American Sniper

Abstract

The militarization of American popular culture following 9/11 led to the circulation of a white nationalist rhetoric that celebrated white American exceptionalism and sanctioned the use of violent force to eliminate perceived threats to the homeland. White nationalism moved into the mainstream with the mythologization of America’s most ‘successful’ sniper, Chris Kyle, in his memoir American Sniper (2012) and the film version released in 2014. This chapter argues that American Sniper represents the apotheosis of a white nationalist narrative, persuading a significant percentage of the population that violent force is justifiable in order to protect the white, Christian American way of life. As white nationalism proliferated within post-9/11 American popular culture, the Department of Homeland Security and other US intelligence agencies began circulating reports expressing concern about the possible spread of white nationalism and white supremacy within the military and society, and yet the federal response to these concerns were muted or undercut by protests from Republican congressional members and conservative media outlets. American Sniper played a demonstrable role in fomenting the white nationalist ideology that has undercut US democratic institutions, leading to the attack on the Capitol.