Got a little bored, so came up with this flash fiction...
Before the outbreak of the Empyrean War, the Federation military was in quite an ailing state. Continued budget slashes by the Senate, recruitment issues and an over-reliance on drones. Still, this did not stop the Gallentean holo industry from portraying the armed forces in the opposite light, often unrealistically and disproportionately effective, bravely crushing drug cartels, illegal corporations, and repelling evil invasions from either the Amarr Empire or a fictional nullsec state headed by a rabid dictator of Matar descent (who also talks very loud and mispronounces the word 'Gallente' at every opportunity).
Several character archetypes have thus risen over the years in holo. These stereotypes are often point for derision if overly redundant, or lauded if they take a new twist on it. In either case, here are a few that can be found in Gallentean modern military holos.
The Gallentean Marine Commander
In real life, to become an officer in the Federal Marines requires both a university-level qualification, and an extremely high level of physical fitness. Such traits are often either/or, in complete juxtaposition; you're either intelligent enough to be a Caille graduate, or fit enough to run half a moon, rarely both. As such, Federal Marine officers in holo are mostly always ethnic Gallente, portrayed as dashingly handsome and intelligently calculated, leading the fight head on, introducing the finale with an interpretation of what it means to fight and die for liberty (often just a shameless paraphrase from the works of various Gallentean philosophers). The gender of these archetypes is even, with a slightly more common occurence of women (the voice of feminism following the Jin-Mei's ascension is perpetually loud, even if the men are still boggled as to what exactly they are protesting about)
They are the "action heroes", dominating leading cast spots and toy franchises, their faces plastered across concourses and whatever medium of advertising. If they do happen to not be ethnic Gallente, they are either a Jin-Mei male with an excellence in hand-to-hand combat, a tough-talking Brutor, or simply a woman of any other ethnicity (marketing breasts bulging out of combat armour is not something dependent on bloodline, after all).
Diplomatic Intaki Rookie
The most eyeroll inducing stereotype is that of a young Intaki private, who often cowers from battle and rarely fires his gun. This is commonly a passive-aggressive jibe from Minmatar film directors at the Intakis common endorsement of Dove politics, something the Matar of the Federation cannot stand and are constantly irritated by, for obvious reasons.
However, there comes a time in (most) action holos where the dust settles, the Gallentean marine commander dramatically stares across the worn battlefield with a tough guy/gal wince, and the cowering of a mother and child can be heard. At that point, the Diplomatic Intaki Rookie slowly rises out of cover, heading over to the pair and gently hushing them that everything will be okay. There will then be a story about how they saw their father/husband cut down, which is the main point of character development for the Intaki rookie in the whole script, who rises slowly and makes a philosophical speech about the evils of war.
The Gallentean marine commander will then make some gruff sound of agreement, followed by another thirty minutes of constant explosions, this time slowed down for dramatic effect, with a provoking orchestral soundtrack.
Heavy Weapons Brutor
This stereotype serves as a constant reminder of how frontline Federation units are almost exclusively Minmatar. The Heavy Weapons Brutor tends to stand in the region of two metres, weighing over 100 kilograms, with a facial expression that seems to suggest chronic constipation. The delivery of his dialogue, if there is any, is often stiffly delivered, and so damn deep and bassy that the viewer is thrown back against their seat
They are portrayed as having either two starting weapons. The first will be the squad's heavy machine gun, seconded by an anonymous, silent extra of some white descent who serves as the assistant gunner. In the final act, the assistant gunner is shot dead, at which point, the Heavy Weapons Brutor takes up both roles at the same time, grabbing the ammunition feed, standing dangerously on his item of cover, screaming while unloading hell on whoever happens to be the caricatured enemy of the storyline (often Caldari for this scene, who wear all-covering, faceless arctic warfare suits that make them easy corpses to pile up without hiking up the age certificate). The death of the assistant gunner and the subsequent empowering of the Heavy Weapons Brutor is noted by some academics to be a metaphor of the Minmatar Rebellion and breaking off dependency of the Amarr (hence the pasty skin of whoever the nameless extra who had his face blown off was).
The second sub-stereotype will have the Heavy Weapons Brutor carrying a rocket or missile launcher of some kind. He eventually runs out of ammo, and goes to kill the occupants of the enemy vehicle with his bare fists.
The Seductive Jin-Mei Sniper
The squad often has one token Jin-Mei in its ranks, not counting the commander if it happens to be the Jin-Mei's turn for equal representation in holo for that season. The Seductive Jin-Mei Sniper is always a highly attractive vixen, for a variety of reasons, Jin-Mei feminism being a large aspect of it. Their exotic looks and their sexual portrayal in Gallente popular culture is combined with the deadliness and precision of their sniper rifle. Male teenagers will attempt to identify the exact designation of the sniper rifle from their knowledge of action hologames, while trying to work out the size of the Seductive Jin-Mei Sniper's bust.
Halfway through the holo, the Seductive Jin-Mei Sniper faces a stand-off with an enemy sniper. The outcome of this varies, but almost all of them are somehow metaphorically connected with the gender liberation of women from patriarchal dominance in the Jin-Mei nation. Sometimes, they will shoot the enemy sniper in the testicles. Other times, they will leave a decoy as they sneak into the enemy sniper's nest. At which point, the outcome branches out further. The Seductive Jin-Mei Sniper engages in deadly hand-to-hand combat with the enemy marksman, often snapping their neck once they reach a sexually compromising position. Alternatively, she will attempt to seduce the enemy before either knifing or shooting them in the groin. In 89, there was a moral outcry after the Seductive Jin-Mei Sniper character in Sword of the Elements engaged in fullblown on-screen sex with an enemy soldier, before slicing his penis off prior to climax.
The Jin-Mei feminist movement clapped their hands with glee over the symbolism, of course.
The Bad-Mouthed Mannar
The Mannar aren't exactly known in the Federation for restraint. Decadent styles of Gallentean fashion are adopted from pre-Federation Mannar society, while the stereotypical Mannar individual is often blunt and hot-headed. This character often serves as the comic relief of the movie. They will make sarcastic remarks over what they see as foolish decisions by the Gallentean Marine Commander (and who everyone else sees as brave), or utter out taunts upon shooting an enemy ("Blasted!" is the most common and redundant remark). Given the Mannar hedonistic habit, they indulge in flirting with the local women of whatever planet the main cast happen to be on, just about to be treated to an orgy of Khanid women before the enemy show up, blasting through the windows and thoroughly ruining his day.
The Bad-Mouthed Mannar is often seen as the most directly racist of all the stereotypes, taking a jibe at aspects of Mannar culture and behaviour, portraying them as mindless Hawks who show no remorse in killing (commonly by Intaki directors who take a more anti-war spin in their action holos). This is contrasted with the more positive stereotypes of Matar and Jin-Mei characters. In a response to criticism, the Bad-Mouthed Mannar is being gradually phased out, with more leading roles being cast to those of Mannar descent instead.
Other character archetypes include the Prodigal Sebiestor Mechanic, the Krusual Double-Crosser and the Quiet Vherokior Hippie.
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Topic: Military stereotypes in Gallentean holo (Read 1121 times)