Maiden, most of your post is well thought-out and very articulate.
Thank you.
You didn't, however, get around to stating what my opinion 'reveals' about me.
It reveals that 1. You're having great difficulty accepting that this movie is fiction, and 2. Because of that, you feel 'other people' will not be able to make the distinction either, hence, regard the Military the way it was portrayed in the movie.
If you're implying that I'm some sort of moral degenerate because I didn't like this movie, you're dead wrong.
I implied nothing of the sort. I don't know how you could have come to that conclusion at all. The Military is, quite obviously, very close to your heart. I would imagine rape is something that is much farther out of your realm of experience, hence, your comments are about the Military aspect of this movie, not the what movie was actually about.
Rape and murder are Hollywood staples and that wasn't my idea.
And so is portraying every status-quo institution the world-over as the epitome of evil, *lol*... Wouldn't you agree?
I'm guessing that nobody was actually harmed in the making of this film but some bad information WAS offered. If the plot of this movie revolved around the sale of a kitten, I still wouldn't care for the misinformation.
I agree... bad information, bad portrayal. Alas, the way Hollywood gets around this is with two words 'fiction' and 'documentary'. With these two words, everything under the sun is either made fodder on the one hand, or (usually) boring on the other, *lol*
I hope you won't judge me harshly for saying what I'm about to say. For lack of a better word, I am a pagan, whose religious practices take on a more shamanic feel, (think Dances with Wolves, Kevin Costner daning around the fire). This is common practice for me every month. As well, I have an altar in my home, light candles, burn incense, and pray intensely for myself and for the world. I tell you this because there are so many movies and books that do not properly portray that which is dear to my heart, just as the Military is to yours. We are portaryed, instead, as witches, as evil-doers that conduct infant sacrifices and all manner of horrendous doings. Or, we are portrayed in the silliest of terms (think Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Charmed), *sigh*
What I'm trying to say is this: We live in a free country. Being in the Military, you would give your life to defend that freedom (and, indeed, I think you have if I'm not mistaken in this), even tho there are those that would exploit such freedoms to make a buck in denigrating the very institution that provides that continued freedom.
What can one do but have faith that such portrayls are taken with the grain of sand that commen sense demands? The alternative, censureship, is too ghastly to contemplate.
Seriously, folks, don't rape people. It isn't nice.
Rape bad.
Kittens good.
All better?
This was condescending and unkind of you towards me. I don't deserve that aquaman. I tried really hard to be articulate, as you said, and unoffending towards you.
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aquaman2964
16 years ago
Again, a great post! I smiled a lot.
It looks as though our world views aren't really so divergent. I don't share your religious practices, but they work for me if they work for you. I'm not religious at all. Spare a prayer for me, maybe? :)
That last bit was just a joke. Kittens ARE good, though, right? Housebreaking my dog was a much more disagreeable business. That little s%$*t wouldn't use that litter box no matter what!
If left out, does sour cream go bad or go good?
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libertarian45
16 years ago
I'll wade in here both as a fan of Nelson DeMille's books and as a soldier with 25 years of service. I agree with both sides. We soldiers are hyper-sensitive to inaccurate portrayels of the military in pop culture. Not, as Maiden says, in defence of the institution, but, more so because we know better. This is true for any profession that is a popular subject for a setting of a story. Ask cops what hey think about cop shows, doctors about doctor shows and crime scene investigators about CSI (particularly Miami...WTF?).
I love DeMille's books, but, I made the mistake of seeing this film BEFORE reading the book. I was so put off by aspects of the film that I delayed reading the novel for years. I just read the book and it is much more plausible than the film. DeMille is a stickler for details and has several friends in police, aviation etc who assit him with research. DeMille was an Lt in the Air Cav and a platoon leader in Vietnam. That said, there is a lot of license taken. The problems with the film appear to be related to Hollywood's need to "sexy" everything up...location of the murder shifts from a conventional rifle range to some bizarro worl urban assault range with hanging dummies, mood lighting, sound effects and apparently live bouncing betty anti personnel mines. It's not good enough that Col Moore is humiliated for his participation - he has to commit suicide. It's not good enough for Kent to merely shoot himslf (after Moore, they had to "take it up a notch)- he has to step on a mine. The General isn't allowed to fade away in early retirement - he has to be charged. It's not good enough that she is raped by 4 jerks in cam paint and mosquito nets (believeable on an exercise) - they have to be done up in full sniper Ghillie suits (highly unlikely) and filmed so as to appear like sasquatches or something!
The film would have been so much better if Hollywood had just been more faithful to the book. Here's the weird part, DeMille was on set and involved in the production! I can't believe he allowed the film makers to trash his story so badly.
All that said, Maiden has a point. The military setting allows a new twist and a fresh look for a crime story (like The Presidio, NCIS). It could have happened in another setting. The Firm (lawyers) and other films are truly far-fetched but they are still entertaining. I still watch CSI...for some reason. Apparently, I'm not alone. I think movies like Die Hard 2 make the army look even worse and do a much worse job getting the details right. How about "Broken Arrow"? After seeing the trailers for "Basic" I couldn't bring mysrlf to watch it. Memo to Hollywood: soldiers don't run around in the woods wearing berets!
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