Are service members and or veterans portrayed poorly in television and movies?

SGT Joseph Gunderson — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 06:54:22 -0400

Thinking about every movie that you have seen that portrayed any kind of military member. Do you believe that we are portrayed poorly, inaccurately, or perhaps in an almost negligent manner? Are certain aspects of our jobs, lives, or personalities made into more of caricatures of us?

Response by SGT David T. made Aug 11 at 2017 8:04 AM

SGT David T. — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 08:04:45 -0400

In some cases perhaps. Most of what I see is a glorification more than anything else.

Response by SGT Mark Halmrast made Aug 11 at 2017 8:20 AM

SGT Mark Halmrast — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 08:20:54 -0400

Varies, but most don't get it (and probably don't intend to.)

Movies like Blackhawk Down, Lone Survivor, and American Sniper on the one hand, and Stripes, Hot Shots, and In the Army Now on the other...with others like A Few Good Men, Top Gun, and Heartbreak Ridge in between.

Most get it wrong. Used to bother me, but it only bothers me now when it portrays SMs as unhinged.

Response by SGT Philip Roncari made Aug 11 at 2017 10:16 AM

SGT Philip Roncari — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 10:16:53 -0400

I think the wars and the directors and how the military was portrayed is a big part of this question,"Saving PVT Ryan" noble war showing how the common man dealt with the battle of good and evil",Bridges of Toko Ri" a Korean War flic another portrayal of trying to protect our way of life from tyranny then we get into Vietnam and everything goes haywire,with the exception of "Platoon " only because the director served in the War,the new movies showing the wars in the Mideast I think are trying to honestly portray our involvement in seemingly endless Wars which won't turn out good for anyone,my response you have to take into account is from the most unpopular War , so far so I might be a bit biased

Response by SGT Tony Clifford made Aug 11 at 2017 11:33 AM

SGT Tony Clifford — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 11:33:05 -0400

The problem is that the people who make the movies have no real understanding of what soldiers are and how they interact. You'll either get the ultra progressive assumption that all soldiers are callous unthinking robots who only live to kill, or you get the ultra conservative perception of us being stoic heroes who only make choices to benefit the country. Oddly enough the comedies involving the military are really the closest be even those are exaggerations of how we act. The film industry plays to their audience, which either sees us as villains or god like heroes. It's understandable most Americans have never served and it's hard to explain military life to the uninitiated, so they just don't. This leads to a great divide in our society approaching a caste system.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 11 at 2017 6:23 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 18:23:32 -0400

Inaccurately. Some portrayals are, I think, outright malicious (the movie Fury comes immediately to mind), but mostly just inaccurately.

For one thing, too much yelling. I don't remember so much yelling. One of the Tom Clancy novel-based movies has its Army characters sounding like they don't possess normal speaking voices.

Secondly, Hollywood often can't wear headgear (in particular, berets) correctly. In the movie in which George Clooney and Nicole Kidman save us from nuclear terrorism (not a comedy) has Clooney and his intrepid cohort looking like a heavily-camouflaged pizzeria kitchen crew with their frisbee-berets, for instance. (In what was otherwise an entertaining and coherent movie.)

Then there's the emotionally-distraught and/or pacifist medic cliche. I never knew anybody like that. No idea where that cliche got going.

One other thing makes me roll my eyes is the apparent notion that the Army is just sitting around in some sort ready-rooms just waiting to jump up when the alarm goes off and jump in the back of a 5-ton to be trucked into Manhattan and chase bad guys around (another reference to the Clooney-Kidman terror thriller. )

Response by CMSgt Rich Bates made Aug 11 at 2017 9:33 PM

CMSgt Rich Bates — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 21:33:07 -0400

The most recent episode of "NightShift" on NBC used real service members from all the branches in writing the story line for the show. They were allowed to write it their way and tell thru their eyes. Excellent job. They were all listed at the end of the show along with a group picture. Very well done.

Response by CPO Glenn Moss made Aug 11 at 2017 11:36 PM

CPO Glenn Moss — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 23:36:00 -0400

Service members and veterans are portrayed by actors in accordance with the script and the director's wishes.

No more, no less.

Even movies people love because they're supposedly "historically accurate" are following the whims of the script writers and the director.

Sometimes service members and veterans are portrayed accurately and well, other times less so.

People who want to know how things "really are" need to put the research time in to discover where the line dividing reality and fantasy/entertainment lies.

Response by SSG Robert Perrotto made Aug 12 at 2017 12:22 AM

SSG Robert Perrotto — Sat, 12 Aug 2017 00:22:36 -0400

Good question - the problem is what politics does the screenwriter and director have - PVT Ryan was a great depiction of what war is when they did the D Day landing, then it became a portrayal of the stoic Soldier going forth to accomplish an impossible mission. Full metal Jacket just downright portrayed Soldiers as killing machines that either mentally broke or in the end made you abandon your morals and convictions.

The one that had the EOD NCO ( can;t remember the name of the movie) portrayed some of the mental trauma well, but as anyone who has ever deployed can tell you, the action sequences were complete bovine fecal matter (seriously - have any of us ever seen a lone humvee leave the wire? Or not having a platoon of infantry providing security while EOD does its thing?)

I believe these movies focus on one aspect and attempt to portray that lone aspect as best they can, while leaving the rest to creative license.

I know as a career Infantryman, a lot of the fire arm action sequences is complete fairytale level of absurdity.

Response by SGT Dave Tracy made Aug 14 at 2017 10:34 AM

SGT Dave Tracy — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 10:34:18 -0400

I wouldn't generally use the word "poorly" as much as I would say "inaccurately".

That reminds me, "Hey Arnold, reload your damn weapon once in a while would ya?!"