![]() ![]() Strub said he doesn’t mind the occasional darker image of the military. “It’s very satisfying to see the enlisted man and the war veteran treated as something other than a deranged, evil person.” ![]() In the 1970s, few movies tackled subjects of military valor, said Philip Strub, special audio-visual assistant for the Department of Defense in Washington, D.C.Ībout the only films made in the 1970s on military subjects were bleak portraits such as “Apocalypse Now,” “The Deer Hunter” and “Coming Home,” Strub said. ![]() Good thoughts about the military once were few and far between in Hollywood. “It’s great to start ’em thinking good thoughts about the military at a young age.” “Out drop thousands of jelly beans,” Davis said. The bomb-bay doors of a B-52 bomber open. There’s a scene in the Saturday morning cartoon show, “Muppet Babies,” in which the ever-hungry Miss Piggy stands on one hoof and looks to the sky, Davis said. The military has infiltrated children’s television, too. “But the scripts weren’t realistic enough, and the producers wouldn’t change the parts we objected to.” “It’s great to have a show about the Army seen by millions of people each week,” he said. The Army pulled its support for the show after its first year, Hansen said. The military has soured on “Tour of Duty,” the Vietnam era series set in the Asian jungles. “As long as it gives a fairly realistic account of what we do, that’s enough to help us.” “`Major Dad’ doesn’t really try to overtly sell the Marine Corps,” Thomsky said. David Thomsky, director of the Marine Corps public affairs office in Los Angeles. Marine advisers consult on the scripts and assist on the set, said Lt. The latter show, featuring actor Gerald McRaney as a tough Marine with a heart of gold, has the full support of the Marine Corps. Televison also is giving the military recruit a share of new dignity – a medium who’s military portrayals used to include cartoonish goofs, such as on “McHale’s Navy” and “Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.”īut today, there are three weekly shows that take the enlisted man seriously: “China Beach” “Tour of Duty” and “Major Dad.” ![]() Many recent media portrayals have been kind to the fighting man: He’s cocky Tom Cruise going up in a fighter plane, or high-strung Charlie Sheen helping lead a Navy SEAL unit to fight terrorists, or cheeky Nicolas Cage performing combat missions against members of a drug cartel. They advise Hollywood on such subjects as proper uniforms, the right time to call an officer “sir,” what military terms to use and when to salute. The four military branches post movie-and-television liaison staffs ranging from two to five people in their Los Angeles offices. Other films, including “Navy SEALs,” “BAT 21” and “Hanoi Hilton,” received partial military assistance. Two TV shows, “Major Dad” and “China Beach,” have military advisors consulting on scripts and on the set. The list includes “Top Gun,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “Fire Birds,” “The Presidio,” “Biloxi Blues,” “Firefox,” and the upcoming “Flight of the Intruder,” a film about a secret Navy air attack on Hanoi that’s scheduled to open this fall. An actual $10 million Apache attack helicopter was the star of a recent film about the Army, “Fire Birds,” shot at Fort Hood, Texas.Ī spate of films in the last several years have received the full support of the military. Michael Sherman, director of the Navy information office in Los Angeles. When filming took place for “The Hunt for Red October,” actor Scott Glenn, who plays an American submarine commander, spent 24 hours undersea in a Los Angeles-class attack sub, said Capt. “And we felt films weren’t always telling the true story about us. Thomas Hansen, chief of the Army’s West Coast public affairs office. “Hollywood used to be a little apprehensive about asking for the support of the government,” said Col. ![]()
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