Re: I couldn't disagree more

Posted by mlgm from slhw0373.slh.wisc.edu on July 13, 2000 at 13:35:55:

In Reply to: Re: I couldn't disagree more posted by Afro Dogwhelk on July 13, 2000 at 13:13:20:

:
: Ok. I admit a lot of what I wrote is subjective, but I feel my comments on the reality of ww1 are sound. I don't know why you say I am getting my wars mixed up. Did they treat prisoners of war much better before this century?

Yes, they did. At least, enemy officers. Honor among gentleman, etc. Officers before WWII, especially in European armies tended to upper class, or at least upper middle-class, often younger sons.

: As for the battles they were very tame. THe video recieved a 12 certificate in this country (England). Again, I didn't expect Saving Private Ryan style arms flying everywhere and legs being shot off but if you tone down the violence to this level it defeats the point of making a war movie. This was an adventure story set during ww1.

Have you ever been in a war? When I've asked the people I've known that have been, (now I only know five, none WWI, two WWII, one Korean, 2 Vietnam) they all tell me the same thing: while possibly bloodier than YIJC, it wasn't corpses that bothered them. Also, limbs didn't go flying that often (except for land mines.) There was a lot of blood, but people were generally in one piece, sometimes limbs were hanging by a thread, but bullets generally didn't tear off limbs. It was the noise, it was the smells, it was the explosions, the feelings of isolation and confusion, all of which I thought the show did very well. And so incidentally, did the three of them that saw Trenches of Hell. Don't let the explosions that modern movies favor fool you, most of war, including war in the trenches was sitting around, with only a shot or two being exchanged now and then. Pitched battles are the exception, not the rule.

You mentioned something about the old guys and your uncles "roaming the world and having fun". I don't know about your family but the old guys were fighting in ww1, which according to most reports was not fun.

I was taking about the zest these old gentlemen still felt for life, the determination that they still had many adventures left in them. That ran very true to life to me.

: And it is surprising that Indy knows so many famous people. You say he travels in a small world in small circles, yet the world is a rather large place and in a small amount of time he has been adventuring on his own, serving in the Belgian army, then as a spy and done loads of other stuff and still bumps into famous people every episode.

The world of the upper middle-class is very small, was small then and its small now. You travelled with introductions, and in the main, you socialized with your own class. And yes, Indy continues to bump into famous people. It's the show's hook. Do you really think American emergency rooms get shot up as often as ER does? Or that most ER cases aren't routine? An cop often goes through an entire career without drawing his gun, but watch NYPD blues and you'd never believe it. Shows have hooks. YIJC has famous people, why is that anymore of a problem than cop shows shooting so many people? It's a least as believable.

: And Indy was a lot more intersting in the films and did have a dark side - Try to imagine Young Indy shooting that sword guy in Raiders.

Umm, maybe like the way Young Indy shoved the bayonett into the guy in the tunnel?

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: : Ok. I admit a lot of what I wrote is subjective, but I feel my comments on the reality of ww1 are sound. I don't know why you say I am getting my wars mixed up. Did they treat prisoners of war much better before this century?

: Yes, they did.  At least, enemy officers.  Honor among gentleman, etc.  Officers before WWII, especially in European armies tended to upper class, or at least upper middle-class, often younger sons.

: : As for the battles they were very tame. THe video recieved a 12 certificate in this country (England). Again, I didn't expect Saving Private Ryan style arms flying everywhere and legs being shot off but if you tone down the violence to this level it defeats the point of making a war movie. This was an adventure story set during ww1.

: Have you ever been in a war?  When I've asked the people I've known that have been, (now I only know five, none WWI, two WWII, one Korean, 2 Vietnam) they all tell me the same thing:  while possibly bloodier than YIJC, it wasn't corpses that bothered them. Also, limbs didn't go flying that often (except for land mines.)  There was a lot of blood, but people were generally in one piece, sometimes limbs were hanging by a thread, but bullets generally didn't tear off limbs. It was the noise, it was the smells, it was the explosions, the feelings of isolation and confusion, all of which I thought the show did very well. And so incidentally, did the three of them that saw Trenches of Hell.  Don't let the explosions that modern movies favor fool you, most of war, including war in the trenches was sitting around, with only a shot or two being exchanged now and then.  Pitched battles are the exception, not the rule.

: 
:  You mentioned something about the old guys and your uncles "roaming the world and having fun". I don't know about your family but the old guys were fighting in ww1, which according to most reports was not fun.

: I was taking about the zest these old gentlemen still felt for life, the determination that they still had many adventures left in them.  That ran very true to life to me.

: : And it is surprising that Indy knows so many famous people. You say he travels in a small world in small circles, yet the world is a rather large place and in a small amount of time he has been adventuring on his own, serving in the Belgian army, then as a spy and done loads of other stuff and still bumps into famous people every episode.

: The world of the upper middle-class is very small, was small then and its small now.  You travelled with introductions, and in the main, you socialized with your own class.  And yes, Indy continues to bump into famous people.  It's the show's hook.  Do you really think American emergency rooms get shot up as often as ER does? Or that most ER cases aren't routine? An cop often goes through an entire career without drawing his gun, but watch NYPD blues and you'd never believe it.  Shows have hooks.  YIJC has famous people, why is that anymore of a problem than cop shows shooting so many people?  It's a least as believable.

: : And Indy was a lot more intersting in the films and did have a dark side  - Try to imagine Young Indy shooting that sword guy in Raiders.

: Umm, maybe like the way Young Indy shoved the bayonett into the guy in the tunnel?

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