Politics makes strange bed fellows
G.I. Jane
Movie Lesson# 1 – Sometimes your opportunity comes because you simply FIT the profile
G.I. Jane begins with the public interview, by the Senate Armed Services Committee, of a candidate for the position of Secretary of the Navy. Senator Lillian DeHaven (Anne Bancroft) from Texas criticizes the fact that the Navy is not gender-neutral. Behind the curtains, a deal is struck: If women compare favorably with men in a series of test cases, the military will integrate women fully into all branches of the Navy. The first test case is for the training course of the U.S. Navy Combined Reconnaissance Team (similar to U.S. Navy SEAL BUD/S). Senator DeHaven hand-picks Lt. Jordan O’Neil (Demi Moore) because she is physically more feminine than the other candidates.
Stay tuned for Lesson #2 next week!
Movie Background:
G.I. Jane is a 1997 action film that tells the fictional story of the first woman to undergo training in U.S. Navy Special Warfare Group. The SEAL/CRT (Combined Reconnaissance Team) course depicted in the film is offered at Coronado Naval Amphibious Base in California. O’Neil is hand-picked by U.S. Senator Lillian DeHaven (Anne Bancroft) to go through the rigorous training right along with the men. O’Neil faces sexism and physical challenges as well as the horse-trading by the Senator who selected her for the experimental program.