Anti-military?

If the writers and the protagonist thought Dawson's belief in code and honor was "bad", then the protagonist Kaffee wouldn't have gone out of his way to defend him, against his better judgments.

@RomaVictorrrr
Yes, Sorkin's politics are on full display - as they always are. Anyone surprised by this hasn't been paying attention. I don't always agree with Sorkin's political stances, but he is a hell of a writer.
It wasn't "anti-military", or anti religion/code/honor/whatever. All of the main characters were military. If anything, it showed there are good and bad people everywhere.

You want me on that wall! You need me on that wall!

Because they stand on a wall and say, "Nothing's going to hurt you tonight, not on my watch.

"You don't have to wear a uniform to have honor."

I think this film is more anti-military than neutral, because it certainly isn't pro-military, which are the three basic stances.

When this movie was being made, the first "Shock and Awe" of Desert Storm in Iraq had recently concluded.

The serious worship of the military was just getting under way. I think this movie was a way of providing a little bit of balance to the glorification of the military and all that it stands for.


Democracy is the pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. H.L. Mencken

Yes the film is anti-military, annoyingly so. Nicholson's character seems to be modeled after Nixon somewhat. Even if what he says is true, his power and position have corrupted him.

Like The Rock, it was mostly just anti-Marine.


"It was Shnoke. He shedushed our shon to the Dark Shide"

This is part of the problem with the US, this attitude that if the military isn't held up like some divine unaccountable thing that no one can touch, it's "anti-military". It's quite frightening actually. And this cult has only intensified in the years since this movie, such that the military culture displayed in this movie is dwarfed by the sheer fanaticism that the US has developed for the military in the time since. I can't imagine the military actually being held accountable to anything today, or being able to be depicted as anything other than utterly and completely immaculate and heroic in a film today. This movie was very pro-military, annoyingly so at some points. The movie isn't anti-military; it's pro-law and order, and anti-the idea that the military should be above the law. The fact that there are people who see that as "anti-military" is downright terrifying.

Yes, it is anti-military. It was directed by Rob Reiner. What else would you expect?