Does it bother you how the Military is portrayed in Movies/TV? (Air Force, boot camp)
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Unless it's specifically about a war hero or something, the military is almost always portrayed as useless. Especially if it's some kind of alien invasion or about some huge threat often the military is viewed as cannon fodder pretty much. Does it bother you how often they are portrayed as useless/infective? Any movie/tv show that you personally found offensive?
What I see more often than that is on tv whenever there's some super tough martial arts champion space marine type guy, he's always got a silly background like "four years in military intelligence" (that being one I've seen recently).
One of the most accurate military movies of all time was the Steve Martin remake of Sgt Bilko. I watched that shortly after it came out/right before shipping off to boot camp. A few years later I watched it, by then a savvy 7-8 year veteran of the military service. I thought I was watching a documentary!
Seriously. How old is the OP? As someone who served during the Vietnam War I can tell you it was much more common to trash the military in the 60's and 70's. The portrayal of service people nowadays in the media has reached a point where anyone who wears a uniform is a hero and beyond reproach.
I used to get frustrated. But when you talk to doctors, lawyers, police, firemen, or any profession, they have the exact same issues. They are in the business of entertainment. Unfortunately so are the news channels. I go to a comedy channel and watch a comedy show to get the news (John Stewart).
Unless it's specifically about a war hero or something, the military is almost always portrayed as useless. Especially if it's some kind of alien invasion or about some huge threat often the military is viewed as cannon fodder pretty much. Does it bother you how often they are portrayed as useless/infective? Any movie/tv show that you personally found offensive?
Better than it was before the 90s.
I think the military does okay these days. Not accurate in the least, but not as the bad guys. Not always as the heros, but frequently worthwhile allies.
Certainly, the military is not always the bad guy, as it once was.
The Air Force really liked "Stargate: SG-1," 'cause it made the Air Force look rough and tough like Marines, saving the world every week.
One distinction I see is that the "military" is often portrayed as a stodgy bureaucracy that individual protagonist soldiers have to work around to save the day, but that's an old plot device (Jim Kirk works around that all the time, even in the future) that is used across the board, from cop shows to medical dramas. Unfortunately, it's also too often true to life.
In the past, the military has been portrayed as a solid black box of villainy with no individual heros.
I think the military does okay these days. Not accurate in the least, but not as the bad guys. Not always as the heros, but frequently worthwhile allies.
Certainly, the military is not always the bad guy, as it once was.
The Air Force really liked "Stargate: SG-1," 'cause it made the Air Force look rough and tough like Marines, saving the world every week.
Why does the Air Force want to look like the Marines? They should play to their strengths.
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