Blackhawk Down... do you feel the movie showed a strong pro-US bias?

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
The Europeans hate how pro US our movies are. I never really thought about it much until I was there. Armageddon is one they really really hate.

My God, I hate to think that the US is judged by one of the worst films ever made. :Q

As for Black Hawk Down, I didn't think the movie was terribly pro-US. Personally, I thought it made us look weak. I mean, we kill almost 2,000 Somalis and only lose ~19 (don't flame me for not being able to recall the exact number right now, it's late) soldiers and we act like we're the ones who lost. I don't get it. Why are we such crybabies?
I know what some are going to say, that we're Americans and we don't expect to lose. Well first, we didn't lose. We kicked major ass with a 100-to-1 casualty ratio despite being badly outnumbered. Our men fought with valor and honor and made the other side pay hard. And second, I can forgive the US people for thinking that way but not our military leadership. Murphy was an optimist and this is the real world with real wars.

 

[Zugzwang152]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
The Europeans hate how pro US our movies are. I never really thought about it much until I was there. Armageddon is one they really really hate.

My God, I hate to think that the US is judged by one of the worst films ever made. :Q

As for Black Hawk Down, I didn't think the movie was terribly pro-US. Personally, I thought it made us look weak. I mean, we kill almost 2,000 Somalis and only lose ~19 (don't flame me for not being able to recall the exact number right now, it's late) soldiers and we act like we're the ones who lost. I don't get it. Why are we such crybabies?
I know what some are going to say, that we're Americans and we don't expect to lose. Well first, we didn't lose. We kicked major ass with a 100-to-1 casualty ratio despite being badly outnumbered. Our men fought with valor and honor and made the other side pay hard. And second, I can forgive the US people for thinking that way but not our military leadership. Murphy was an optimist and this is the real world with real wars.

1) why do europeans hate armageddon so much?
2) liv tyler was so hittable in that movie anyway.
3) BHD-great movie, but i for one dont take my history lessons from hollywood films. I'll take them in school, where I will at least learn the facts before the pro-american propaganda.

 

[flavio]

My neighbor let me borrow this movie 2 weeks ago and I haven't watched it yet. Maybe I'll throw it in tonight.

 

[Zugzwang152]

Originally posted by: flavio
My neighbor let me borrow this movie 2 weeks ago and I haven't watched it yet. Maybe I'll throw it in tonight.

definitely do, and watch it with headphones or surround sound, or you're doing the sound effects a disfavor

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Zugzwang152

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
The Europeans hate how pro US our movies are. I never really thought about it much until I was there. Armageddon is one they really really hate.

My God, I hate to think that the US is judged by one of the worst films ever made. :Q

As for Black Hawk Down, I didn't think the movie was terribly pro-US. Personally, I thought it made us look weak. I mean, we kill almost 2,000 Somalis and only lose ~19 (don't flame me for not being able to recall the exact number right now, it's late) soldiers and we act like we're the ones who lost. I don't get it. Why are we such crybabies?
I know what some are going to say, that we're Americans and we don't expect to lose. Well first, we didn't lose. We kicked major ass with a 100-to-1 casualty ratio despite being badly outnumbered. Our men fought with valor and honor and made the other side pay hard. And second, I can forgive the US people for thinking that way but not our military leadership. Murphy was an optimist and this is the real world with real wars.

1) why do europeans hate armageddon so much?
2) liv tyler was so hittable in that movie anyway.
3) BHD-great movie, but i for one dont take my history lessons from hollywood films. I'll take them in school, where I will at least learn the facts before the pro-american propaganda.

they have nothing close to a space shuttle? eh, armegeddon was harmless entertainment unlike the horrific pos pearl harbor.

 

[Zugzwang152]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: Zugzwang152

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
The Europeans hate how pro US our movies are. I never really thought about it much until I was there. Armageddon is one they really really hate.

My God, I hate to think that the US is judged by one of the worst films ever made. :Q

As for Black Hawk Down, I didn't think the movie was terribly pro-US. Personally, I thought it made us look weak. I mean, we kill almost 2,000 Somalis and only lose ~19 (don't flame me for not being able to recall the exact number right now, it's late) soldiers and we act like we're the ones who lost. I don't get it. Why are we such crybabies?
I know what some are going to say, that we're Americans and we don't expect to lose. Well first, we didn't lose. We kicked major ass with a 100-to-1 casualty ratio despite being badly outnumbered. Our men fought with valor and honor and made the other side pay hard. And second, I can forgive the US people for thinking that way but not our military leadership. Murphy was an optimist and this is the real world with real wars.

1) why do europeans hate armageddon so much?
2) liv tyler was so hittable in that movie anyway.
3) BHD-great movie, but i for one dont take my history lessons from hollywood films. I'll take them in school, where I will at least learn the facts before the pro-american propaganda.

they have nothing close to a space shuttle? eh, armegeddon was harmless entertainment unlike the horrific pos pearl harbor.

thank god i've never seen pearl harbor.

 

[B00ne]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
The Europeans hate how pro US our movies are. I never really thought about it much until I was there. Armageddon is one they really really hate.

Nah hate is the wrong word, It's actually pretty damn funny especially when I think that most Americans prolly dont even notice the propaganda BS they are fed to have them believe in their Superiority.

No Armageddon was actually quite funny - just dont think about the whole movie being BS and that the director prolly didnt even come close to a scientist knowledgeble in this area...

But the best idiotic Patriotism movie evar has got to be "Independence Day" especially the pathetic speach of that "Jetfighting" president : "now the Independance day is the day of independence for the whole world", man I bursted out in tears when I heard that - good stuff indeed

I only hate it when I expect some semi-realistic and/or critical war movie or something thats supposed to be based on facts.... (I did not watch Pearl Harbor - for a reason)

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Zugzwang152

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: Zugzwang152

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
The Europeans hate how pro US our movies are. I never really thought about it much until I was there. Armageddon is one they really really hate.

My God, I hate to think that the US is judged by one of the worst films ever made. :Q

As for Black Hawk Down, I didn't think the movie was terribly pro-US. Personally, I thought it made us look weak. I mean, we kill almost 2,000 Somalis and only lose ~19 (don't flame me for not being able to recall the exact number right now, it's late) soldiers and we act like we're the ones who lost. I don't get it. Why are we such crybabies?
I know what some are going to say, that we're Americans and we don't expect to lose. Well first, we didn't lose. We kicked major ass with a 100-to-1 casualty ratio despite being badly outnumbered. Our men fought with valor and honor and made the other side pay hard. And second, I can forgive the US people for thinking that way but not our military leadership. Murphy was an optimist and this is the real world with real wars.

1) why do europeans hate armageddon so much?
2) liv tyler was so hittable in that movie anyway.
3) BHD-great movie, but i for one dont take my history lessons from hollywood films. I'll take them in school, where I will at least learn the facts before the pro-american propaganda.

they have nothing close to a space shuttle? eh, armegeddon was harmless entertainment unlike the horrific pos pearl harbor.

thank god i've never seen pearl harbor.

your one of very few who havn't been subjected to the horror then. it should be called a love story interrupted by a bombing raid

 

[B00ne]

Originally posted by: axiom

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
The Europeans hate how pro US our movies are. I never really thought about it much until I was there. Armageddon is one they really really hate.

This is precisely why Jerry Bruckhiemer isn't our UN Ambassador. Hollywood does NOT speak for America.

I might be going out on a limb here, but:

I would say for the uneducated masses in foreign countries - It sure does....

 

[Zugzwang152]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: Zugzwang152

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: Zugzwang152

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
The Europeans hate how pro US our movies are. I never really thought about it much until I was there. Armageddon is one they really really hate.

My God, I hate to think that the US is judged by one of the worst films ever made. :Q

As for Black Hawk Down, I didn't think the movie was terribly pro-US. Personally, I thought it made us look weak. I mean, we kill almost 2,000 Somalis and only lose ~19 (don't flame me for not being able to recall the exact number right now, it's late) soldiers and we act like we're the ones who lost. I don't get it. Why are we such crybabies?
I know what some are going to say, that we're Americans and we don't expect to lose. Well first, we didn't lose. We kicked major ass with a 100-to-1 casualty ratio despite being badly outnumbered. Our men fought with valor and honor and made the other side pay hard. And second, I can forgive the US people for thinking that way but not our military leadership. Murphy was an optimist and this is the real world with real wars.

1) why do europeans hate armageddon so much?
2) liv tyler was so hittable in that movie anyway.
3) BHD-great movie, but i for one dont take my history lessons from hollywood films. I'll take them in school, where I will at least learn the facts before the pro-american propaganda.

they have nothing close to a space shuttle? eh, armegeddon was harmless entertainment unlike the horrific pos pearl harbor.

thank god i've never seen pearl harbor.

your one of very few who havn't been subjected to the horror then. it should be called a love story interrupted by a bombing raid

i count myself lucky.

 

[Nemesis77]

Originally posted by: Queasy
During the making of the movie, they actually took out a part that directly blamed the Clinton Administration for denying them the use of the AC-130 gunship and armored vehicles during the Black Hawk Down incident.

From what I know, wasn't Clinton being kept more or less in the dark when it came to Somalia? He was being assured that gunships and/or armor was not needed and that it would just make things worse.

 

[Nemesis77]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
The Europeans hate how pro US our movies are. I never really thought about it much until I was there. Armageddon is one they really really hate.

If you want a movie that we REALLY hate, try ID4. It could have been bearable (apart from huge plotholes and general stupidity, but those are in just about all movies), but the over-the-top jingoism really turned alot of us off.

I personally hate Armageddon as well, not because of US flag-waving (is there any? I don't really recall. I'm actively trying to block that movie from my memory ), but because it's just so crappy. Why the hell did they have a Gatling in a frigging space-vehicle? Only good thing in that movie is the part where they though Finland was attacking USA . I liked Deep Impact alot more.

As to Blackhawk Down. I think it's a really good movie, and I haven't seen any real bias. Yes, the somalis are crappy figters in the movie, but they were crappy fighters in reality as well, so I don't have any problems with it. Only problem I have with the movie is that the Somalis seem to be crappier shooters that Imperial Stormtroopers. Like when theres dozen or so US soldiers taking cover behind a pile of sand, and a Somali starts blasting them from their flank with a machine gun from 20 meters or so. End result: one american is wounded. I would think that even untrained individual is capable of pointing a barrel of a machine gun in to right direction.

 

[tcsenter]

I only hate it when I expect some semi-realistic and/or critical war movie or something thats supposed to be based on facts.... (I did not watch Pearl Harbor - for a reason)

Pearl Harbor was "based on actual events"; some Japanese planes attacked some US Navy ships at Pearl Harbor. That part the movie got 100% right.

Seriously, there is a difference between a "documentary" and a "movie". If you are offended by how Hollywood plays fast and lose with the facts of actual events, then that can mean only one thing: you misunderstood that difference. You expected an orange to taste like an apple, and so you throw it back at the fruit vendor and demand your money back.

 

[FrancesBeansRevenge]

Movies made by Americans for (primarily) an American audience.
Gee, I wonder what slant they will take?

edit: It seems as though some people mistake a movie based on true events with a documentary.
The two are not even remotely close IMHO.

If YOU watch a Hollywood movie based on true events and expect to see an accurate portrayal of events, as opposed
to a nicely canned and and 'pumped up for the wow factor' portrayal, it is you who is the fool.

Real life is rarely exciting and easily explained in 90mins.
Rarely do people pay money to see 'real life'. (with a few exceptions)

If you want accuracy watch a documentary

 

[Gaard]

When asked by my sister if I liked it, I compared it to a 1st-person shooter game. That's really the whole movie, the plot could easily have been aliens on Mars.

 

[Tominator]

Originally posted by: Piano Man
While taking a course on African History, we studied Somalia at great length. After doing some research, I would say that movie is very pro-US.

Noe there is an unbiased source!

 

[VFAA]

I liked it... What's this rant? What was soooo bad about it?

 

[B00ne]

Originally posted by: tcsenter

I only hate it when I expect some semi-realistic and/or critical war movie or something thats supposed to be based on facts.... (I did not watch Pearl Harbor - for a reason)

Pearl Harbor was "based on actual events"; some Japanese planes attacked some US Navy ships at Pearl Harbor. That part the movie got 100% right.

Seriously, there is a difference between a "documentary" and a "movie". If you are offended by how Hollywood plays fast and lose with the facts of actual events, then that can mean only one thing: you misunderstood that difference. You expected an orange to taste like an apple, and so you throw it back at the fruit vendor and demand your money back.

My god tcsenter, do really have to pick apart every statement like that

, I know the diffrence between a documentary and a movie damn well, still did they really have to make a fookin lovestory out of it. Apocalyse now, Platoon, SPR were all great war movies - did they have a love story and an overly heroic touch - No

 

[tcsenter]

My god tcsenter, do really have to pick apart every statement like that , I know the diffrence between a documentary and a movie damn well, still did they really have to make a fookin lovestory out of it. Apocalyse now, Platoon, SPR were all great war movies - did they have a love story and an overly heroic touch - No

The 'thrust' of the comment to which I responded wasn't merely that you didn't like the way that a particular story was told, but that you took exception to Hollywood's 'altering' of historical facts and actual events, one might reasonably presume out of some 'expectation' that Hollywood is in the business of documentary making.

I was merely pointing out that Hollywood is in the business of entertaining and story-telling, not producing hour-long educational programs for the History Channel. If you want accurate portrayal true to the historical record, watch the History Channel, not Hollywood productions.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
The Europeans hate how pro US our movies are. I never really thought about it much until I was there. Armageddon is one they really really hate.

I read an op-ed piece by Newt Gingrich a couple of weeks ago in the Atlanta paper (yeah, I know...Newt Freacking Gingrich). Anyways, he brought up a pretty good point that a lot of foreigners impression of the United States and Americans is based off of US movies. So, the films made showing the worst part of America end up convincing the foreign audience that average Americans are a bunch of gun-crazy cowboys.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Nemesis77

Originally posted by: Queasy
During the making of the movie, they actually took out a part that directly blamed the Clinton Administration for denying them the use of the AC-130 gunship and armored vehicles during the Black Hawk Down incident.

From what I know, wasn't Clinton being kept more or less in the dark when it came to Somalia? He was being assured that gunships and/or armor was not needed and that it would just make things worse.

I said Clinton Administration not just Clinton.

The gunships may have been a bit much what with the attack helicoptors flying cover (I don't know) but Armored Personnel Carriers could have definitely been used down on the streets.

 

[Nemesis77]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Nemesis77

Originally posted by: Queasy
During the making of the movie, they actually took out a part that directly blamed the Clinton Administration for denying them the use of the AC-130 gunship and armored vehicles during the Black Hawk Down incident.

From what I know, wasn't Clinton being kept more or less in the dark when it came to Somalia? He was being assured that gunships and/or armor was not needed and that it would just make things worse.

I said Clinton Administration not just Clinton.

Ooops, sorry. My mistake

 

[StinkyPinky]

Nah, Black Hawk Down was okay. It's an American movie so focusing on American deaths is understandable. SPR is the same, although you wouldn't know non-americans played a major part in D-Day from that movie. The best war film (or series) is Band of Brothers. That was awesome.

The movie that always bugs me is U-571. I think it's disrespectful to the British.

 

[rudder]

Even with the incredible story that was BlackHawk Down, the hollywood producers ultimately made this movie to make money. Even so why shouldn't it show a pro-US bias? This leader that the U.S. was going after was using food as a weapon and starving hundreds of thousands of people. Sure Aidids troops fought bravely, but I would not go see a movie honoring them.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Nah, Black Hawk Down was okay. It's an American movie so focusing on American deaths is understandable. SPR is the same, although you wouldn't know non-americans played a major part in D-Day from that movie. The best war film (or series) is Band of Brothers. That was awesome.

The movie that always bugs me is U-571. I think it's disrespectful to the British.

U-571 was disrespectful to the average movie viewer. I can't remember the last time I saw such a cookie cutter war movie.