Hollywood and Normal America

"Jarhead" opens this Friday, and I probably won't go to see it.

Now, I go to the movies darn near every weekend, usually with The Girls after church, and sometimes with my daughter, who works at the movie theater. But when I see trailers for movies that look as though they want to tell me a Message, my hackles go up. Because Hollywood mangles almost every message they try to convey.

Not only do I go to the movies, though, I also buy the good ones on DVD. And on the "We Were Soldiers" DVD Special Features, General Hal Moore says that he saw movie after movie on the Vietnam War, and "Hollywood got it wrong every damn time." When he was approached by Randall Wallace for permission to make Moore's book into a movie, Moore didn't want to give his permission. It wasn't until Wallace sent Moore a copy of the script of "Braveheart" which was being filmed at the time, that Moore gave his OK on the condition that the studio didn't switch directors to someone besides Wallace. About his movie, Moore said, "They finally got it right."

The idea of Hollywood getting it wrong all the time is what makes me hesitant to see a lot of movies. I avoid all the lefty union-screaming movies (think: "Norma Rae") and the feminist-propaganda movies like the plague. No sense in paying Hollywood to beat me over the head with leftist claptrap.

When a movie looks like it could be good, but it also could be a left-swinging two-by-four coming upside my head, I'll wait to see it until after I hear from normal people that it's safe to watch. That's what I did with "North Country." Somebody at work said he thought it was good and didn't feel hit over the head with Message, so my friends and I saw it Saturday. It was good, and even though it covered a topic that could have been right-bashing, it wasn't, and for that I'm glad.

So I'm going to wait on "Jarhead." AOL News has an article today about the story behind making this movie, and it's not very encouraging.

Though it is seen through the eyes of eager Desert Storm soldiers, there are virtually no battle scenes in Jarhead. The movie takes no stand for or against the conflict. Some soldiers want out of the military. Others are desperate to stay.

Indeed, the men of Jarhead's platoon run the political gamut. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Swofford, a third-generation enlistee who quickly comes to regret his decision to join the military.

The main character is the carrier of a book/movie's message. So the Message of "Jarhead" is: You'll regret joining the military.

[Iraq] hasn't been easy terrain for filmmakers. The FX television show Over There, Steven Bochco's series based on the current Iraq war, is expected to be canceled because of poor ratings.

Funny, the blogs I read when "Over There" started said that the show was the Left's stereotypes of the Vietnam War, only in dirt instead of jungles. Of course Vietnam in the desert won't get good ratings.

The problem isn't Iraq. The problem isn't even Vietnam. The problem is that anti-military left-wingers are making movies about the military. The problem is guys like this, quoted in the AOL article (emphasis added):

"The Iraq war has entered an uncertain phase of undetermined length," says Kevin Hagopian, a film historian and professor at Penn State University. "No matter how supportive these dramas may be toward the American troops ... these dramas simply remind Americans of all political stripes that we're in a military quagmire."

These dramas are not supportive toward the American troops. And we're not in a quagmire. Jeez!

My church has lots of military, including some Marines, and we love these men and women and their families. And I want to see movies that show that same respect for what these people do and give themselves to. So I'll listen for Michael Medved's review of "Jarhead" and for Emmett of the Unblinking Eye's review. If both reviews aren't wholehearted endorsement of the movie, I'm not going.

Every time Hollywood makes a movie that trashes our military, I'll be sure not to give them one thin dime in support of that movie. And when they manage to make a movie that truly supports our military (like "We Were Soldiers"), I'll go see that movie in the theaters and then buy it on DVD, because I want to give them my own Message.