Supporting the Tropes: Hollywood & Our Military

Many Americans, especially those who don’t personally know a service member, learn much of what they know about the U.S. military through portrayals in film and television. While military movies often make for high-quality and high-revenue entertainment, they can also tend to traffic in stereotypes – stereotypes that can perpetuate the already-growing civil-military divide by hindering realistic and rich conversation between veterans and civilians. This lack of informed interaction can have serious policy implications.

In this episode, Nick Paraiso and Sarah Claudy, our creative consultant, discuss these issues with Chris Marvin, a former Army helicopter pilot and prominent communications strategist who works on veterans’ narratives in film and television. Chris is the founder of Got Your Six, a veterans’ non-profit working in the entertainment industry, and the principal of Marvin Strategies, an independent strategic communications firm.

This podcast is in no way intended to reflect the official positions of the Department of Defense or any other military entity.

Credits:

Nick Paraiso, host

Sarah Claudy, host

Thomas Krasnican, editor and producer

Haz Yano, engineer

Aishwarya Kumar, producer

Mary Martha Maclay, producer

David Raban, publisher

Special thanks to Emma Moore and Yana Seo.