Discussion War on TV

[Johnnythefox]

In the UK it is a daily occurrence to have war related programmes on TV, I personally no longer watch them.

I was wondering if this is also the case in other countries or is unique to Britbin.

 

[LiveSlowDieFast]

I don't really watch TV that much, but here in Germany there would be at least passing mentions of significant conflicts (Syria, Yemen, Ukraine etc.) in the news every day. In terms of like documentaries I'd say there are a fair amount, mainly related to WW1 and WW2, but the larger mainstream TV channels tend to focus more on the historical contexts leading up to these times and what events took place here in Germany and less about the wars themselves.

The specifics depend on the channels themselves though, because there are also certain smaller TV channels that try to emulate the American style of television and those have an absolute hard-on for war related topics, especially weapons technology. Those broadcast tons of documentaries in the vein of "The secret weapons of the Third Reich", "America: The most advanced army in the world" or whatever, but also tend to focus on the wars themselves, especially WW2 of course.

Lastly, there are also quite a few TV dramas here in Germany that take place around the times of WW2 and focus on individual characters and families, and how they are affected during these times.

So yeah, WW2 is quite an omnipresent topic here as one could imagine. I wonder though, what it's like in the UK? Is there a lot of TV related to WW2? And what about the conquests of the British Empire? I imagine there might be some nostalgia for the latter.

 

[Johnnythefox]

I don't really watch TV that much, but here in Germany there would be at least passing mentions of significant conflicts (Syria, Yemen, Ukraine etc.) in the news every day. In terms of like documentaries I'd say there are a fair amount, mainly related to WW1 and WW2, but the larger mainstream TV channels tend to focus more on the historical contexts leading up to these times and what events took place here in Germany and less about the wars themselves.

The specifics depend on the channels themselves though, because there are also certain smaller TV channels that try to emulate the American style of television and those have an absolute hard-on for war related topics, especially weapons technology. Those broadcast tons of documentaries in the vein of "The secret weapons of the Third Reich", "America: The most advanced army in the world" or whatever, but also tend to focus on the wars themselves, especially WW2 of course.

Lastly, there are also quite a few TV dramas here in Germany that take place around the times of WW2 and focus on individual characters and families, and how they are affected during these times.

So yeah, WW2 is quite an omnipresent topic here as one could imagine. I wonder though, what it's like in the UK? Is there a lot of TV related to WW2? And what about the conquests of the British Empire? I imagine there might be some nostalgia for the latter.

There is a lot of stuff related to WW2 and WW1, what I dislike in particular is the fact that they focus on the heroics and seldom mention the atrocities committed by the Brutish.
Regarding the empire, there is also a fair bit of that on regularly, it even crops up in programmes unrelated to war.
There are those who love that sort of thing, but I see it as nothing more than propaganda. There just seems to be an obsession with the whole subject.
I am no fan of empire builders and resent that so many place names and memorials/statues that represent Britbin are present in Scotland, a country that continues to be lorded over by our southern neighbours. It seems that they are clinging on to the lost glory of days past.
I'm fairly certain that more than 90% of the population had never heard of the Falkland islands until Argentina invaded.
I am surprised that your country also focuses so much on the subject.

 

[LiveSlowDieFast]

There is a lot of stuff related to WW2 and WW1, what I dislike in particular is the fact that they focus on the heroics and seldom mention the atrocities committed by the Brutish.
Regarding the empire, there is also a fair bit of that on regularly, it even crops up in programmes unrelated to war.
There are those who love that sort of thing, but I see it as nothing more than propaganda. There just seems to be an obsession with the whole subject. I am no fan of empire builders and resent that so many place names and memorials/statues that represent Britbin are present in Scotland, a country that continues to be lorded over by our southern neighbours. It seems that they are clinging on to the lost glory of days past.
I'm fairly certain that more than 90% of the population had never heard of the Falkland islands until Argentina invaded.

This seems to be quite a common theme in many countries. People love hearing about (supposed) heroic deeds, but no so much about genocide and imperialism. I imagine it really must be pretty infuriating at times to see this kind of romanticising, especially if you're part of a nation that's still in part subjugated to them.

I am surprised that your country also focuses so much on the subject.

Yeah, the Nazi atrocities and the utter destruction of many cities here as a result of WW2 have left a huge collective scar, which affects German society even to this day. I'd say while there are many things wrong here in this country, one decent aspect is that in the overall scheme of things this kind of military patriotism is fairly unpopular as a result of that, although certain factions are trying to change that.

 

[Angst Filled Fuck Up]

I'd really like to know who thought it was a good idea to make people wage slave all week as the core component of their boring, unfulfilling lives, only to come home and be shown news stories with indiscriminate violence, death and destruction all over the place.

War gets quite a lot of attention here in the States. That is, when they're not trying to antagonize and divide people with political mudslinging. Or my favorite - "news" stories like "white woman gives black person snobby look in supermarket."

 

[Johnnythefox]

I was in Dusseldorf for a couple of weeks about fourteen years ago, I found the vast majority of people to be extremely pleasant and helpful. In fact I only recall one person being rude and that was in a pub.
I visited the Dom in Cologne and though I'm not religious I appreciated it's architecture and treasures.
I also found the German women extremely attractive.
I prefer the mindset of continental Europeans as they seem more laid back and tolerant.

 

[ReadyasEver]

In the UK it is a daily occurrence to have war related programmes on TV, I personally no longer watch them.

I was wondering if this is also the case in other countries or is unique to Britbin.

On all the time in the US, there will be something on at least one channel if you get cable or dish. I do not watch them.