War Movies & TV Shows | Conservative Biases in Hollywood

Movies & TV shows about war are almost universally conservatively biased for a multitude of reasons -- even the relatively few that feature anti-war messages.

The Awfulness of War is Downplayed

First and foremost, war is awful in real life. Few movies or TV shows, no matter how hard they try, can accurately depict this. You have to show graphic, gruesome injuries which any movie not rated R cannot do. This also goes beyond soldiers but also civilians who are casualties of war including children. And then there is PTSD trauma soldiers & civilians endure and lives uprooted. Nobody will go see a movie that accurately depicts all of this. Saving Private Ryan did a great job showing the true horrors of D Day and World War 2 but even that fell short in many places as well. If a movie somehow manages to cover 90% of all the horrors in war, that is still 10% conservatively biased from the truth.

There are times when going to war is necessary. But it is important that voters and politicians accurately know how bad war is. Because if movies & TV shows downplay some of the worst aspects of war even just a little bit, it makes it that much easier to go to war.

War is Justified

No matter how bad military action may be, there are always occasions when it is justified. There are so many movies about World War 2 which was a just war.

War Movies Usually Have Happy Endings

People want to see movies with happy endings even if it is just a lone survivor. The good guys lose the war but win a battle. The good guys lose a battle, but it helps in the cause to win the war. The protagonist dies a hero saving his fellow soldiers. Or you win a battle, and the war and all (or most of) the good guys survive. When war movies have happy endings, politicians who vote for future wars may be more inclined to think it will have a happy ending.

Weapons are Glamorized

Modern day war movies glamorize weapons and military equipment. Fighter jets, drones, special forces soldiers, snipers, tanks, 50 caliber guns, missiles and bombs are all exciting to watch on screen. Movies & TV shows are commercials for the military industrial complex. Navy Seals are often used as consultants to train actors to properly use advanced weapons and tactics.

Diplomacy is Boring

Going to war means that diplomacy failed. Sometimes it cannot be helped, but every effort should be made to avoid conflict. On screen, war is chosen far more often than diplomacy. That's because diplomacy is boring whereas war is exciting. It's as simple as that. And you cannot just have countries go to war over nothing. Movies & TV shows will have countless reasons justifying wars. Your country is attacked. Diplomacy failed. Someone reneged on a deal. Peace treaties are a ruse to placate naive foes. Movies about war are resolved with force. Nobody wants to watch some military response and then diplomats negotiating for peace. On screen, the good guys usually win and beat the bad guys in war. Movies that do show diplomacy are almost always based on real life historical events.

Anti-war Messages are Factual -- not Biased

There are movies & TV show episodes critical of war. But this is usually always accurate. Accurately depicting something is rational and not biased. Anti-war movies are usually much less popular than their counterparts. They are also often shunned by conservatives who refuse to see a movie that depicts war in a negative light. Most people enjoy seeing movies where war is exciting and fun to watch.

• Republicans for decades have been much more pro war and much more inclined to start unnecessary wars like in Iraq
• Republicans are far more against diplomacy including the disastrously bad decision to side against the Iran Nuclear Arms deal
• Republicans favor less restraint with the use of combat drones
• Trump backed out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia
• Antiwar protestors have been liberal going all the way back to Vietnam