Posted on Oct 13, 2014
What ONE incorrectly depicted thing pisses you off most about military movies?
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My question is really no more complicated than that.
For me, it is the rendering of the salute. Hands down. No second place. This pisses me off to no end!
In my opinion, this is THE most important of all military courtesies, and it should always be given with the most possible precision and exacting attention to detail.
FFS! It is something that is taught to every 'cruit in week 1 of basic training! It is perfected throughout training! In a military movie, this should be the EASIEST thing to get right!
It seems to me, that if an actor or actress can spend weeks or months learning hundreds, if not thousands of lines of dialog for a movie, they can at least spend an afternoon or a day, practicing with the advisor (there is ALWAYS an advisor who is a Vet or SM) on the set until they get it right.
I know there are bigger, or more obvious problems with some military movies. Weapons or uniforms or lingo that is anachronistic to the time period of the battle on screen...but DAMMIT, getting the salute wrong in any time period just frosts my shorts!
Usually, it's a fail with what I call the, "I'm shading my eyes from the sun" salute. Your f'n hand doesn't belong on your forehead like you're trying to watch the right fielder shag the fly ball! It belongs where you were TAUGHT to place it!
I find myself commenting out loud to friends, while watching movies that jack this up...they don't seem to understand why it pisses me off so much.
What does it for you?
For me, it is the rendering of the salute. Hands down. No second place. This pisses me off to no end!
In my opinion, this is THE most important of all military courtesies, and it should always be given with the most possible precision and exacting attention to detail.
FFS! It is something that is taught to every 'cruit in week 1 of basic training! It is perfected throughout training! In a military movie, this should be the EASIEST thing to get right!
It seems to me, that if an actor or actress can spend weeks or months learning hundreds, if not thousands of lines of dialog for a movie, they can at least spend an afternoon or a day, practicing with the advisor (there is ALWAYS an advisor who is a Vet or SM) on the set until they get it right.
I know there are bigger, or more obvious problems with some military movies. Weapons or uniforms or lingo that is anachronistic to the time period of the battle on screen...but DAMMIT, getting the salute wrong in any time period just frosts my shorts!
Usually, it's a fail with what I call the, "I'm shading my eyes from the sun" salute. Your f'n hand doesn't belong on your forehead like you're trying to watch the right fielder shag the fly ball! It belongs where you were TAUGHT to place it!
I find myself commenting out loud to friends, while watching movies that jack this up...they don't seem to understand why it pisses me off so much.
What does it for you?
Saluting
Movies
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 264
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I would have to agree with you! Getting the salute correct always should be the easiest thing to learn about a military movie! Every time I see an improper salute I always comment on how sloppy and poor that the salute was! Then I mention that they need to learn how to do a "REAL" salute! For correctness sake, my rank was not a SP5, it was a SGT! Which also reminds me that when Forest Gump was wearing SGT stripes, everyone kept calling him "private" or "PFC" and that always chapped my hide.
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Salutes....then by "Sir" if it is not an officer as we all know NCOs hate that. Rank after that.
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I was stationed in Germany we watched an Armed Forces Television series titled Platoon. This series was set in WWII , The "German Vehicles" were often U.S. Army jeeps, 3/4 ton trucks, and 2 1/2 ton trucks. Later When I was watching Iron Eagle II, the "Russians" came in flying American F-4 fighters!
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SPC (Join to see)
MSG John Wirts, those were all 'captured' assets! No WAY that Iron Eagle II could have been inaccurate!
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MSG John Wirts
Oh! when the Russian Migs came in they were American F4 fighters. I've seen too many to mistake them.
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The "virtual" magazines that never need changing, the unending ammo belts for the machine guns and the grenades with the explosive force of a 155 round.
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The uniform. They always get it wrong. And it's amazing how badly the military is depicted that we torture our own people for political reasons.
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I can over look a lot of things in a movie, but I agree. Get the f@&$ing salute right! Basics. Bloody basics.
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SGT (Join to see)
I notice that even WW2 vet actors deliver some strange salutes in the movies. I can't figure out why. Hollywood is always either karate-chopping themselves in the face or shielding their eyes from sun as they gaze at the horizon but they definitely aren't doing anything one could call a correct salute.
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I don't like it in any movie where they intentionally make the guns seem quieter than they really are and people aren't complaining that their ears are ringing after shooting without ear protection.
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PO1 Robert Wikert
Often wonder about that, I know after shooting my AR at the range, even with ear protection, it will sometimes make my ears ring.
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I agree completely. One sloppy salute and they just drop out of character in my mind.
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