Wow, Debra. No need to take it so sensitively. Stallone is not much of
green beret either, despite Rambo. However, that was not the point of that
movie, and neither it is of this one. Hollywood will never be realistic,
because honestly, no one would want to see it exactly like in real life.
I don't know how well it depicts military, but I can tell you that any
movie with a plot going on outside of US can _always_ be shown as
"/Comedy" in that country, no matter what it is about. One hilariously
idiotic example I can think of right away is _Golden Eye_ (the latest James
Bond flick). Just the way actors fake your accent would make you laugh to
tears.
Going back to science fiction, what people here think about Twin Peaks? I
just saw a couple parts on tape yesterday. It's not really feminist, but
it's a pretty unusual fantasy. It used to be my favorite TV show when I
was a teenager. I'd like to know what anyone else thinks about it.
Marina
P.S. Yes, and what I meant by "average woman" was that one does not have
to be a world champion in wrestling to qualify. Because that -- the
physical strength -- is the common excuse for not letting females there.
On Fri, 5 Sep 1997, Debra Euler wrote:
> Marina Yereshenko wrote:
> >The whole point of the movie is that an _average_ woman can become a
> SEAL, just as well as an average man (after all, none of the guys
> looked like Schwatzenegger). All you need is good health and a lot of
> will power to go through all this training. And Demi Moore is someone
> that most
> women could relate to.
>
> I have not seen GI Jane and I have no desire to see it (I can't stand
> Demi Moore). But I can't believe that with all this discussion, no
> one has made this point: The average man or woman CANNOT become a
> Navy SEAL. My dad, who went through the Recon Marine training (they
> used much of the SEAL facilities) back when it was even more
> difficult than it is now (I believe they had to scale it back because
> too many trainees died), laughed hysterically at this movie. You need
> a hell of a lot more than good health and lots of will power to go
> through the training. You need to be an exceptional athelete, gifted
> with weapons, possess extraordinary endurance, have the social ability
> necessary to work well as a team, etc. etc. To say that SEAL men
> aren't exceptional because they don't look like Arnold
> Schwartzenegger is silly, because you're forgetting that Arnold is a
> body builder and actor, not a soldier or aerobic athlete. The body
> of a competitive swimmer is more the "ideal".
>
> I'm not saying that a woman could not go through the SEAL training.
> Just that she'd have to be pretty extraordinary to do so. Saying
> that a woman could do so because she "looks tough" or has a lot of
> willpower is just foolish.
>
> Can we go back to discussing SF?
>
> Debra Euler
>
"Femininity is code for femaleness plus whatever society
happens to be selling at the time."
Naomi Wolf
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