Why is Hollywood so preoccupied with Spec Ops members? (Marines, Coast Guard, officer)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I noticed on the promotion for NBC TV The Brave that their special operations team has a female full-time. Not part time like on Taken, the Liam Neeson movie inspired prequel last year. I am reasonably sure one of the females on SEAL Team on CBS TV will be among the first female SEALS.
As far back as Soldier of Fortune in the 90s with Dennis Rodman fictional special operations teams have had females,. In that case Melinda Clarke was playing a CIA ex agent on the team much like Bridget Reagan on the Last Ship who replaced and Israeli female and was joined by a Kenyan female soldier this season.
Two recent British War Films about ordinary soldiers that are well worth watching.
The true story of what happened at Kajaki in Helmand Province in Afghanistan with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and '71 about a young soldier in Northern Ireland in 1971, it has a 96% rating.
Another series of excellent BBC stories of "regular soldiers" is the 3-movie series "Our World War." It's basically about the old concepts of nationalistic war glory coming face to face with the reality of modern mechanized combat and the real nastiness that was always war.
Each movie is set around real combat events of real soldiers--each story is built on the letters and memoirs of a real-life British soldier in WWI. Their stories are about actual battles, with the production using both Private-Ryan-style hand-held camera effects and Ken Burns-style pull-backs to show what's happening in the larger scheme.
The first soldier was part of a machine gun squad directed to hold a bridge, the first demonstration to a cocky set of troops that combat is nasty and scary, and nobody will be the same afterward. The second is of a man who will be part of firing squad to execute a fellow soldier for cowardice--knowing that it could as well have been him. The third is of a crew of one the early battle tanks trying to get through enemy territory to join up with a planned battle.
I like how at the end of each story the pull-back showed the futility of the horror of the story itself, such as a day of hell ending in a gain of only a few feet of territory.
Unless it's a true story of a cook becoming something (men of honor) or say Hacksaw ridge or Unbroken etc most military jobs are typically support those jobs which are mundane and not exciting. I'm not taking away anything from military folks but it's impossible to make a exciting movie about say a military kitchen staff, office clerks or motor pool. I guess you can watch a bunch of cooks go tactical on a pot of baked pork and beans.
I mean imagine Darth Vader as the Chief Cook.
"This sauce is tooo spicy, open up another can"
Not as exciting as Chief Evil Overlord who kills by pointing a finger. "You made the sauce ttooooo spicy Commander. Pppuuuffff hhhaaaa pppuuufff hhhaaaaa. Youuu will not make that mistake again. Ppphhuuufff hhhaaaaa". Points finger....Gghhaakkkk gghhaaakkk
Unless it's a true story of a cook becoming something (men of honor) or say Hacksaw ridge or Unbroken etc most military jobs are typically support those jobs which are mundane and not exciting. I'm not taking away anything from military folks but it's impossible to make a exciting movie about say a military kitchen staff, office clerks or motor pool. I guess you can watch a bunch of cooks go tactical on a pot of baked pork and beans.
I mean imagine Darth Vader as the Chief Cook.
"This sauce is tooo spicy, open up another can"
Not as exciting as Chief Evil Overlord who kills by pointing a finger. "You made the sauce ttooooo spicy Commander. Pppuuuffff hhhaaaa pppuuufff hhhaaaaa. Youuu will not make that mistake again. Ppphhuuufff hhhaaaaa". Points finger....Gghhaakkkk gghhaaakkk
I think there could be a decent precautionary tale told about the combat defeat of the 507th Maintenance Company, 5/52 ADA BN, 11th ADA Brigade (Jessica Lynch's unit).
Their story begins with the unit being out by itself without the rear-guard support it should have had by Army logistical planning (Rumsfeld didn't think all those other troops were necessary).
The lightly armed maintenance unit spent several days desperately trying to stay under the protection high-speed combat maneuver units, but just couldn't keep up. It fell behind in territory still under the control of the enemy (Rumsfeld didn't see a need for extra troops to hold on and pacify territory after the invasion front had passed through--he and Cheney claimed the Iraqi troops would support the US, as soon as they saw we were the good guys).
I think there is a story in a unit strung out in a situation it was never trained, equipped, or intended to handle.
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.
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.
Not sure about the others, but the Tom Hanks team in Saving Private Ryan were Army Rangers.
Because combat has changed, most of the killed and wounded are now form IED’s not from actual assault missions. We have learned from Vietnam that gorilla type units are a better use of personnel.
Since war type films today are more BS than factual, even if loosely based on some event. Using a secretive spec. ops. unit with your usual members as the main subjects can make for a more compelling story. Since they are secretive, you can place the unit in any scenario, no matter how over the top.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.