 |
|
 |
| [-] |
| [−] |
| [−] |
| [−] |
| [−] |
Prev | List | Random | Next |
Soap gets in your Eyes
Foxnews reports on the appearance of the Iraq war as guest star in several recent television programs:
Peace generally prevails in television's fairy-tale world of sitcoms, soap operas and dramas.Wonderful. The Soaps are bringing the war home. Not having seen any of them I won't pass judgment on the result - but I have to wonder about this:But several TV shows are incorporating the War on Terror into their storylines.
"Days of Our Lives", "Las Vegas" and "Law and Order", all on NBC, have characters who have been involved in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan ? or something resembling it. And one new program, FX's "Over There," is actually about soldiers fighting in Iraq.
"We never, ever said that it was Iraq because of sensitivity," said ("Days" executive producer Ken) Corday. "We never showed people of Iraqi descent or people with Iraqi accents. But it was scenes with a lot of sands, so that's obviously what we were doing."And this from Corday:Similarly, Gary Scott Thompson (executive producer and creator of "Las Vegas.") had to wrangle with network execs before he got them on board, because they didn't want to be perceived as making any statements about the war.
"It was a tough sell to the network ? they said, you can't be making comments like this," he said. "I said, it's not a comment, it's the reality. Once I'd written the script and they'd looked at it, they knew what I was trying to do."
"I thought it was important because it's going on out there," he said. "This was not a liberal or conservative approach. We're talking about a deployment of 300,000 of our brothers, sisters, children, parents. ? We need to re-remind the American people that they're still there."I have no idea how "real" the depictions are, or what those undefined "approaches" are, but I'm curious where that 300,000 number came from. On any given month there are 130-140,000 US troops in Iraq, and the total from the past 2.5 years is probably far above 300k.
Of that total, around 6651 have sustained wounds requiring greater than 72 hours recovery time, and less than 300 have lost limbs. (Data here.) None have been "captured" since the invasion. But here's a description of the "Days" plotline:
The character engaged in battle in the desert (created using sand and bunkers on the set), was captured and taken hostage, said goodbye to his family in a video and lost his leg on a land mine before being discharged and sent home early this summer.That's quite a lot of drama. But we are addressing Soap Operas, after all. Expectations weren't high. That's not a comment - it's the reality.
Over Where?
From the same article:
The trend of shows tackling a current war is a far cry from how entertainment TV handled Vietnam in the '60s, according to Robert Thompson.Yes, for years now due to media exploitation most Americans have held the "Gomer Pyle" concept of Vietnam veterans. "Realistic" films like Platoon, Apocalypse Now, Deer Hunter, Coming Home, and Rambo have failed utterly to change that image to the mediaccurate one - Vietnam vets are deranged psychotics wounded in mind, body and spirit, and a tragic threat to society. But here's why TV Iraq isn't another TV Vietnam:"The philosophy of network television back then was you presented a parallel universe and ignored it entirely," he said. "You provided an anesthesia from all that was going on in the world."
The program "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.," for example, was about a Marine and took place on a military base but never mentioned the Vietnam War.
"Days," "Las Vegas" and "Over There" have all consulted with the Marines in doing their war-themed storylines so as to be as accurate as possible within their fictional parameters. They've gotten positive feedback from real-life soldiers about the end result, their producers say, but reaction from viewers has been mixed.Which brings us to "Over There". "Reaction from viewers has been mixed" is code for "the show is swirling in a ratings toilet", but the next quote is one I've seen elsewhere: "They've gotten positive feedback from real-life soldiers about the end result, their producers say,"
If Over There actually did consult with Marines on their story lines that would explain a lot. The show is about the Army, and Marines might have set them up as a joke. But I doubt that really happened. I haven't seen the program, so I hold a neutral opinion on it, but I've read countless reviews from fellow milbloggers, and the results are not good for any television exec trying to sell his show as "more real than Gomer Pyle." In fact, from what I've read the program might be best described as a Soap Opera too; perhaps more real than "Days of Our Lives" but somewhat lacking when compared to Combat, Rat Patrol, Gomer Pyle, or Hogan's Heroes.
Being far, far removed from anyone who would actually serve their country for any reason whatsoever, media folks have a very strong and incorrect stereotype of "soldiers" in their minds. Likewise they are completely unfamiliar with the reality of Iraq - they only know what they read in the papers and see on TV. Most of the media reviews of "Over There" applaud it because it reinforces that stereotype, and confirms their imaginary view of Iraq. But they also condemn the program for failing to point out that Bush is Hitler. The New Yorker review is typical of the sort:
The show isn?t front-loaded with too many easy explanations for why the characters have enlisted, but it does make it clear that none of them really get what they bargained for.It's possible that this was a planned compromise - try not to offend the left by presenting the story as they imagine it to be, and try not to offend the actual soldiers by not touting the leftist dogma about the reasons behind the war. Todays left is uncompromising though, you swallow their teachings all the way or you just stay home. Portray soldiers as innocent but ignorant victims of a tyrannical and misguided foreign policy established by George Bush - because simply portraying them as ignorant victims is not enough.
<...>
To judge by the first three episodes, ?Over There? seems to be saying only, or mainly, that war is hell. There?s an overall pointlessness to the show that?s rather shocking, considering the outrageous lies and arrogance that got us into the war.
But the milblog reviews (developed independently and not in response to the media's efforts) contradict them very strongly. To real GIs the characters, an element reporters consider the strong point of the story, are laughable (see a comparison of the two positions here). No GI has joined the media in condemning the program for failing to promote the left wing view of Iraq. This is telling - GIs don't actually write about it because they don't see the problem - they are the "dog that doesn't bark".
Still I've yet to read an MSM review of the program that fails to mention that "Soldiers" give positive feedback to the show. I can, however, personally vouch for at least one newspaper (I'll leave it nameless at this time) reporter (ditto) who contacted me seeking some feedback from milbloggers. Fortunately Mrs G had been compiling them as part of her daily Dawn Patrol.
Original email:
Greetings, My name is _____ and I am a reporter for the _____. I am working on a story about how returning soldiers feel about the authenticity of 'over there', Stephen Bochco's recently debuted fx series. Judging from some of the posts on the site, they haven't been too impressed. I would love to talk to some of these men and women. any idea of how I might get in touch with some folks who have been and done that and have now see the show? I realize that a lot of your folks don't live to read or collaborate with MSM, but I thought it might be worth a shot. Thanks for any help.Next day, from the reporter:Me: I'm in Germany and it's late my time. I'll get you the list tomorrow.
Actually, I think a closer working relationship with the MSM would be mutually beneficial - and I'll do what I can to help.
gh
Have had some luck getting soldiers on the line, but would really like wider array of opinions. any help would be vastly appreciated.It's been two weeks since that exchange, and the story has yet to appear. (See update below) There are any number of reasons for that - I could only speculate as to why. But I do note that the show is in the ratings sewer anyway and a report of what actual soldiers think of it a) contradicts previous media reports and b) just hastens it's demise.Me:
The reviews from GIs I've seen are 100% negative. There is no array. I have not seen the show myself, and am completely neutral - I was hoping it would be good.The gist of most of the comments are:
The characters are stereotypes.
Dope smoking GIs get busted fast - but apparently not on TV
Units are formed long before deploying, but on program they are formed "Over There"
The equipment is wrong - a Vietnam-era helicopter got a lot of laughs
Al Jazeera is banned from Iraq
Tactics are wrong
ROE is wrong - we can and do fire on mosques if the enemy are using them.John Cole has several memorable quotes and ends with this: "I couldn't even finish the show, and as I write this it is playing in the background, and I hear someone screaming in agony. I wasn't aware the show was filmed in front of a live studio audience."
OVER THERE REVIEWS
But here's a point that must be made. Viewership of Over There is still in the 2-million plus range, and readership of the many papers and magazines that review it are likewise large. So that's the version of reality in most American homes - a realistic portrayal of war, soldiers like it, but it doesn't condemn the government enough. Later, when it's cancelled, you'll read that it was because "Americans are too detached from the horrible reality of war, don't really support the troops, and don't want Iraq in their living rooms". And "soldiers" will agree.
That's not reality, it's just a comment.
Update 24 Aug: The story in mentioned above has been published. You can read it here, and it does indeed contradict those previous stories. Note: I'm mistakenly identified as John Harriman. John is a Vietnam veteran and weekly contributor to Mudville - he writes a series called Warrior to Warrior, letters from a Vietnam veteran to our soldiers in Iraq. I'm the founder of this site, still on active duty, and returned earlier this year from a tour of duty in Baghdad.
