Lifetime's Army Wives Gets it Right
Show Finally Portrays the Lives of Army Wives Correctly
Army Wives is produced by Mark Gordon, who also produces Grey's Anatomy on ABC. The show is very realistic and candid. Granted, there might be some Army spouses who would not be happy by the portrayal of certain characters, namely officers' wives. I, on the other hand, thought the show did an excellent job of showing just how catty and snobby some of the higher ranks wives really are.
With the realistic portrayals of the various ranks, there is also an even more realistic view of how Army families handle the difficulties of military life. For example, one of the lead characters married her husband and has only known him for a total of seventeen days. While this may sound shocking, it is not that uncommon to hear of soldiers doing such an outrageous thing.
Another family dynamic is the deployment effects on soldiers and their families. On Army Wives there is a bar, known as the "Jody bar", where spouses of deployed soldiers tend to hang out and seek for the comfort of another. While I have never been to such a bar and would never go, these really do exist. The show does a great job depicting the marital issues many military couples deal with, during deployment.
Army Wives definitely gets it right when it comes to the rumor mills on Army posts. There never goes a day without hearing a new rumor about someone, and usually it is the same person. The show gives viewers an insight as to what the true-life Army wife goes through.
The rumors go hand in hand with the phoniness of higher ranking spouses. In Army Wives, the officer wives really turn their noses up and talk down to lower ranking spouses. In my experience, I have not met more than five wives of officers who were not phony, nor did they talk down to me.
While Army Wives does a great job at portraying military life, there are some things which made even me say "huh?" One such thing was the reference to two year deployments. As far as I can recollect, there is not nor has there ever been two year deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan, although we are definitely getting close. This was just a minor annoyance with Army Wives.
Overall, Army Wives is one of the only television shows to which military spouses can relate. Army Wives really allows others to experience the "other side" of the war. Army Wives airs on Lifetime Sunday nights at 10 eastern/pacific and 9 central.
Published by Kristina Jones
Kristina Jones hails from Fort Lewis, WA where her husband proudly serves his country. She has a degree in Criminal Justice. She also has two young daughters and enjoys writing about almost anything. View profile
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13 Comments
Post a CommentI've been married to an NCO for the past 4 years, and have found that every portrayal of military wives (Army Wives included), is just way to cliche. I don't think military life can truly be captured on a show. As for the officer's wives, all of the ones I've met have been very friendly and down to earth. In fact, the only army wife that's been snobby or catty to me, was the wife of a lower enlisted.
I have no idea what planet this writer is from, she and the show are so way off base its not even funny, it plays into every stereotype there is about army spouses and it can only hurt those of us that don't fit these narrow mind profiles
When I first heard of this show, I knew I would hate it. But I was wrong. It is true, and every character on that show I've met over the last 19 years of being married to a military man. Even conversations I've had at wives socials popped out of my television! At least 3 of the characters who are officer wives are very likeable, so you must mean the General's wife who asked for help with a function. There will always be the woman who will lord over others because of her husband's rank, and it occasionally comes out of the mouths of higher enlisted as well. There is one (or more) at every base I've been stationed at. Overall, I really like this program & I think it's right on target.
I believe the Army Wives show is completely off base in what life is like for the typical army family. It perpetuates stereotypes of many women & families. It takes a small amount of the truth and generalizes to all military families. It is apparent the the army spouse has had a bad experience with senior military spouses and it has skewed her perspective. All people should be judged by their character and not the stereotype. All army spouses sacrifice to the same degree; enlisted, warrant officer and officer alike. The army is a family that is going through a very long war. Lifetime does a terrible job at portraying the true challenges of moving, children growing up in the military lifestyle and the sacrifice both the spouse and soldier make. It is a soap opera that perpetuates stereotypes of our families and is a disservice to us. They should hire both senior military spouses and junior spouses to give testimony to true events & chanllenges our families face. I am glad people are int
Nice work! I love this show.
I think this show is excellent. Thanks for the info!
Kristina, I didn't know such a show existed...I might if I actually turn on my television (I pay for cable I don't watch...going on 3 weeks). Nevertheless, after watching "The World Trade Center," the movie, I could actually answer your rhetorical question. I wondered what it would be like to be married to ministers, police officers, celebrity, social activists, or a military man.
Even with a fantasy of being a preacher's wife, I have come to realize that it is not as easy as it looks. It requires as much work, if not more work, to exist in such a relationship. There may be little to no support when major issues arise. "The World Trade Center" depicted, in its best way, how the wives of those officers trapped beneath the rubble were able to cope with major support. In reality, I wonder how long that lasts when the STUFF truly hits the fan.
Great job and thanks for checking out my story on Iberostar. Enjoy it if you decide to go. TOWER TWO ROCKS!
Author Yol
Kristina, I didn't know such a show existed...I might if I actually turn on my television (I pay for cable I don't watch...going on 3 weeks). Nevertheless, after watching "The World Trade Center," the movie, I could actually answer your rhetorical question. I wondered what it would be like to be married to ministers, police officers, celebrity, social activists, or a military man.
Even with a fantasy of being a preacher's wife, I have come to realize that it is not as easy as it looks. It requires as much work, if not more work, to exist in such a relationship. There may be little to no support when major issues arise. "The World Trade Center" depicted, in its best way, how the wives of those officers trapped beneath the rubble were able to cope with major support. In reality, I wonder how long that lasts when the STUFF truly hits the fan.
Great job and thanks for checking out my story on Iberostar. Enjoy it if you decide to go. TOWER TWO ROCKS!
Author Yolonda D. Col
Although I cannot personally relate to this show either, I do find it very interesting to watch.
I've heard of this show. There was a popular show in the UK during the 1990's called "Soldier, soldier" that was all about army wives and their husbands too, so this sounds similar.
Sophie