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Is it just me, or do movie and TV producers/directors seem rather fixated on nothing but military Special Ops such as Navy SEALs or Army Delta?
Don't get me wrong, those guys are second to none and are true bad arses and warriors and this isn't meant as a slight to them in the least.
But why does Hollywood seem to feature only them, and never military members in 'lesser' roles? This Fall there's supposed to be no less than three TV military themed series featuring Navy SEALs and Spec Ops as the main characters.
Same thing with movies. It's also come to the point that whenever you have any movie character with a military background, it has to have been as a former Green Beret, a SEAL, MARSOC, Army Ranger, etc. etc.
Is there something wrong with cooks or vehicle mechanics as an example?
I was in the Navy for six years as a machinist mate. Is that not good enough for Hollywood?
One of my most favorite movies is the 1973 classic, "The Last Detail." It's a rather mundane on the surface story about two Navy lifers escorting a young offender to serve serious time for theft. Yet, it is also one of the funniest movies I have ever seen, and many Navy vets can relate to the characters, the way they talk, the situations they get in, etc. Not an explosion or gunfight in sight, yet no less an absorbing movie.
Outside real stories, it is difficult for Hollywood to make anything about a non-spec op person. With spec ops, the number of stories is endless, they can add any special training, situation, etc. It is difficult to do with the non-spec op person, the story line is very limited.
Hollywood has had a few things with non-spec ops, like Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, Top Gun, Three Kings and that TV show Tour of Duty. Blackhawk down was a mix, but that was a real account. So I do not think there is a lack of non-spec op items. For spec ops, there is that awful movie Navy Seals, Sniper?, Lone Survivor.
As for backgrounds, given the situation they put the character in, the only way they can make it believable is for the character to have special training like spec ops (though they actually never have the training). The audience is going to more wowed by the former SEAL doing something, than the former BM and having to explain the BM took training after work to get the skills for the movie, blah blah.
Saving Private Ryan was not about a spec ops team, and nor was Band of Brothers. Fury with Brad Pitt was also not spec ops. The Last Ship on TNT is not a spec ops team. Mash was not a spec ops team. Jarhead was not a spec ops team. Hurt Locker was not a spec ops team. Battle LA was not a spec ops team. Battleship with Taylor Kitsch was not spec ops team.
Because it sells tickets. Do you want to watch a movie about special ops blowing **** up and killing bad guys, or do you want to watch a movie about a mess sgt in his office figuring out how many eggs to order? No, a movie about a machinist mate is not good enough, unless you go Steven Seagal on them and take out a bunch of enemy commandos who try and take over your ship or something.
You have a movie like "Red Ball Express" about truck drivers during WWII, but they are doing something heroic in order to supply Patton's army.
Is it just me, or do movie and TV producers/directors seem rather fixated on nothing but military Special Ops such as Navy SEALs or Army Delta?...Is there something wrong with cooks or vehicle mechanics as an example?....I was in the Navy for six years as a machinist mate. Is that not good enough for Hollywood?
Because people go see movies called American Sniper. I was a logistics planner in the military. You're not going to a get big box office haul from a movie called American Logistician.
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One of my most favorite movies is the 1973 classic, "The Last Detail." It's a rather mundane on the surface story about two Navy lifers escorting a young offender to serve serious time for theft.
In between the end of Vietnam and 9/11 the only real explanation for your character to experience combat was for him to be special forces in black operations. Then it was a way to short hand how great a character was since he survived a service school where 75% dropped out.. It went as far that on the TV series JAG besides one lawyer who was a Purple Heart traumatic amputation victim the rest were a fighter pilot, a Marine, a SEAL, a submariner and the office manager was a Force Recon veteran. The female Marine not being eligible for a ground combat unit back then.
And then when NCIS was spun off the lead was an ex MP and a Scout Sniper. Over the years the preferred special operations unit has changed. Just before the present war USAF PJ's were passing Marine Scout Snipers as the ex unit of the hero character coming from the missions like The Perfect Storm.
edit to add.
I believe Scout Snipers had their time as the lead special ops type because he operated alone as his spotter normally got killed off.
Their jobs are more dramatic and more interesting to the general public. It's the same reason most shows about lawyers are about litigators and courtroom drama. No one is interested in watching a show about corporate lawyers writing by-laws or drafting registration statements or estate lawyers drafting wills.
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