What are some memorable military movies with strong minority themes?

2019-07-24T15:08:44-04:00

In another thread, I mentioned how Hollywood generally botches military movies, but once in a while, they do a themed military movie that is somewhat decent. Movies with minority themes are generally done to an acceptable standard. That said, think about some of the movies you have seen and tell me about them and why you liked them. I liked Glory, A Soldier's Story, and The Tuskegee Airmen.

Response by SFC Michael D. made Jul 24 at 2019 3:09 PM

2019-07-24T15:09:49-04:00

Glory

Response by LCDR Joshua Gillespie made Jul 24 at 2019 3:28 PM

2019-07-24T15:28:49-04:00

My favorite has always been, "Glory"...not only is it a powerful (somewhat accurate) portrayal of the heroism of the 54th Massachusetts...but a stirring tribute to the brotherhood of these soldiers. Denzel's my hands-down, favorite actor...and I have a hard time keeping a dry eye during his "prayer" before the battle. These were indeed MEN...and Colonel Shaw has all my respect for the risks he took, on...and off the battlefield on their behalf.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jul 24 at 2019 3:42 PM

2019-07-24T15:42:01-04:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ-XtII4SdQ

I found this quite good, actually...I also read the combat scene at the end was, apparently, deemed quite accurately realistic, I'd gathered, as well....

Miracle at St. Anna - New Movie by Spike Lee (iHD)

MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA A SPIKE LEE JOINT Directed by Spike Lee Written by James McBride Miracle at St. Anna chronicles the story of four African-American soldie...

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jul 24 at 2019 3:47 PM

2019-07-24T15:47:37-04:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xu9fLPF7i8

I found this extremely good about the 442nd RCT in WW2....

Only the Brave - Trailer

ONLY THE BRAVE is story of 1400 brave Japanese-American men who left their families and risked their lives to prove their loyalty and serve their country dur...

Response by PV2 Duane Schlender made Jul 24 at 2019 7:44 PM

2019-07-24T19:44:05-04:00

The movie that comes to mind for me is Redtails. It very clearly shows the bias toward the Redtails squadron. A sad, but VERY true movie.

*EDIT*
Note : I would like to slightly alter my response here. A lot of military movies overshadow, and even demonize, the axis powers of WWII. While the redtails/tuskegee airmen were biased against by the allies, I think some focus should be given to the poor souls of the axis who are left in the negative light of history by hollywood.
To this end, I think Valkyries (with tom cruise), USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage (Nicholas Cage), Midway (1976), and other films with a focus on the people who were caught in the middle, powerless, or otherwise tried to stop tragedies from happening and were either forgotten, left behind by history, or hidden should be remembered.

In Valkyries a group of people try to stop Hitler and the insane leadership.
In Midway the Japanese naval leadership says "I am afraid all we have done here today is wake a sleeping giant"
In USS Indianapolis, (at the films end) the commander of the U.S.S. Ship and the Commander of the IJN Submarine salute each other, and agree that the war was a bad thing.

I do not know of any movies that show the white rose from Russia (female fighter pilot), the women test pilots of america, or other people of any race, creed, color, etc from WWII, or ANY other war. Even the movie Braveheart only shows men in battle, when the Celts had women fighters as ferocious as the men.

If I have missed anything, or have incorrect knowledge here, please tell me. I hope my response is helpful.

Response by SGT Chris Stephens made Jul 25 at 2019 1:01 AM

2019-07-25T01:01:28-04:00

You have to put on subtitles, but the Korean films, "Tae-Guk-Gi: The Brotherhood of War" and "My Way" are awesome films. I'd also look into "Windtalkers", "Tora Tora Tora" and "Letters from Iwo Jima".

Response by SSgt Richard Kensinger made Jul 25 at 2019 2:57 PM

2019-07-25T14:57:43-04:00

Here is what I know about how soldiers w/ black skin were treated during the Civil War, WW TWO, and Vietnam. They were treated quite badly & often segregated by unit and shunned by whites. Interesting that our darker skinned comrades preformed meritoriously. And as a former AF ER medic, we all bleed red! This is a very sad commentary about our society over time.
Rich