when he adopts Beckham as a sort of surrogate son. But even his tenderness boils down to rage and then shame. All of his emotions seem to be half-baked. As the audience, there is a sense of frustration in his character and defensiveness. We want him to be appreciated and understood for his role as the father (to both Beckham and Eldridge). However, when it comes down to it, he is not the father but the threat.

The confusion about his character may stem from his role as a representative of American-ness. He serves as both the billboard purple heart American and the, more realistic, self-involved absent male. He represents both the soldier and masculinity. Bigelow points out how intersected these characters have become in the American psyche. As a large military power, the US uses images of war and weaponry to advocate for patriotism. Bomber jets fly over football stadiums after we sing the national anthem. Entertainment and war are becoming increasingly intertwined. Masculinity is one of the main victims of this intersection. The ideal man protects and suffers for the greater good, but through that becomes the enemy which is also desired. It goes in a loop that will just become more confusing with the increased documentation of war.