When "Top Gun" was released in 1986, Navy recruiters lined up outside cinemas across the U.S. and men, in an adrenaline-induced daze, quickly signed up to join the military. Their dreams, which focused on becoming a Top Gun pilot and women chasing after them, soon became a stark reality. Most of the men were assigned to anti-climatic enlisted jobs that involved working in linguistics departments, medical facilities, becoming EMTs, working on airplanes, etc.
After men watched the movie, reports showed that careers of wanting to become a Naval Aviator increased by an astounding 500-percent. However, very few military personnel can complete Top Gun training and actually succeed in Flight School.
So, in 1986 men were living the daydream of becoming Navy pilots. Now, they are living the daydream of being Mark Walberg in "The Lone Survivor" or Bradley Cooper in "American Sniper." As always, military movies draw controversy from many groups on both political sides.
Whether these movies are completely accurate or fictionalized with a Hollywood spin, men always leave the movie theater feeling an intense range of emotions, but mostly with an adrenaline rush. It does not mean that men want to go out, steal a Navy jet, and fly it or that they want to literally become a sniper. It is equivalent to women watching a romance and feeling giddy with delight and happiness. In fact, psychologists would explain it as the brain's pleasure center, which is similar to the enjoyment or pleasure some people find playing video games.
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