Sinister Military

Sinister Military refers to a common trope that appears in genre cinema. Since the 1950s, the military (in almost all cases, the US military) was depicted as the heroes – the cavalry that came to defend against alien invaders and atomic monsters, defeating them with armed strength.

Things began to change around the 1980s where the military was seen as a lumbering, brute force option that could have entirely damaging effect. Frequently in modern depictions, the military will often enter a situation – such as an alien encounter or some catastrophe – and insist on a solution such as sending in force or the use of heavy firepower or nuclear weapons when a more nuanced and peaceable means of dealing with things is available. Often the military solution may be one that will cause untold loss of civilian lives and involve a countdown before the heroes race to win out with their better option. There are tropes within this such as the mad or rogue general who defies orders and/or is singularly set on their own solution.

Another well-used trope is that of the military muscling in and commandeering or cordoning off a discovery – be it scientific or else an alien visitor or craft. Or else their seeking/pursuing some discovery or person with abilities such as a psychic, a monster or an alien object to obtain it for weapons purposes.