Hollywood and the politically correct terrorist . . .

[Moose-Knuckle]

Long gone are the days when the likes of Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin portrayed red-blooded American men kicking terrorist ass across the silver screen . . .

For those of you who don't remember the film adaption of Tom Clancy's The Sum of All Fears, the film was released back in 2002 shortly after the 9/11 terror attack. In the book the terrorists who sneak a dirty bomb into the US and detonate it were Islamic Jihadists. Now in the film version Hollywood blew the dust off of everyone's favorite bad guys and brought the Nazis out of retirement. So instead of a bunch of military aged men of Middle Eastern descent plotting against us Hollywood cues the evil ultra-radical right-wing white devil.

Recently I watched two films that were just released on Blu-Ray. The first was Liam Neeson's Non-Stop (spoiler alert). In it Liam Neeson's plays a US Air Marshal on a trans-Atlantic flight. At some point "terrorists" hack his secure line and start texting him demands for money to be deposited into a Swiss bank account or a random passenger will be killed in thirty minute intervals. Not bad at this point and it starts out as a pretty good suspense thriller. Well after all the cloak and dagger and Nancy Drew stuff we discover that the "terrorists" are in fact disgruntled US combat veterans home from the Middle East and feel they are owed something. This plays right into the hands of several DHS memos and public statements by individual LEOs that combat veterans returning home are potential domestic terrorists. Pass.

The second was a re-boot of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (spoiler alert). So in this prequel we find a young Jack Ryan as a student at the London School of Economics when the BBC airs footage of the planes going into the WTC on 9/11. Ryan enlists in the USMC and is shot down in an RPG attack on a helicopter in Afghanistan. While recovering from his wounds at Walter Reed he is recruited by the CIA to prevent the "next 9/11". When first approached by the CIA he makes a derogatory comment about waterboarding. Long story short he joins up as a plant on Wall Street to monitor financing of terror groups. After ten years of being a banker on Wall St. Jack discovers a plot by ultra-hard lined Reds in modern day Russia who attempts to crash the world economy by devaluing the US dollar.

I know it should be no surprise to anyone here that Hollywood has gone this route with action thrillers but I am through with any "terrorist" movies . . .

[Kain]

Am not surprised. When I was in college I took a class that studied terrorism and the professor went out of their way to avoid any mention of arabs or muslims having any connections to terrorists or even being terrorists. Hell we had to watch a 3 hour ****ing 'documentary' about how the poor arab was mislabeled and such a peace loving people who would never purposely kill anyone and completely avoided mention of 9/11. In fact the only group that he felt confident in labeling as terrorists were the American fighting men during the American Revolution because they didn't stand up and fight in the rules of war during that period of time. There was also a subtle reference that if America had lost the revolution that the world would have been a better place with more peace and less war. It took just about all I could do to not break the ****er's jaw. Anyway, worst two weeks of class I ever had. Why two weeks? His ass was replaced with another professor. Class still sucked, but it wasn't as anti-American as the other fat ****.

[Caeser25]

I wait until movies are in Redbox anymore.

[halo2304]

Anyone remember the movie "The Rock" with Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery? Who were the "terrorists"? Disgruntled US soldiers led by Ed Harris.

I think the last movie that had middle eastern terrorists was "True Lies". (Great film!)

[Moose-Knuckle]

I wait until movies are in Redbox anymore.

I still rent from a local video store. $0.50 for five nights even on Blu Rays, beats the hell out of Redbox and Netflix. Before I cut the cable Time Warner was charging $4.99 for an HD rental for 24 hours. **** that noise.

[Moose-Knuckle]

Anyone remember the movie "The Rock" with Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery? Who were the "terrorists"? Disgruntled US soldiers led by Ed Harris.

I think the last movie that had middle eastern terrorists was "True Lies". (Great film!)

Yup, I do remember that one. Force Recon Marines that went off the reservation, come to think it Under Siege falls into this catagory as well.

[MountainRaven]

Anyone remember the movie "The Rock" with Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery? Who were the "terrorists"? Disgruntled US soldiers led by Ed Harris.

I think the last movie that had middle eastern terrorists was "True Lies". (Great film!)

The Siege. Although in this film, the bad guys are Kurds.

Zero Dark Thirty and Black Hawk Down obviously had Muslims as bad guys, too.

Bad guys in Body of Lies were Middle-Eastern... although the protag is abandoned by his American superiors and is only rescued thanks to the talents of a Jordanian intelligence officer, the Jordanian's source inside the terrorist organization (a Palestinian, IIRC), and a Jordanian SOF team. Bad guys in Argo were Iranian, of course.

The Ten Rings are a Middle-Eastern terrorist organization that provides most of the bad guys for Iron Man and the patsies for Iron Man 3 (and will probably show up in either Iron Man 4 or War Machine, due to events in, IIRC, the short film included in the Blu-Ray version of Thor 2). Although in the former instance, the Ten Rings were being manipulated by an American benefactor and in the latter, the real bad guys are an American defense contractor and the wounded vets he's healed with Extremis.

I seem to recall that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opened with an Autobot-backed raid against a Middle-Eastern nuclear facility that was pretty definitely supposed to be in Iran. The Joes in GI Joe: Retaliation killed a bunch of Islamic nuts while securing part of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal following an apparent Islamist coup.

I may think of more, later.

[streck]

Kingdom is recent film in which muslims are murderous terrorists.

[Moose-Knuckle]

The Siege. Although in this film, the bad guys are Kurds.

Zero Dark Thirty and Black Hawk Down obviously had Muslims as bad guys, too.

Bad guys in Body of Lies were Middle-Eastern... although the protag is abandoned by his American superiors and is only rescued thanks to the talents of a Jordanian intelligence officer, the Jordanian's source inside the terrorist organization (a Palestinian, IIRC), and a Jordanian SOF team. Bad guys in Argo were Iranian, of course.

The Ten Rings are a Middle-Eastern terrorist organization that provides most of the bad guys for Iron Man and the patsies for Iron Man 3 (and will probably show up in either Iron Man 4 or War Machine, due to events in, IIRC, the short film included in the Blu-Ray version of Thor 2). Although in the former instance, the Ten Rings were being manipulated by an American benefactor and in the latter, the real bad guys are an American defense contractor and the wounded vets he's healed with Extremis.

I seem to recall that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opened with an Autobot-backed raid against a Middle-Eastern nuclear facility that was pretty definitely supposed to be in Iran. The Joes in GI Joe: Retaliation killed a bunch of Islamic nuts while securing part of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal following an apparent Islamist coup.

I may think of more, later.

I never said ALL Hollywood movies portray terrorists as non-Muslims. I'm merely pointing out the recent trend in this particular genre of films. As for Zero Dark Thirty that was supposed to be a docu-picture about a real historic event, not a suspense action thriller. As for BHD, again not a movie about terrorists but about a US peace keeping force on a "humanitarian mission".



Kingdom is recent film in which muslims are murderous terrorists.

And a good one at that thanks in part to Micheal Mann producing it.

[MountainRaven]

I never said ALL Hollywood movies portray terrorists as non-Muslims. I'm merely pointing out the recent trend in this particular genre of films. As for Zero Dark Thirty that was supposed to be a docu-picture about a real historic event, not a suspense action thriller. As for BHD, again not a movie about terrorists but about a US peace keeping force on a "humanitarian mission".

I was neither quoting you nor responding directly to you.

Halo2304 said that he couldn't think of any movies made since 1994's True Lies with Middle-Eastern and/or Islamic baddies. So I listed a few I could think of.

[SilverBullet432]

Never thought about politics IN movies. I just go for the gunshots and explosions....

[Moose-Knuckle]

I was neither quoting you nor responding directly to you.

Halo2304 said that he couldn't think of any movies made since 1994's True Lies with Middle-Eastern and/or Islamic baddies. So I listed a few I could think of.

Gottcha.

[SOW_0331]

Am not surprised. When I was in college I took a class that studied terrorism and the professor went out of their way to avoid any mention of arabs or muslims having any connections to terrorists or even being terrorists. Hell we had to watch a 3 hour ****ing 'documentary' about how the poor arab was mislabeled and such a peace loving people who would never purposely kill anyone and completely avoided mention of 9/11. In fact the only group that he felt confident in labeling as terrorists were the American fighting men during the American Revolution because they didn't stand up and fight in the rules of war during that period of time. There was also a subtle reference that if America had lost the revolution that the world would have been a better place with more peace and less war. It took just about all I could do to not break the ****er's jaw. Anyway, worst two weeks of class I ever had. Why two weeks? His ass was replaced with another professor. Class still sucked, but it wasn't as anti-American as the other fat ****.

Aw, I was hoping you were gonna end the story with the revelation that you broke his jaw and were the reason he had to be replaced. I would have respected your conviction at least, even if not a fan of the means.

It's okay to listen to arguments that are contrary to your own. Sometimes you find that the truth is more in the middle than it is polarized in one way or the other. And it's good to acknowledge and understand some of the shittier things we have done as a country, lest we end up doing them again and again.

[markm]

I'm at the point where if the Terrorizors hit blue States... I'm like... Yawn.... whatever.

I remember watching film of the people on the streets in NYC when the planes hit. One guy commented "What is wrong with these people?" It's almost like the liberal shit in between his ears started to function normally.

[SOW_0331]

Re the OP,

I guess I have to strap my SuperDefenderOfIslam cape and raccoon mask. I fail to see the outrage...

What exactly are you looking for? Sure, some directors put evidence of their rhetoric into their movies, rhetoric based on fear and conditioning. They don't really know much more than that. And some just look for ways to make a movie sell, I mean The Rock would have been REALLY boring if it was Costa doing exaggerated shoulder looks on the roof, while his opponent Yaeger lay in a ditch down by the water. Some directors, screenwriters, and producers use current events. Movies about relevant subjects sell better than history pieces. You should go work for some of these guys; their convictions are left at the door when they negotiate pay.

So you feel Hollywood has done the country a disservice by making any movie in the past thirteen years that depicts Muslims as anything but terrorists, and terrorists as anything but Muslims. Some might call that "Propaganda", and I would be less than thrilled personally to have the American people subjected to a controlled criteria of what could be portrayed.

For perspective; We have narco-terrorists operating within five miles of our southern border. Mostly catholic, and absolutely using terror tactics. The Irish Catholics and Christians were locked in a brutal terror campaign that was part of the justification to create the SAS. Not Muslim, very much terrorists. Ever hear of Rwanda and Darfur? Christians massacring Muslims with machetes and burning tires around the neck. Muslims returning the favor. Tit for tat, both embracing terrorism as a tactic. Columbian drug cartels were rewriting the book on terror tactics in 1st/2nd world countries while we were trying to pull off the perfect "Saturday Night Fever" look in the US. Israel (in some folks' minds) uses terror tactics to force Palestinians out of their homes in the West Bank...unless breaking the arms of teenage boys, torching vehicles, destroying food stores, and responding to isolated attacks with indiscriminate shelling and rocket fire is somehow okay if it teaches the bad ol' Muslims to stay in line.

Terrorism isn't a nationality, a religion, or a race. It's a tactic often used by the true believers who face overwhelming odds of defeat in a head to head fight. Kind of like that terrorist group in the British Colonies. Who were those guys again? Muslims right? If you want to only watch movies that support your belief, good on ya. Sounds like an unhappy life to me.

[chuckman]

Am not surprised. When I was in college I took a class that studied terrorism and the professor went out of their way to avoid any mention of arabs or muslims having any connections to terrorists or even being terrorists. Hell we had to watch a 3 hour ****ing 'documentary' about how the poor arab was mislabeled and such a peace loving people who would never purposely kill anyone and completely avoided mention of 9/11. In fact the only group that he felt confident in labeling as terrorists were the American fighting men during the American Revolution because they didn't stand up and fight in the rules of war during that period of time. There was also a subtle reference that if America had lost the revolution that the world would have been a better place with more peace and less war. It took just about all I could do to not break the ****er's jaw. Anyway, worst two weeks of class I ever had. Why two weeks? His ass was replaced with another professor. Class still sucked, but it wasn't as anti-American as the other fat ****.

My first degree was poli sci, graduated in 1991. I had two classes regarding terrorism, one a junior/senior level, one a grad-level seminar. Same prof, she had retired from the government and was an SME on terrorism. She pulled no punches with regard to Islam/ME; but then, she was equally objective about the screwy German, Italian, etc., groups of the 60s and 70s.

[markm]

I'm convinced that movie goers are just retards for the most part. When these Fast and Furious movies are what people are seeing and talking about??? WTF? I can see how one of these brainless movies got made, but several?

So I don't see most movie viewer having the brain cell activity to know they're paying for stupid garbage.

[Mauser KAR98K]

Not really films but most of the plots in the series "Strike Back," have been with middle eastern baddies. Third season was a leftist.

[TAZ]

Never thought about politics IN movies. I just go for the gunshots and explosions....

Don't forget the boobies.