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COL Harry G. Summers in VIETNAM MAGAZINE (http://www.thehistorynet.com/Vietnam/edi...) stated very adroitly, " The lack of knowledge of history, ... makes children of us all." I respect Harry Summers. I knew him at the Command and General Staff College. He is one of the voices of truth on the Vietnam War. Why do I bring up his name in my discussions of the movie industry? In my previous article AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE, I discussed the voices of the Center for Defense Information (CDI) (http://www.cdi.org/) and how their stridency in their videotape "The MILITARY in the MOVIES"
(http://www.cdi.org/adm/Transcripts/1020/) did not reflect well on the military.
COL Summers goes on to say, "What is true of these military audiences is even more true of the American public at large. What our children and grandchildren will know about the Vietnam War will depend on who tells the story of what happened there. Until recently, the accounts from academia were so twisted and distorted by ideological bias as to be utterly useless." While he speaks to the Vietnam War in particular, I talk to all wars in general and their representation in the movies. There are war movies that fit into the category noted for their authenticity and accuracy; SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, A BRIDGE TOO FAR, and PORK CHOP HILL to name a few, too few. However, most other movies fit into the category of either mis-representing or creating outright lies about the military for the benefit of the producer. Now, what can the writers and producers do about this? For one thing, they can ask people who have been in the military and served in or close to the event in the script. For those events that date too far back in history, ask an historian. Too hard, you (the producer) say? They give us too much information, and besides, their information is contradictory. All we're (the production company) trying to do is make a movie. It doesn't have to be that accurate. Who notices? Who cares if the guns are right? Or, the uniforms aren't right? My response is as COL Summers. What our children and grandchildren know about any war, any period in history, depends on the story you tell. Try to show us, the movie-going audience that you do care about the quality of the story. Try to show us that you do care about us as a movie going audience. Convince us that you do not think of us as utterly stupid rocks that are willing to fork over $9 to sit through any piece of junk you want to throw together. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE, II in Military Movies is owned by . Permission to republish AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE, II in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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