Does anyone else find this a bit disturbing?

[Whiskey Priest]

I just read an article about how ABC, Jerry Bruckheimer, The PRoducer of "Cops" and The US Department of Defence are about to produce a new reality show called "Profiles from the frontline". Here is a link

ABC to Launch Controversial Wartime 'Reality' Show

Is the media and the army getting a little too cozy?

 

[knowltok2]

I'm not that concerned about it at the moment. I'll reserve further judgement until it airs.

One thing I found funny about the article was the guy saying that if it was to be a Military infomercial it should come from the Pentagon's budget, not ABC's. Would that mean that the Pentagon gets the advertising dollars too? Did this guy honestly think that ABC would set out to take a net loss on this show?

 

[Richard III]

Yeah, it bothers me. Not the show - if it was a news show, it would be a public service. But it isn't. It's Bruckheimer.

 

[knowltok2]

Educate me on what is wrong with Brukheimer. My knowledge is limitted to the fact that he made Top Gun, Pearl Harbor, and Black Hawk Down. I have watch all of these movies and found all of them entertaining. I also found Black Hawk Down to be extremely accurate, at least to the book. I'm not trying to be sarcastic eek: ), I really want to know.

 

[Padma]

I can't say that it disturbs me, particularly.

It's a 'reality' show. That qualifies as entertainment (sort of :crazyeyes). Definitely not 'news'.

As long as they show a complete picture, warts and all (but not OVER emphasizing the warts), I think it could be a good thing. Too many Americans no longer have any real knowledge of what the military is like. This could help to address that, if only slightly.

Too cozy? I don't think so. The Penatgon office of Public Affairs has long had a liaison with 'Hollywood' to provide technical expertise and more. Actually, this sounds a little like last years US Army commercials that followed some new recruits through basic training. But this would be entertainment, not a commercial, so ABC should pick up the tab, not DoD. (Although if enlistments rise as a result, they won't complain.)

 

[dannyevilcat]

Educate me on what is wrong with Brukheimer. My knowledge is limitted to the fact that he made Top Gun, Pearl Harbor, and Black Hawk Down. I have watch all of these movies and found all of them entertaining. I also found Black Hawk Down to be extremely accurate, at least to the book. I'm not trying to be sarcastic ( ), I really want to know.

Well, Bruckheimer is hollywood sleaze. Although I liked Blackhawk Down, he seems to live by the motto "bigger is better". Bigger explosions, Faster cars, etc.
Personally, I think he is as unmilitary as they come, and should probably move onto other projects where he has more credibility... like auto thefts and stupid car chases, or ridiculous conspiracy theories.

On the other hand, I'm a sucker for war stories, so I'll probably be interested anyway.

 

[Richard III]

Nothing is WRONG with Bruckheimer. Maybe I'm just a sap or an old-timer, but I have this crazy notion that wars that are actually UNDERWAY shouldn't be marketed as entertainment. It means that servicemen getting shot are potentially fodder for ratings. Not cool. News organizations will use these situations, too, but at least there is a modicum of professional expectations about what news organizations say and do. I can complain to press councils. I can't complain to the reality television association of America and expect to be heard.

And Bruckheimer is great entertainment, but there is a real difference between doing a war fair service and doing a script fair service.

That's all.

I won't lose sleep over it, but I would rather it be something other than what it is.

 

[CurtSibling]

My 2 pence worth;

Formula movies suck, and are written for the sheep-headed
simpletons who drool at such crud as;

Pearl Harbour,
Titanic,
Enemy at the Gates,
Scream and it's clones,
Those Hannibal movies,
And those damned-awful american pie-type movies,
In fact any of those movies with 'American' in the title...

The media had merely found out how apathetic and lame the
public are, and is now reaping the benefits of a totally jaded
and dumb cinema audience...

When I hear the words 'Formula Movie' I reach for my sickbag...

 

[basta72]

More propaganda, what else is new?

 

[RedWolf]

Originally posted by knowltok2
Educate me on what is wrong with Brukheimer. My knowledge is limitted to the fact that he made Top Gun, Pearl Harbor, and Black Hawk Down. I have watch all of these movies and found all of them entertaining. I also found Black Hawk Down to be extremely accurate, at least to the book. I'm not trying to be sarcastic eek: ), I really want to know.

Although I enjoyed Blackhawk Down I found a few glaring innaccuracies.

1) The young trooper that fell to the ground after attempting to rope down out of the black hawk at the very start of the mission:

Notice how in the movie he grabbed onto the rope and at just that moment someone fired an RPG at the Blackhawk... it pulled an evasive maneuver and the trooper lost his grip and fell to the ground.

In the TRUE story (ie: the book) he was young, scared and inexperienced. He didn't grab onto the rope properly and fell to the ground. This doesn't look very cool for hollywood though so they changed it.

2) The two guys that got cut off from the rest of their group... When heading back to their guys thy were potrayed as bumbling idiots - falling over their gear, stumbling through the streets like morons. Sure it was funny and a real crowd pleaser (comic relief anyone?), but I don't remember them being potrayed THAT way in the book.

3) In the book I was vey surprised by the attitudes of some of the Rangers. They sounded bitter and angry - they expressed the idea that the mission was a farce and that their friend's lives were thrown away for a political whim. I remember it struck me as odd to hear that from professional soldiers.

HOWEVER in the movie they conveniently skipped over those parts.. They didn't after all fit in very well with the war rhetoric and sabre rattling being dished out by the Bush government. Instead we heard things like "People don't ask to be heroes - sometimes it just turns out that way".

4) I didn't realize this but heard it afterwards: NONE of the Somalis in the movie were actually played by REAL somalians. Also, the somalian being spoken was NOT somalian.

As for Top Gun... I LOVE that movie and as far as "fun factor" goes it was and IS one of my favourites. HOWEVER I always laugh when I see the "MIG-28's". They're obviously NOT MIGS and are i think CF-5's (not sure what the American Military Designation is - F-5?)

And don't MIG numbers always use ODD numbers? lol
Or how come all the guys from the top gun school end up back together on the same carrier for that final mission? Wasn't Top Gun School for the best pilots/rios of ALL squadrons throughout the navy? Shouldn't they have gone BACK to their OWN boats?

I love Hollywood - Anything goes.

 

[Whiskey Priest]

I don't know. It just seems wrong for war to be entertainment. Should we realy be taking pleasure in the misery and death of others? It's not so much Bruckheimer that worries me. It's the producer of COPS. Do we really need that kind of voyeurism in war?

 

[joespaniel]

Pearl Harbor was about the dumbest movie Ive seen lately. It was a soap-opera with WWII as its background ( As The World Burns ).

Blackhawk Down was startlingly realistic, some Hollywood aside, as RedWolf pointed out. I was genuinely impressed.

As for this new show, I tried the link but it was really slow connecting. It sounds kind of stupid to me. I am troubled by the callousness of filming from the "front lines" for the entertainment of TV viewers, and $$$ of corporate execs.

War is not glamorous, it is pure evil. IMHO the only good thing that came out of VietNam was an epiphany of the masses in the US that saw that horror up close on their boob-tubes every night in the living room.

This show sounds like it is going to glorify war and the warriors much like days of old. Like in WWI. Only the soldiers and their families found out different.

The warriors that go away from home to serve and protect us deserve our gratitude and respect, and our support.

War itself deserves nothing but contempt. It is for the benefit of rich and powerfull men who will not share in the dying and maiming, the heartbreak nor the tears.

I hope ABC is very carefull about how they handle this power to influence our next generation.

 

[damunzy]

I am going into this with an open mind. I will watch the show first before I call for their heads!!! Just kidding. The idea behind the show doesn't sound like a winner to me, Army life is just too boring. But if they make it interesting I could be one of the many watching the show.

But this question begs to be asked: what happens when someone gets killed on film? I don't think I want to see that.

 

[ApocalypseKurtz]

Originally posted by CurtSibling
My 2 pence worth;

Formula movies suck, and are written for the sheep-headed
simpletons who drool at such crud as;

Pearl Harbour,
Titanic,
Enemy at the Gates,
Scream and it's clones,
Those Hannibal movies,
And those damned-awful american pie-type movies,
In fact any of those movies with 'American' in the title...

The media had merely found out how apathetic and lame the
public are, and is now reaping the benefits of a totally jaded
and dumb cinema audience...

When I hear the words 'Formula Movie' I reach for my sickbag...

I wholeheartedly concur with Pearl Habror, Titanic, and Scream, but "American History X" and "American Beauty" were both excellent movies with American in the title.

Enemy at the Gates wasn't that bad.

By "Those Hannibal movies" are you referring to just Hannibal or Silence of the Lambs as well? Because "Silence of the Lambs" is one of the best movies I have ever seen.

And come on, American Pie was pretty funny

 

[knowltok2]

Originally posted by RedWolf


Although I enjoyed Blackhawk Down I found a few glaring innaccuracies.

4) I didn't realize this but heard it afterwards: NONE of the Somalis in the movie were actually played by REAL somalians. Also, the somalian being spoken was NOT somalian.

I love Hollywood - Anything goes.

This point doesn't bother me. I'll concede your other points but I consider them somewhat minor. I think they did about as well as a hollywood movie can do with something like this. When compared with some of hollywood's other history potraying films, I think this one stands out.

One other thing I questioned was the guys who took over the recoilless riffle and shot it at another somali 'jeep'. I don't remember that from the book.

I am concerned about this new show from the Cops perspective. That show doesn't exactly show 'warts and all'. Also, will all of our enemies on this show have their shirts off? I think that is a requirement for Cops villians.

 

[Daryl17]

I can already imagine the advertisements:
From the producer of "Flashdance".... comes "Profiles from the Front Line"!
From the man that brought you "American Gigilo", "Beverly Hills Cop II", "Days of Thunder", and "Con Air"..... it's "PROFILES FROM THE FRONT LINE" starring....