It used to be the Russians, until the Soviet Union collapsed, and, now the Chinese cannot be the bad guys, because Hollywood wants to sell films over there, so there's not a lot of villians left. I suppose fictitious ones like GI Joe's enemy - Cobra - or aliens would do, and evil corporations are always handy, but, beyond that, there's not much out there, because North Korea doesn't cut it as a world-destroying villain. Not even Iran can qualify, especially now the world has seen how its neighbor - Saddam Hussein - got knocked off in a matter of weeks.
Who will be the bad guys now?
- Thread starter Aspiring Mogul
- Start date
Dang, that was an eye-opener of an article!
There's a really good book called "Back To Our Future" that gives a lot of insight into this over the past few decades, and how movies & politics collide.
An American investment group is selling their large stake in AMC theaters to China, I recently read. The speculation is that this will give Chinese films better access to cinemas over here - not so much the other way around.
We'll see.
There's a really good book called "Back To Our Future" that gives a lot of insight into this over the past few decades, and how movies & politics collide.
An American investment group is selling their large stake in AMC theaters to China, I recently read. The speculation is that this will give Chinese films better access to cinemas over here - not so much the other way around.
We'll see.
Crab People?
I cast my vote for Zombies. I don't think we have a set country for enemies anymore. I think corporations are about the only other option for an enemy now.
Well there is a lot of bad things going on in Mexico right now. Maybe Mexico?
Terrorists are a pretty safe antagonist.
Warfare has changed across human history. Significantly.
However, warfare has always been conducted over the same two issues: economics and ideology.
Beginning in the semi-modern world, the British Empire and other European colonists experienced their first real taste of non-conventional asymmetrical warfare with constant guerrilla style native american raids.
Being out gunned and out trained the rebellious colonists utilized the same asymmetrical guerrilla techniques (as well as considerable aid from France) against the conventional forces of King George.
Due to the less than brilliant implementation of Emancipation Proclamation, the American Civil War resulted in the largest number of American deaths to date in a single war event.
http://www.militaryfactory.com/american_war_deaths.asp
A hybrid conventional "war of attrition" force with raid tactics further eroded historical head-to-head comabt.
With "The Great War" technology from the blossoming industrial age changed everything for everyone. Introduce gas warfare from Germany, armored tanks from Great Britain, and military aircraft from the United States. Conventional warfare takes a giant leap forward.
The second runner up to the less than brilliant implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation is made by these four "gentlemen":
The Treaty of Versailles was so poorly conceived and implemented that the economically oppressed but quite mentally capable Germans revolted into WWII.
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/year9links/versailles.shtml
Effing brilliant.
Warfare has just leapt from conclusive winner-looser concept to a legacy concept.
And to back track a little, consider any and all revolutions.
None of them begin with a conventional military vs. military.
All are homegrown populations dissatisfied with their own leadership.
With the French Revolution the people were unhappy with their government.
With the American Revolution the people were unhappy with their government.
With The Great War it was a knee-jerk fall of politically obligated dominoes that resulted in the revolution of the German people due to the oppressive constraints of The Treaty of Versailles war reparations directly leading to WWII.
The nascent rise of pre-WWI Marxism in Russia gave way to the power of Lenin in WWII and the introduction of Communism as a global political entity.
Oh, and Oppenheimer et all produce the atomic bomb, forerunner of the nuclear bomb. Thank you Nazi Germany for the technology directly leading ICBM development.
Communism as a somewhat viable political entity spreads across the globe - as does the algae bloom of the intelligence community. Furthermore, the new communist USSR develops it's own nuclear weapons program so the Americans develop the Mutually Assured Destruction arms race program.
This places a relative ceiling over the entire concept of warfare, largely relegating everyone (sensible) to conventional warfare. Again.
Over the last half century global trade has made formal governments of all kinds interdependent upon each other despite differences to provide for their people.
Now, consider the rise of the ad hoc informal government: Terrorism.
No single nation of origin.
No direct economic goal.
Often of variable philosophical goals.
Charismatic leadership inspiring a very few to wield great economically disruptive power to the many. All involved feel a great sense of purposeful existence.
"The bad guys" aren't nations anymore.
They are radical splinter groups trying to compete with formal governments with military structures designed around conventional symmetrical military vs. military approaches.
So the world finds itself evolving their military forces to rapid deployment, limited engagement forces.
Bad guys are now anyone, foreign or domestic, who can interfere with someone's economics.
And just like in filmmaking, whomever has the money has the power.
Whomever funds this disruptive activity makes enemies of someone else.
There are many international "rules of engagement" formal governments must abide by while clandestinely supporting non-governmental elements.
Nothing is simple. Even within formal governments there are multiple factions to satisfy.
Some factions want "here and now" goals satisfied which are in direct conflict with other faction goals a half century away in development.
Some factions are naive, while others are Machiavellian in complexity and of dubious merit.
Forget "Uniform vs. uniform."
It's "Suits vs. Suits using cash and power ascension planning."
However, warfare has always been conducted over the same two issues: economics and ideology.
Beginning in the semi-modern world, the British Empire and other European colonists experienced their first real taste of non-conventional asymmetrical warfare with constant guerrilla style native american raids.
Being out gunned and out trained the rebellious colonists utilized the same asymmetrical guerrilla techniques (as well as considerable aid from France) against the conventional forces of King George.
Due to the less than brilliant implementation of Emancipation Proclamation, the American Civil War resulted in the largest number of American deaths to date in a single war event.
http://www.militaryfactory.com/american_war_deaths.asp
A hybrid conventional "war of attrition" force with raid tactics further eroded historical head-to-head comabt.
With "The Great War" technology from the blossoming industrial age changed everything for everyone. Introduce gas warfare from Germany, armored tanks from Great Britain, and military aircraft from the United States. Conventional warfare takes a giant leap forward.
The second runner up to the less than brilliant implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation is made by these four "gentlemen":
The Treaty of Versailles was so poorly conceived and implemented that the economically oppressed but quite mentally capable Germans revolted into WWII.
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/year9links/versailles.shtml
Effing brilliant.
Warfare has just leapt from conclusive winner-looser concept to a legacy concept.
And to back track a little, consider any and all revolutions.
None of them begin with a conventional military vs. military.
All are homegrown populations dissatisfied with their own leadership.
With the French Revolution the people were unhappy with their government.
With the American Revolution the people were unhappy with their government.
With The Great War it was a knee-jerk fall of politically obligated dominoes that resulted in the revolution of the German people due to the oppressive constraints of The Treaty of Versailles war reparations directly leading to WWII.
The nascent rise of pre-WWI Marxism in Russia gave way to the power of Lenin in WWII and the introduction of Communism as a global political entity.
Oh, and Oppenheimer et all produce the atomic bomb, forerunner of the nuclear bomb. Thank you Nazi Germany for the technology directly leading ICBM development.
Communism as a somewhat viable political entity spreads across the globe - as does the algae bloom of the intelligence community. Furthermore, the new communist USSR develops it's own nuclear weapons program so the Americans develop the Mutually Assured Destruction arms race program.
This places a relative ceiling over the entire concept of warfare, largely relegating everyone (sensible) to conventional warfare. Again.
Over the last half century global trade has made formal governments of all kinds interdependent upon each other despite differences to provide for their people.
Now, consider the rise of the ad hoc informal government: Terrorism.
No single nation of origin.
No direct economic goal.
Often of variable philosophical goals.
Charismatic leadership inspiring a very few to wield great economically disruptive power to the many. All involved feel a great sense of purposeful existence.
"The bad guys" aren't nations anymore.
They are radical splinter groups trying to compete with formal governments with military structures designed around conventional symmetrical military vs. military approaches.
So the world finds itself evolving their military forces to rapid deployment, limited engagement forces.
Bad guys are now anyone, foreign or domestic, who can interfere with someone's economics.
And just like in filmmaking, whomever has the money has the power.
Whomever funds this disruptive activity makes enemies of someone else.
There are many international "rules of engagement" formal governments must abide by while clandestinely supporting non-governmental elements.
Nothing is simple. Even within formal governments there are multiple factions to satisfy.
Some factions want "here and now" goals satisfied which are in direct conflict with other faction goals a half century away in development.
Some factions are naive, while others are Machiavellian in complexity and of dubious merit.
Forget "Uniform vs. uniform."
It's "Suits vs. Suits using cash and power ascension planning."
Warfare has changed across human history. Significantly.
However, warfare has always been conducted over the same two issues: economics and ideology.
Beginning in the semi-modern world, the British Empire and other European colonists experienced their first real taste of non-conventional asymmetrical warfare with constant guerrilla style native american raids.
Being out gunned and out trained the rebellious colonists utilized the same asymmetrical guerrilla techniques (as well as considerable aid from France) against the conventional forces of King George.
Due to the less than brilliant implementation of Emancipation Proclamation, the American Civil War resulted in the largest number of American deaths to date in a single war event.
http://www.militaryfactory.com/american_war_deaths.asp
A hybrid conventional "war of attrition" force with raid tactics further eroded historical head-to-head comabt.
With "The Great War" technology from the blossoming industrial age changed everything for everyone. Introduce gas warfare from Germany, armored tanks from Great Britain, and military aircraft from the United States. Conventional warfare takes a giant leap forward.
The second runner up to the less than brilliant implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation is made by these four "gentlemen":
The Treaty of Versailles was so poorly conceived and implemented that the economically oppressed but quite mentally capable Germans revolted into WWII.
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/year9links/versailles.shtml
Effing brilliant.
Warfare has just leapt from conclusive winner-looser concept to a legacy concept.
And to back track a little, consider any and all revolutions.
None of them begin with a conventional military vs. military.
All are homegrown populations dissatisfied with their own leadership.
With the French Revolution the people were unhappy with their government.
With the American Revolution the people were unhappy with their government.
With The Great War it was a knee-jerk fall of politically obligated dominoes that resulted in the revolution of the German people due to the oppressive constraints of The Treaty of Versailles war reparations directly leading to WWII.
The nascent rise of pre-WWI Marxism in Russia gave way to the power of Lenin in WWII and the introduction of Communism as a global political entity.
Oh, and Oppenheimer et all produce the atomic bomb, forerunner of the nuclear bomb. Thank you Nazi Germany for the technology directly leading ICBM development.
Communism as a somewhat viable political entity spreads across the globe - as does the algae bloom of the intelligence community. Furthermore, the new communist USSR develops it's own nuclear weapons program so the Americans develop the Mutually Assured Destruction arms race program.
This places a relative ceiling over the entire concept of warfare, largely relegating everyone (sensible) to conventional warfare. Again.
Over the last half century global trade has made formal governments of all kinds interdependent upon each other despite differences to provide for their people.
Now, consider the rise of the ad hoc informal government: Terrorism.
No single nation of origin.
No direct economic goal.
Often of variable philosophical goals.
Charismatic leadership inspiring a very few to wield great economically disruptive power to the many. All involved feel a great sense of purposeful existence.
"The bad guys" aren't nations anymore.
They are radical splinter groups trying to compete with formal governments with military structures designed around conventional symmetrical military vs. military approaches.
So the world finds itself evolving their military forces to rapid deployment, limited engagement forces.
Bad guys are now anyone, foreign or domestic, who can interfere with someone's economics.
And just like in filmmaking, whomever has the money has the power.
Whomever funds this disruptive activity makes enemies of someone else.
There are many international "rules of engagement" formal governments must abide by while clandestinely supporting non-governmental elements.
Nothing is simple. Even within formal governments there are multiple factions to satisfy.
Some factions want "here and now" goals satisfied which are in direct conflict with other faction goals a half century away in development.
Some factions are naive, while others are Machiavellian in complexity and of dubious merit.
Forget "Uniform vs. uniform."
It's "Suits vs. Suits using cash and power ascension planning."
Your posts are allways so huge and full of information, it's amazing... how do you do it?
I consume mass quantities of information.Your posts are allways so huge and full of information, it's amazing... how do you do it?
Somewhere between artist and engineer.
Technology Advancement
I'd put my money on Germany, again. 3ed times a charm? This wouldn't be a bad basis for a movie - After their economic war, which has bankrupted all of Europe, the German government decides to consolidate their power by enforcing their political will on its fellow Europeans. All that stands in their way is a small group of Greek freedom fighters lol
We're always fighting the last war. Even as we move to a stance expecting asymmetrical unconventional warfare you can bet that the large scale force on force battles will be important in the next conflict. ALWAYS the way.
If you blame terrorists, you could be accused of being anti-Islamic or anti-Arab. Wall Street corporations are far more convenient.
How about "blame Canada"?
How about "blame Canada"?
Its still the Ruskies,.... funding\encouraging Iran, China, North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, and the 99'ers ...
Its ideological and its on the streets. Commies vs Capitalists = 99% vs 1% Class warfare baby! This is going to be one HOT summer..
Only the PROLS can save us! I picked a bad week to stop drinking Victory Gin!
Its ideological and its on the streets. Commies vs Capitalists = 99% vs 1% Class warfare baby! This is going to be one HOT summer..
Only the PROLS can save us! I picked a bad week to stop drinking Victory Gin!
Then the Russians are not going to watch your movies. How about aliens - no one can object to that, unless they're already among us.
Pirates. Definitely pirates.
Joss Whedon.
Whut!!!
I didn't kill no one!
You can't pin it on me, mister.
I'm innocent! My lawyer's crooked! I was framed!
