Actors who play military roles often have no idea how to salute. I'm not military, but my dad was, and one thing I learned from him was a proper standard salute (non-standard salutes are also possible in the military, e.g., with the left hand). The flattened right hand, thumb slightly tucked, snaps to the right eyebrow, with the tip of the middle finger right at the outer edge of the eyebrow. This is followed by a smart return of the arm to the side. How actors constantly get this wrong is beyond me. Lack of proprioception, maybe? Many actors will do a sloppy, terrible-looking salute that makes it seem as if they're shading their eyes from the sun.
Look at this still from the upcoming "Reacher," Season 2:
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| You can see only Neagley's fingertips (far left), but she's the lone ex-soldier saluting properly. |
In the pic above, you see four characters saluting, all ex-military. Three of the four are executing horrible salutes; only Neagley (pronounced "Neely" and played by Danish actress Maria Sten, far left) is executing her salute correctly, and she's mostly cut off in this photo. Everybody else is shading his or her eyes. Yeesh.
Surely these shows have military consultants to help them get salutes right. You'd also think that at least some of the actors would feel an obligation to respect the military by portraying their characters in ways that military viewers would find realistic.
Silly problems like this are enough to take me out of a moment in a movie or a TV show.
RELATED: 9 Terrible Salutes
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