Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Culture

Everyone a War Correspondent

What happens when every participant in a war is busy framing it while fighting it?

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | From the March 2015 issue

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests
Large image on homepages | Point and Shoot/Facebook
(Point and Shoot/Facebook)
"Point and Shoot"/Facebook

"Cellphone camera in one hand, AK-47 in the other." That's how Matthew VanDyke, the young American narrator and protagonist of Point and Shoot, describes fellow fighters in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. "Everybody wants something they can share on Facebook. Everybody tries to create their ideal image of how they want to be seen."

On some level, the documentary is an adventure story: A man triumphs over obsessive-compulsive disorder and finds new purpose when a motorcycle trip around Africa and the Middle East lands him on the forefront of anti-Gadhafi action. VanDyke is captured, put in solitary confinement for months, and freed only to promptly rejoin the fighting.

Yet the tension between VanDyke's roles as would-be documentarian and would-be freedom fighter also mirrors the conflict happening all around him. What happens when every participant in a war is busy framing it while fighting it? 

This article originally appeared in print under the headline "Everyone a War Correspondent."

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Still Not Getting Along

Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a senior editor at Reason.

CultureDocumentaryMoviesLibyaWar
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (0)

Latest

The Federal Circuit's Tariff Ruling Highlights the Audacity of Trump's Power Grab

Jacob Sullum | 9.1.2025 4:45 PM

After Years of Abuses, Approval of the FBI and DOJ Depends on Who Is in Power

J.D. Tuccille | 9.1.2025 7:00 AM

The Nearly Free Markets of Guatemala

Katarina Hall | From the August/September 2025 issue

Don't Fear 'Frankenfood.' We're Already Living in the Lab-Grown Future.

Katherine Mangu-Ward | From the October 2025 issue

Brickbat: Hard Time

Charles Oliver | 9.1.2025 4:00 AM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2025 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300