MovieChat Forums > Taps (1981) Discussion > What purpose did this character serve?

What purpose did this character serve?

posted 15 years ago by ExplorerDS6789
11 replies | jump to latest

I'm speaking about the fourth cadet captain, J.C. Pierce. He didn't appear to have any major part to play in this film, he was just there. He was also the first to fall burning to death and then he's never mentioned again.
He was with them in the town scene, but served no purpose other than getting his useless butt kicked by the townies.
So why was this character there? To take up space? Seems like a waste of a decent actor.

It seems to me he should have served as the "fourth" guy: the rational, neutral one who didn't take sides. Think about it, usually in groups of 4, each member has a different personality and outlook on the world around them, and how they handle themselves in any given situation: Brian Moreland is the over confident leader of the group, David Shawn is the headstrong rebel, Alex Dwyer was the smarta$$ with inner conflicts, so Pierce was probably the levelheaded, rational one. He was supposed to be anyway, instead they just made him a filler character who did nothing but complain. I guess that's why towards the end he got "fired". lol

But I will give him this: he does orchestrate the only moment of slapstick in the film when he's knocked over by Shovel. That brings us a much needed laugh.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] eddieinportland 13 years ago

Pierce didn't die. He was just burned really bad. And after he left the hospital. He movied to New Mexico and open up a fast food chicken restaurant chain. And on the side he sales meth to make ends meat.

"Like I know where to find people in this bum *beep* town" Jessica Hamby

[–] jgroub 10 years ago

Oh, snap! You're right!

I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] csteve67 13 years ago

he lived and became an FBI agent...and because of his "gettin burned up and lived" saga, he was chosen by the L.A field office to speak to that Turkish guy that Keyser Soze set on fire

[–] WyldeGoose 12 years ago

I know why. Unlike the other idiots as of 12/12/12 who didn't answer this, because I've been in command of troops.

Because S#it happens. When you are responsible for living beings under your command, s#it happens. And it maybe due to decisions that you make, as was with Brian Moreland, who I would serve in combat any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

When directors and producers use actors, it's principally for the effect of the movie.

The effect of this situation was to reinforce the fact that this was serious. That Cadet Major Moreland was now in charge, and that he was responsible.

[–] ExplorerDS6789 12 years ago

Well thank you for the answer, WyldeGoose, and thanks for all you do for our country.
In other words, J.C. was more of a plot device than he was a character?

[–] WyldeGoose 12 years ago

Well thank you for the answer, WyldeGoose, and thanks for all you do for our country.
In other words, J.C. was more of a plot device than he was a character?

Thank you, and yes, he was a plot device. The point of his death was to underscore for the audience that this need not have happened, that it was Moreland and his decisions that led to this outcome.

At no point did Moreland even ask himself what he hoped to accomplish? Every commander has got to ask that question all the time. What are your objectives and how are you going to achieve them? What did Moreland hope to gain? Did he think that the school would be saved? Did he think that General Bache would somehow escape some culpability for the death of that kid? By commandeering the armory and blocking off the school, all he did was make mistake after mistake after mistake, with no tangible goal or purpose to anything he was doing.

When I said s#it happens, what I mean is that Murphy's Law is always in effect for a commander. Something is always going to go wrong. A commander has to be able to mitigate the flaws and the wrong things that invariably happen. Moreland did not do that.

It seemed to me that Moreland was caught up in an ideal that didn't evaluate reality as it was.

[–] snelling 12 years ago

J.C. bounced off Hulk, not Shovel. He was chasing Shovel.

Rebuild the WTC exactly as before and keep old movies accurate!

[–] ExplorerDS6789 12 years ago

It was still really funny.

[–] wglen71 12 years ago

J.C. changed his name to Tom Neville after he was healed of his burns. I'd say he's doing pretty well for himself now even though he is kind of a d-bag.

[–] camerica1978 11 years ago

He died, because he was black. In a lot of action, suspense, drama, and horror movies, the screenwriters/producers/directors often kill off the black characters, while white characters have a much higher survival rate. I guess a lot of movie producing people see black characters the same way Star Trek writers saw red shirted security personnel. Their deaths illustrate to the audience the danger of a situation in the movie, without having to resort to killing someone more important to the movie's storyline. So the next time you watch an action, suspense, drama, or horror movie, if the white main character has a black buddy, that black buddy is probably a goner.