In the scene where she's taking a shower and the Master Chief comes in.. Did I understand correctly its that's perfectl
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bgreenfl — 19 years ago(August 21, 2006 01:17 PM)
I think tommykins-1 is right on the money - the chief was trying intimidation, and it didn't work.
A couple of "minor" points, that is, minor if you haven't been in the service! SEALS are navy personnel, not marines. In addition, - GI Joe is primarily slang for army types, so its distaff usage in the title is a misnomer. I'm sure the producers thought it was catchy, which is far more important than accuracy. -
Gingerella — 18 years ago(December 31, 2007 12:56 PM)
By treating her exactly the way he would treat a male soldier, the MC expected Jordan to become uncomfortable and maybe cover up; when she didn't, he became uncomfortable. The scene represents a temporary power shift he is forced to respond to her (via the involuntary reaction of staring) as an attractive woman, which gives her a very basic sort of power over him. Her query to him about whether the conversation has ended (so she can put on some clothes) has the slightest hint of a taunt.
It's been a while since I saw this film, so I'm not 100% of the chronology, but I believe that this exchange is one of the reasons why he was so hell-bent to torture her in the training exercise toward the end first because she got him to show "weakness," and second because her femininity was going to be used to demoralize and break her fellow soldiers. -
MillionMonkeys — 19 years ago(September 24, 2006 09:27 AM)
I guess they both understood the importance of this sort of situation during her training. The Master Chief was quite a pr*ck to the trainees, but I believe he had their best interests in mind.
Imagine if a female SEAL were captured during wartime. I think being leered at while showering would be the least of her worries, as things could get rather brutal, don't you think? So the Master Chief is testing O'Neil, and she knows it, so they both go through with the socially awkward situation without blinking. -
whitespirit26 — 19 years ago(September 25, 2006 03:41 PM)
I wouldn't count peeping at her in the shower as a "socially awkward" thing as it was obviously something they could have avoided; he was just being an intimidating jerk. Male coaches of female basketball teams don't visit the girls' lockerroom because that sort of thing isn't necessary and neither was what he did. It was hardly a mandatory thing she would have had to get used to.
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MillionMonkeys — 19 years ago(September 26, 2006 12:26 AM)
Yes, intimidation WAS the point of him invading her privacy, which in normal society would be "awkward," or more precisely, socially improper. If she couldn't handle this, she wouldn't be able to handle the even worse things that would happen if she were captured during war.
For anyone who doesn't understand, if she were captured, she would be subject to brutal dehumanization, torture, rape, starvation, and as we saw in the Iraqi War, made to stand in the nude while being tormented by her captors. Does anyone not understand this?
The shower scene is a small test, one of many, to see how mentally tough she is. She passed the test. -
whitespirit26 — 19 years ago(September 26, 2006 03:58 PM)
I don't think he did it to toughen her; for one thing, although it was humiliating, it wouldn't compare to what the Iraqis would do to her. There really IS no way to prepare someone for rape or torture, so mistreating someone in a humiliating way and calling it training is ridiculous. If anyone walked in on a woman or girl in the shower and afterward said, "Okay, now I know you could handle rape or torture in the future!", his excuse would be very flimsy. If the guy in this movie had groped Demi Moore and said he was preparing her for the possibility of rape, no one would buy that either. It would be seen as what it was: sexual harassment, NOT a necessary training method.
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MillionMonkeys — 19 years ago(September 27, 2006 01:01 PM)
although it was humiliating, it wouldn't compare to what the Iraqis would do to her. There really IS no way to prepare someone for rape or torture, so mistreating someone in a humiliating way and calling it training is ridiculous.
You can't actually rape and torture trainees, so all you can do is give them little tests to at least weed out a bunch of the weaker recruits. If they didn't have this scene in the movie, I would have felt something missing from her training, which was meant to be a little different from the other guys'. Did you not feel more confident about O'Neil's toughness after seeing that she didn't react like a "dainty" girly?
I think the fact that audience members felt uncomfortable with this scene is more a testament to Viggo Mortensen's fine acting than objection to such intimidation methods. Viggo was awesome as a character you love to hate but ultimately is seen as one of the "good guys."
