A.

Title of the film: “12 Strong: The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers”

B. Brief Summary of the film:

12 Strong chronicles, the United State’s first military response to the September

11 attacks in Afghanistan where the Taliban offered the Al-Qaeda a safe haven to plan

the destruction of the World Trade Centres. Captain Mitch Nelson who has never been

to battle is the leader of Operational Detachment Alpha 575, a team of paramilitary

officers and Green Berets. In a very dramatic meeting with Colonel Max Bowers and

Colonel John Mulholland, Nelson convinces them to let him and his men to be the first

to capture the city of Mazar-i-Sharif and end the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan. To do

this, Nelson must collaborate with an Afghan warlord with the Northern Alliance,

General Abdul Rachid Dostum, to take the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in order to stop the

Taliban from spreading their forces around the land and to cripple Bin Laden. The plan

is to take out the Taliban with air strikes. Mullah Razzan, the leader of the Taliban are

seen attacking and executing the teacher in front of the young students to make an

example of her. Nelson and Dostum spot the Taliban moving from a distance. They

try to work out how they will initiate the air strikes, but Dostum wants to be careful

since the U.S. government can pull out if they lose even one American soldier. Nelson

soon calls in the air strikes, but they miss most of the enemies. The soldiers then fight

back against the Taliban once they start shooting at them. Several men on the Taliban

side are killed, but the Task Force Dagger team are safe.

The final text states that against all odds, all members of Task Force Dagger

survived their mission and made it home. The mission to take Mazar-i-Sharif was believed

to take two years, but they did it in three weeks. Al Qaeda considers this their worst defeat.
Due to the classified nature of the mission, the men involved returned to their lives without

public recognition. In 2014, General Dostum became Vice President of Afghanistan, and

he remains close friends with Mitch Nelson.

Sociological Approach

In the movie 12 strong, it shows man’s relationship to the society that involve

religion. For example, the group of Taliban, they obey and follow their God’s rule and

because of their religion, they rely on their religion to shape their society. Because of their

beliefs, they will do anything for God, they will fight until they die because they know that

their God will save them. Same as the American soldiers, just like the Taliban, they will

do the same thing, even though they have different basis of religion and different God.

When the story tackled the subject of man’s connection to society, it opened up a
range of factors involving sociology. For example, as the American soldiers will fight for
what they think is right, their enemies fight for what they think is right as well. And both
parties will do whatever it takes to win. In this case, let us talk about the side of the Taliban,
these men follow and praise the rules of their God, their religion is what shapes
themselves, and what shapes an individual, shapes the society. Then, the pillars of their
society are their beliefs.

Facing the issue of the social forces that are capable of being the powerful and the
ones that are not, clearly shows in the movie that there are two main militaries in the story,
the United States and the Broken Northern Alliance, as well as the Al- Qaeda foreign
terrorist group and the Taliban. Both holds the power to cause havoc to each other, where
we can debate whom is the stronger army, but let us not be ignorant of the fact that the
citizens of the country Afghanistan are the weakest side, for they suffer losses and
destruction without the ability to fight back. It is depicted that the Taliban take what they
want from the nationals and forces them to do labor and fight alongside them. It is
supported in the conversation of Captain Nelson and an Afghan soldier under Dostum’s
command.
Captain: “You have any idea what’s going on?”
Afghan: “Dostum need to find out if his nephew still over there fighting along with Taliban.
Many switch sides. For necessity loyalty change. Some, every other week.”
Soldier ODA 595: “Why the hell would they do that?”
Captain: “A lot of these guys are farmers. Taliban comes through, they torture, murder,
force them to fight. What choice do they have?” And those under the greater power, has
no choice but to follow and cope.
The story also showed the economic struggle of the afghan nationals when ODA 595
asked their base of operations to send them supplies for the mission. And when the
supplies are send to the country at their location, afghan nationals stormed the boxes and
stole, took rather, what they can to sell to earn money. As well in the scene when ODA
595 Diller saw a sheep herder on his way to his mission, asked how much a sheep cost
and was told that it costs a whopping 500 U.S dollars, and the translator said that a single
sheep can be bought at 100 us dollars in the market. This proves that in that particular
time, Afghanistan suffers economic problems because of the type of situation they are in.
The protagonist and the other characters struggle to annihilate the threat to his country
can be seen as a larger issue that tackles the whole country as one. For everything is
under the shoulders of the soldiers who went into war, the outcome will determine the
future of the country and the world as well. The story is not only fueled by hate, it is also
fueled with the ideals of spreading democracy, peace, rights, liberty, opportunity, and
equality to be brought to countries desiring such values.

1. What is the relationship between the character and their society?

- When General Dostum said that, “Here, Taliban kills everything you live for.

Your mission will fail because you fear death. Mullah Razzan’s men, the

Taliban, they welcome it. Because they believe there is riches waiting for them

in in Heaven”. This scene depicts that Muslim people are not afraid of death

but they cherish it because they know that wealth or the bounty waits upon

them when they die. People who have different religions cannot argue about

that because that’s how they live and it is a belief that they based on it, we have

different beliefs that we worship and believe.

2. How do social forces shape the power relationships between groups or classes of

people in the story? Who has the power, and who doesn’t? Why?
 - Those people that are able to lead and influence or outright control the behavior

of people on their society have the power while those who aren’t able to

influence their society and doesn’t have authority don’t have the power. For

example in politics, those politicians who have the authority or the power to

decide what action should they do or work on it to improve the society has the

power and those person who aren’t capable to lead doesn’t give an attention

or disregard.

3. How does the story reflect the great American dream?

- The scene where General Dostum said Mitch Nelson that “You will always be

my brother… When I get into that city, I will raise your flag”, reflect to the Great

American dream because the American soldiers or the TFD was successfully

eliminate Taliban city in three weeks that was supposedly done in 2 years and

liberate the Americans to the Afghanistanslib The American team risk their life

to achieved their goal with hard work and pain.