MovieChat Forums > Enlisted (2014) Discussion > Disrespectful to troops? I disagree. H...

Disrespectful to troops? I disagree. Here's why...

posted 10 years ago by crockett_john
18 replies | jump to latest

I watched the pilot episode of this show yesterday. Like a lot of others who have served, I noticed a lot of things that were out of place for the Army, against regulations, or were just wrong. When I came to this message board to see what others are saying about the show, I see a lot of people are saying this show is disrespectful to the military because of how soldiers are portrayed. I disagree. Here's why:

The main character, Staff Sergeant Hill, is shown at first in combat where he's a good soldier who has participated in over 100 raids against insurgents in Afghanistan. This is portrayed as a positive quality in Sergeant Hill.

When Hill gets back to the FOB or wherever he is, he finds the person who was responsible for not getting backup for his mission. This is a lieutenant colonel. Hill punches him. As punishment, he's demoted and sent back to Florida to work in a non-combat unit. In other words, being in combat is portrayed as being a positive thing and going to Florida is a bad thing.

The show doesn't refer to soldiers as baby-killers or war-mongers. The good ones are overseas, fighting the bad guys. The bad ones are in Florida, mowing the lawn and trimming the hedges.

The show isn't supposed to be taken seriously. They're never going to get the uniforms right, even if they try, which they didn't. I think the show can be entertaining and respectful to the military despite no attempts being made at showing an accurate portrayal. Already, by making the soldiers the good guys and their goals being noble, the show is much more respectful to the military than shows like MASH and "The Green Zone" ever were.

I'm not sure why people equate innacuracy to disrespect, but I've read several posts on this board that mention haircuts and whether someone had his blouse open or closed, but none of them say anything about how the show portrays the mission in Afghanistan. What's equally funny is the number of posts that say the show really is accurate and that they've seen all the things in real Army units.

[–] Taylorfirst1 10 years ago

They tried to fix alot of the uniform issues in the episodes that followed the pilot. The makers of this show have gone out of their way to say in every interview that their intent is actually to honor the troops as well as be funny.

With great power comes great responsibility.

[–] Schlacko 10 years ago

I'm not sure why people equate innacuracy to disrespect

People like to be indignant. Scratch that, idiots like to be indignant.

[–] woodmage 10 years ago

I don't think the show was being disrespectful (but what do I know? I did 3 years back in the 80s, and even if something had been happening at that time my MOS would have made me an REMF).

I did think the uniform problems in the pilot were distracting, to the point where I couldn't buy the show as being about the military. "Suspension of disbelief" only goes so far.

I know there was some criticism of the work the "Rear D" does in the show, but I really have to wonder... isn't stuff like that probably pretty close to jokes many deployed combat arms types tell about non-combat troops in stateside garrison?

[–] crockett_john 10 years ago

Well, I would have to agree that it's distracting to anyone who has ever worn any kind of uniform or performed any military service. I do notice the things that are out of place, but at the same time, I'd rather it be blatantly inaccurate and admittedly so than have someone say it's an accurate portrayal, like they did with "Hurt Locker."

[–] gallifreyent 10 years ago

I haven't served, but my father, much older brother, and husband served in 3 different branches during 3 different wars, and they've all had funny stories about stateside stuff. Since this is a comedy, and not a documentary, it's reasonable that the silly scenes should be more extreme than one might see in a real military setting.

The high regard of families stands out on this show. Even with the dad who was an absolute goof, the troops were respectful of him and his son, and it was nice to see it was the mom who was deployed since that has not been part of any comedy I've ever seen. I loved the way the unit helped that family build bonds, but not a sports center.

The core of this setting is clearly the brothers' finding their relationships with each other as adults in a situation where the rules are not under their control. Whatever complaints people have about the other less-than-perfect soldiers, the brothers seem to be mostly squared away. The heavy soldier is less of a concern to me than the hilarious, but unbalanced, man who has all the makings of a sealed-record discharged serial killer.

~If you go through enough doors, sooner or later you're gonna find a dog on the other side.~

[–] crockett_john 10 years ago

I think you're right about the silly scenes being more extremes in a comedy. They could do a lot with this show.

About the fat soldier, they could do an episode on that or have it as a running gag.

[–] siu18 10 years ago

Maybe you can answer a question I've had about this show: Is "rear-D" a real thing?
As for the uniforms being inaccurate, I was always told that uniforms were not supposed to be shown on TV. So, I always expect uniforms to be inaccurately portrayed.

[–] crockett_john 10 years ago

A lot of units have what's called a rear detachment, but there isn't really an actual unit called that, at least as far as I know. The rear detachments that I've known of have been when a unit is deployed, which leaves part of the unit behind to handle administrative things and logistics. If someone is injured, pregnant, or otherwise not deployable, that person may stay behind with the rear detachment.

For the uniform inaccuracies, that's a rumor that I've also heard, but one that's not true. I'm not sure how that rumor got started, but there's no law requiring actors to wear the uniform inaccurately, at least not one that I've ever seen. I think movies and TV shows have uniform inaccuracies most often because the people making them don't know or don't care, or the uniform isn't as much of a priority as other things may be.

Even when shows try to get it right, there are still a lot of tiny things that could be inaccurate that would still stand out.

[–] woodmage 10 years ago

I think movies and TV shows have uniform inaccuracies most often because the people making them don't know or don't care, or the uniform isn't as much of a priority as other things may be.

I remember one story from Stargate SG-1 where they wanted to do an outdoor scene at the Air Force Academy but the director didn't like the cadets wearing hats.

The Air Force was approving scripts, and gave that idea a No Go. The scene was moved indoors.

[–] ChristmasTiger 10 years ago

The high regard of families stands out on this show. Even with the dad who was an absolute goof, the troops were respectful of him and his son, and it was nice to see it was the mom who was deployed since that has not been part of any comedy I've ever seen. I loved the way the unit helped that family build bonds, but not a sports center.

Totally agree with this and with OP, this show is actually incredibly respectful towards the military and families of military members, I like how it's a silly comedy at points but also has some pretty real points about dealing with life after deployment and giving a nod to the troops' families who wait for them back home.

I think we need more shows like Enlisted to help slowly bring the military back into a better light, at least in terms of it's fictional media portrayal. It's more of a buddy workplace comedy with some emotional moments, reminds me of Scrubs.

I just hope this show is able to trudge through the initial onslaught of those in the military who don't find it accurate enough and those who hate the military in general so much they won't give the show a chance. Which is a shame because this is a really great show that's both hilarious and entertaining yet also respectful to the military.

[–] Jimayy6 10 years ago

The pilot was down right awful. and they fixed some of it. a SGM calling a Bradley a tank was a bit much...

my brother best thinks of the show as some people who grabbed stories off the internet or youtube and tried to make a show about it. It's not a great show, and it has it's annoyances that you find if you ever served. The rifle range was wth... and dang their unit must be nice to all have m4s and eotechs on their weapons for rear-d folks. I was rear d in my reserve unit before AIT. we had no equipment. My brother is currently serving and spent forever in tradoc cuz he got LVN training from the army. he finds no joy in the show. lol.

there are fat people, but not too many extremes. Haircuts, you can only get away with so much before someone says something. they fixed the facial hair on the brothers since the pilot. I still can't get a bead on the oldest brother. You know how they say, some guys are some guys who are sgts and then there are guys who are actual NCOs. Most of the sgts i experienced just wore the rank, and didn't bother with the NCO part. The youngest is a goof ball, who i'm not sure would have survived relaxing jackson but comical and refreshing. The middle brother is just a pain in the butt. Unfortunately there are people like him in the Army. Who are just complete jerks, douchebags and don't care for the job or anything and waste everyone's time and space. but you can't quit the military so he just becomes a thorn to everyone. He shouldn't be a corporal. that's an hindsight they didn't pick up from the pilot. He's not NCO material and doesn't look like he was ever motivated enough to make it to NCO, I don't see how anyone would put in that paperwork. I can guess he was never E5 and busted down. he should be a specialist, as with all the other E4s on the show really. Park is scary weird. I'm assuming this unit didn't have an unemployable commissioned officer to be XO.

perez and sgm both have combat patches but no CIB or CABs? but it seems they all got their airborne badge! lol. After 5 episodes it seems that sgt perez is the only other soldier in the unit who been deploy. her interactions with sgt hill are entertaining. I'm not sure if they intended a loveline or not. They were competitive at first and more friendly each episode.

some find it distasteful and disrespectful. my brother is one of them. he doesn't care for soldiers who can't do their job or just ated up all the time. You don't have to be high speed but at least be competent.

It is a comedy... but it's not the same workplace funny as say Scrubs was. Even Scrubs got praise from doctors and nurses are the most/more realistic medical show on TV. Make the workplace seem more real, and bring in better comedy. There are plenty of pranks and goofing around in the army, but they gotta do better at it. The writers don't seem to know the workplace or environment. They have an idea of comedy and just want to run with it without meshing it in. You can see they're trying the scrubs formula real hard, minus single cam and monologue. they try to end each episode with some serious/heartfelt moment that tries to ground you.

[–] baddragonbad 10 years ago

you can get a combat patch without getting a cab or cib.. its pretty easy... as for the rear d aspect to the show ... its over the top... but fairly accurate

[–] kamma-mason 10 years ago

Americans will always be surprised if you're doing anything less than sucking the military's dick.