Much as i admire his direction, Greengrass is one of those British people who really don't like their own. Much like the
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eddysl12 — 11 years ago(April 29, 2014 08:10 AM)
Sorry but as a few others have pointed out, it was the British who responded to Captain Phillips call for help and not the Americans who apparently were too busy doing God-Knows-What to bother answering the phone.
The Brits were partial heroes in this. -
dnrob7 — 11 years ago(April 30, 2014 09:24 PM)
I used to dislike all that too till I realized it was true.
If I got kidnapped while on holiday abroad and needed some direct action or needed our embassy there to throw a bit of weight around to help me, I know full well it wouldn't happen. Not unless there was danger of the world press finding out.
British policies are just a mass of red tape with no principals behind them. Our people and our well being is irrelevant to our government and policy makers so long as we are handing them our money and making sure we all have the approved opinions on things and cheer on the weekly hunt for "the racist!!" (who ever it may be this time)
Doesn't really matter who as long as he/she is white..
If I got in trouble out there in the world, forget England. I'd contact say a German or Dutch embassy. Hell, even the French would be the better choice.
I doubt I would even need to explain why. They all know what a beep heap nation we have become. -
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mattmail8 — 11 years ago(May 06, 2014 10:12 PM)
Reality apparently has an anti-british attitude, considering that's what ACTUALLY happened. And if you remember correctly, the Americans wouldn't even answer the phone in the first call. Even a movie the retells facts on a super-stringent basis has to tiptoe around offending someone. This movie didn't make British look inept, ineffective and stupid, but after this comment I am now left wondering.
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gatorDawg — 11 years ago(May 18, 2014 09:14 AM)
There seems to be a weird American cultural phenomenon that exists, at least in the entertainment industry, wherein producers of television and film seem to think that American audiences have no interest in watching stories that aren't about Americans, or wherein Americans are not portrayed as the entirely righteous and unflawed heroes.
In the 1980s I was working for a small Canadian production company that was producing a Saturday morning children's television show, aimed at young teens, that was being broadcast throughout southern Ontario, Canada. Due to the area of broadcast, the show was available in a few northern US markets that were able to pick-up Canadian station broadcasts due to the proximity. The show took off and became something of a minor hit in those American markets.
Because of this, certain "big-time" American investors began to show interest in ramping up production and producing more episodes for broader distribution into more US markets. They offered to invest heavily in the future production of the show - but, they had conditions that the show must adhere to if my production company wanted their money. The conditions had to do, almost exclusively, with making the show appear more American.
The writers were absolutely banned from including ANYTHING that would hint at the show's non-American origin. If a line of dialog included a place name, such as a city or town, it HAD to be an AMERICAN place name - NO Canadian cities or towns were allowed to be mentioned. If the show mentioned politics in any way that wasn't generic, there could be NO mention of Canadian style politics - no mention of a Prime Minister, for example, or of a Parliament. The rules went on like this. The show absolutely could not include anything that would give any indication that the people on the screen weren't Americans, and that the events portrayed might not be taking place in the US.
It's also somewhat common in some circles of Canadian humor to sometimes poke a little fun at the US and at Americans in general, and the show, during it's entirely Canadian production, had done this on a few occasions. The US investors were adamant that such a practice was to cease immediately - NOTHING that was in any way disparaging of the US culture, the country itself, or its people, was to ever again appear on the show - no matter how light-hearted, nor how in the spirit of friendly jest it occurred.
Apparently, the reason for these rules, given by the American investors, was that if Americans didn't think they were watching other Americans, they wouldn't watch the show. And, if they thought America, or Americans, were being made fun of in any way whatsoever, they'd become horribly insulted and they wouldn't watch the show.
The irony, of course, is that once the American investors came on board, their rules were followed without the slightest deviation, and it wasn't long before the show completely tanked and production ceased altogether due to declining viewership. Whatever weird mojo the entirely Canadian, rough-and-raw, underfunded, micro-production had that had originally drawn people to it was completely destroyed by the slickness and polish it was afford by the influx of American money. -
Empyre_of_Dyrt — 11 years ago(May 26, 2014 07:04 PM)
There seems to be a weird American cultural phenomenon that exists, at least in the entertainment industry, wherein producers of television and film seem to think that American audiences have no interest in watching stories that aren't about Americans, or wherein Americans are not portrayed as the entirely righteous and unflawed heroes.
Neither fair nor accurate. If I wanted to bother I could list dozens, nay hundreds, of American movies and shows that are critical of things American. But, if you are straining to see anti-Canadian/British bias everywhere in American cinema, then you are sure to find it. -
gatorDawg — 11 years ago(July 18, 2014 12:36 AM)
Both fair and accurate. My experiences were as I have written them.
I didn't say the phenomenon was all-encompassing; ubiquitous - that you couldn't find examples of American film or TV that was critical of America, or that every person in the entertainment industry is ruled entirely by such attitudes. I said the phenomenon exists. Whether you believe it or not, it doesn't matter. I experienced it first hand. It exists. -
bsharporflat — 11 years ago(May 22, 2014 12:09 PM)
American films always try to make the British look inept, ineffective and stupid.
No, they don't. Provide some examples please.
It seems to be in America's DNA to denigrate the British no matter what.
That's quite idiotic considering that the UK is the USA's greatest cultural source not to mention that we speak ENGLISH here. -
Dan_Finn — 11 years ago(May 25, 2014 05:22 AM)
The original posters comments all depend on weather that happened in real life, at the end of the day she relayed the information the relevant people and the ship wasnt hijacked on that occasion.
Im british we cock stuff up like everyone else, we tend to ignore cock ups in our films just like the americans do in theirs (black hawk down is a good example of an american cluster beep that was made out to be a triumph). Also in a couple of the Bond films (quantum of solace is one of them) they show corrupt cia high level memember making deals with international terrorists. Its not really that bigger deal. Call of Duty is a huge franchise yet we aren't depicted as being useless.
I do have an issue with Argo - our embassy and the canadians played a big part in smuggling and hiding the americans yet in the film they showed us turning them away. -
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Dan_Finn — 11 years ago(July 05, 2014 09:15 AM)
Black Hawk Down portrayed the events as both a cluster fvck AND a triumph. What's wrong with that?
Because there was no triumph the US were defeated by men with sticks and sham weaponry then pulled out of the area without completing the objectives they set out to achieve in the first place it then caused the US to pull out of Somalia all together. It also lead to the US choosing not to get involved in stopping the genocide in Rawanda where millions were slaughtered. -
Joxerlives — 11 years ago(June 06, 2014 10:27 AM)
Actually if I recall the scene they tried phoning the US Navy first but they didn't answer so then they phoned the RN and spoke to the Wren. Really it didn't make any difference, the Indian Ocean was a million square miles of water and there was no way any help could have reached them in time,
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Stirchley — 11 years ago(June 11, 2014 02:40 PM)
The Captain calls up for advice from the British military presence in the Indian Ocean and is told that the people in the skiff are probably "just fisherman". And then later the Captain calls the AMERICANS and they come to the rescue.
American films always try to make the British look inept, ineffective and stupid.
It seems to be in America's DNA to denigrate the British no matter what.
Jeez, touchy much? First off, when Phillips called the Americans nobody answered the phone. Then he called the Brits and the woman told him to follow protocol. Not the answer he wanted, but he didn't pursue the call further. The second time he called the Americans (who, BTW, were based in England) he got some assistance. -
jporter-6 — 11 years ago(August 15, 2014 03:20 PM)
It's just a grand old tradition. Started when George III tried to overwhelm the colonists. Got his butt kicked. It's now a second thought when it comes to the Brits.
Seriously, Brits take themselves so seriously. It's an American movie made with American money. You want a Brit-view of the money, get your own Brit skipper
kidnapped, then rescue him with your Navy. You can have any old Brit view you want, then.
The right of the interpretation of history belongs to the victors.