One thing that bothers me

[Tinker Gnome]

If there is one thing that bothers me in entertainment today, be it in books or movies. It seems a lot of the times the people such as the police or the army can are almost always portrayed as being imcompetent. While there is always some lone hero who saves the day. I think it would be interesting if for once the higly trained individuals that make up said orginizations would actually stop an enemy, and not some lone hero with super powers.

 

[John Crichton]

It's the "mook" syndrome. It doesn't happen all the time. Look at all the cop dramas out there. And yes, in major motion picture releases this happens more often than not. Doesn't really bother me but it would be cool to turn the tables here and there.

There have been a few recent releases that defy this. SWAT & Ladder 49 immediately come to mind.

 

[RangerWickett]

It's probably more a result of writers having a hard time thinking of villainous plots so smart and defensible that a well-directed police or military effort couldn't thwart it.

I just watched four episodes of Dr. Who tonight, the one where the robot is being controlled by the society of smart people who want to blow up the world. Y'know, the one where the 'disintegration ray' makes the robot grow huge?

You want inept police or military, watch that story arc. Yipes. "Ho hum, the villain has a hostage but no gun. Let's stand here with our army guns and hope she doesn't insult us or tell us women shouldn't wear pants."

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Read Rainbow Six or something similar, that should make you feel better.

 

[Crothian]

Also, alot of times the hero who saves the day really isn't that smart so they have to make everyone else dumber to make the hero look that much better.

 

[WayneLigon]

Well, it's not just 'today'; movies and books have usually done this because the 'lone hero' in the movie/book is a stand-in for the audience member. The army and police have to obey the laws, follow orders, stay within the rules, etc; the lone hero rarely does. Of course, you then have many movies and books where the army or police are the ensemble heroes who break what rules are needed (sometimes in creative manners so as to follow the letter but not spirit of said rule); their antogonists are usually then the higher-ups in their own organization or the local politicians who 'won't let us do our job'.

 

[Numion]

And why is it always the (divorced, or otherwise down on his luck) local detective who's more competent than the FBIs who are just trying to 'steal' the case?

 

[Hand of Evil]

My issue has always been "kids" that out smart trained professionals! Able to break into high security bases and computer systems!

 

[Filby]

I agree with you on your point. Like someone else said, though, it's nothing new. Looking back as far as the 1800s, you have Sherlock Holmes outsmarting Inspector Lestrade in every other story. It's not always the case, though, fortunately... I mean, Commissioner Jim Gordon is every bit as competent as Batman in my opinion.

 

[Rackhir]

All the previous comments seem fairly accurate to me. I think one other factor is that we've all had bad experiences with bureaucracies, so its popular to make them another "bad guy/Obsticle".

The old Japanese Anime "Black Magic M-66" is one of my favorites in part, because the special forces unit that goes up against the killer androids ARE extremely competent, they're just outclassed. But even so they do their best and despite horrific losses eventually manage to help bring them down.