History ArtisticLicenseHistory / BlackHawkDown

* The Habr-Gedir clan under Aidid was brutal to non-allied clans, [[NotSoDifferent but that's actually pretty normal in Somalia]]. Habr-Gedir were the [[BlackAndGreyMorality designated "bad guys"]] in international relations because they happened to be on top of the heap in 1993. Even with Aidid dead and other clans in power, things in Somalia are only ''maybe'' slightly better today.

* The Mogadishu Mile is dramatized compared to real life; in the film, the soldiers are shown having to run all the way back to the UN-garrisoned stadium, whereas in real life, they walked towards a rendezvous point inside the city where another armored UN convoy is waiting to take them back to the stadium. As well, it only shows Rangers and Delta Force operators taking part, when in real life several soldiers from [=10th=] Mountain also took part.

* Several weapons, equipment, and other background details are present in the film that didn't exist in 1993, such as Hoot wearing Oakley Juliet sunglasses (introduced 1999), some rubber stunt prop weapons are M4 carbines (adopted 1994), and even some of the period-accurate Model 727s for shooting scenes have Aimpoint M68 [=CCOs=] (standardized 1995) attached. Also, ''Days of the New''[='=]s "Die Born" is used, a song not recorded until 2001 from a band that formed in 1995, and a paperback copy of ''Literature/TheClient'' appears at one point, a year before it was available in paperback form.

* The Rangers and Delta members stranded in the city were ultimately rescued by a Pakistani[=/=]Malaysian armored brigade, which the Americans had almost nothing to do with. In the film, Pakistani military presence ''is'' mentioned, but barely and in passing. There might be some justification to this decision, though, as their real contribution to the battle is actually disputed: they apparently still drove off and left most of the Americans on foot without support. Also, it seems their overall conduct in Somalia was less than stellar. The [=APCs=] in the UN convoy are said to be Pakistani, when in real life they were part of the Malaysian military, who go completely unmentioned in the film. The Pakistani contribution to the convoy was four tanks. Both the Malaysians and the Pakistanis lost a soldier, and one of the two members of the [=10th=] Mountain division to die died of wounds sustained while recovering a severely wounded Malaysian soldier. The [=APCs=] shown appear to be [=M113s=] and the WZ-551. The actual [=APCs=] were the four-wheeled [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condor_(APC) Condors]], and the WZ-551 was still in development by the Chinese, and would only be completed in 1995.
** As well, it is implied that the Pakistani General purposefully delayed organizing the convoy out of spite, when it reality they hadn't been told about the mission nor had a contingency been planned, and General Garrison himself wanted the convoy to role out in force. This meant that a convoy of over a hundred vehicles had to be organized at the last minute,

* The Mogadishu Mile is dramatized compared to real life; in the film, the soldiers are shown having to run all the way back to the UN-garrisoned stadium, whereas in real life, they walked towards a rendezvous point inside the city where another armored UN convoy is waiting to take them back to the stadium.

* In general, the depiction of the Rangers as an elite force of experienced, consummate professionals is incorrect. The [[NewMeat average age of the Rangers in Mogadishu was 19]] and the majority had never been under fire before, though there is no doubt they certainly were well trained. Somewhat mitigated by the implication that few of the Rangers have killed enemy combatants before, and that this is a sort of baptism under fire situation.

* The Rangers and Delta members stranded in the city were ultimately rescued by a Pakistani armored brigade, which the Americans had almost nothing to do with. In the film, Pakistani military presence ''is'' mentioned, but barely and in passing. There might be some justification to this decision, though, as their real contribution to the battle is actually disputed: they apparently still drove off and left most of the Americans on foot without support. Also, it seems their overall conduct in Somalia was less than stellar.

* The Mogadishu Mile is dramatized compared to real life; in the film, the soldiers are shown having to run all the way back to the UN-garrissoned stadium, whereas in real life, they walked towards a rendezvous point inside the city where another armored UN convoy is waiting to take them back to the stadium.

* None of the back story is explained at all. The civil war and aforementioned famine had actually been caused by the policies of Siad Barre, the dictator who, with American aid given due to Cold War geopolitics[[note]]Siad began as a communist dictator, but broke with the Soviets in the 1970s and became a US ally[[/note]], held control of Somalia from 1969 to 1991. The "international aid mission" was essentially just a convenient cover story for America to attempt to go back in with a force of 30,000 ground troops and reassert control after Barre was driven into exile.

* None of the back story is explained at all. The civil war and aforementioned famine had actually been caused by the policies of Siad Barre, the dictator who, with American aid given due to Cold War geopolitics, held control of Somalia from 1969 to 1991. The "international aid mission" was essentially just a convenient cover story for America to attempt to go back in with a force of 30,000 ground troops and reassert control after Barre was driven into exile.

* The Mogadishu Mile is dramatized compared to real life; in the film, the soldiers are shown having to run all the way back to the UN-garrissoned stadium, whereas in real life, they walked towards a rendezvous point inside the city where a whole armored UN convoy is waiting to take them back to the stadium.

* The Mogadishu Mile is dramatized compared to real life; in the film, the soldiers are shown having to run all the way back to the UN-garrissoned stadium, whereas in real life, they walked towards a rendezvous point where a whole armored UN convoy is waiting to take them back to the stadium.

* Two other helicopters were also hit by [=RPGs=] on the day of the battle: Super 68, who inserted a group of rescuers at crashsite 1, and Super 62, who inserted the Delta snipers at crashsite 2. Neither were shown in the film.

* The Rangers and Delta members stranded in the city were ultimately rescued by a Pakistani armored brigade, which the Americans had almost nothing to do with. In the film, Pakistani military presence ''is'' mentioned, but barely and in passing. There might be s justification to this decision, though, as their real contribution to the battle is actually disputed: they apparently still drove off and left most of the Americans on foot without support. Also, it seems their overall conduct in Somalia was less than stellar.

* The grim realities of war and many of the morally reprehensible things the Rangers did during the actual battle are also glossed over or not depicted at all. One of the crashed helicopters crushed a building with a child inside, and an incident where a group of Rangers took a family hostage is not in the movie. General Garrison himself and many of the Rangers interviewed also admitted to firing into crowds and anything that moved towards the end of the battle. Though it should be noted it was hard to distinguish civilians from the militia in the intense city fighting. As one soldier was quoted as saying in the book, "Anyone coming to this party by now ain't bringing flowers."

* Habr-Gedir clan under Aidid was brutal to non-allied clans, [[NotSoDifferent but that's actually pretty normal in Somalia]]. Habr-Gedir were the [[BlackAndGreyMorality designated "bad guys"]] in international relations because they happened to be on top of the heap in 1993. Even with Aidid dead and other clans in power, things in Somalia are only ''maybe'' slightly better today.

* [[UnPerson Stebbins's name was changed to Grimes]] at the request of the [[BackedByThePentagon US Army]], due to Stebbins being court martialed for [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raping his own daughter in 1999]].

* In general, the depiction of the Rangers as an elite force of experienced, consummate professionals is incorrect. The [[NewMeat average age of the Rangers in Mogadishu was 19]] and the majority had never been under fire before, though there is no doubt they certainly were well trained.

* Many Habr-Gedir clan soldiers had no particular desire to fight the Americans, and didn't even like Mohammad Farrah Aidid, but Aidid was their recognized clan leader, which is a big deal in Somalia. In fact, many in Habr-Gedir felt that the American mission against Aidid was the result of a personal grudge between Aidid and an UN official, and regarded the US Soldiers as [[UnwittingPawn unwitting pawns]].

* Master Sergeant Gordon's sniper team was actually three men: himself, Sergeant First Class Shughart, and Sergeant First Class Brad Hallings. Hallings was originally supposed to accompany the former two to the crash site, but had to take control of one of the miniguns aboard ''Super 62'' when a crew chief's arm got blown off by a rocket. It is also shown in the movie that ''Super 62'' is able to land on the deck and insert the two snipers with little difficulty: in reality they were under intense fire and Gordon and Shughart had to ''jump from the helicopter'' onto the ground. The film also shows that Durant was the only member of ''Super 64's'' flight crew to survive the crash. In reality, all of them survived the crash. While Durant was saved from being torn apart by a mob by Aidad's militia, the other three men were not as lucky.

* The actual reason the Somalis hated the Americans so much, which is not even mentioned in the movie, was due to the conduct of that "humanitarian aid" force prior to the events of the battle. In general, the task force harassed and terrified the population. They often fired mortars into populated areas, and in one particularly notorious incident bombed a meeting of clan elders who were discussing plans for making a peace to end the civil war. Thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed. It should be noted that most of these things were done by the multi-national UN force, but the Americans were the public face of the effort and thus bore the brunt of the resentment, whether deserved or not.

* This is not even getting into the fact that being dropped unto rooftops in the middle of an enemy-held urban environment is not something the Rangers, or line troops in any military for that matter, receive the training for. This is because it is actually an exceptionally stupid thing to do: it opens up the force to being surrounded on all sides in a dense, intensely hostile 3D environment, and being cut off from any supporting forces on the ground, which it should be noted is in fact exactly what occurs in the movie. Those points are less artistic license than just what happened in reality, though; many retrospective analyses of the battle have come to the conclusion that the entire operation was a suicide mission from the start.

Liberties taken with the actual events' history become especially apparent if one has read the book that it is [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory supposedly]] based on. This movie is often considered a prime example of a modern propaganda movie for these reasons. To wit:

* The grim realities of war and many of the morally reprehensible things the Rangers did during the actual battle are also glossed over or not depicted at all. One of the crashed helicopters crushed a building with a child inside, and an incident where a group of Rangers took a family hostage is not in the movie. General Garrison himself and many of the Rangers interviewed also admitted to firing into crowds and anything that moved towards the end of the battle.

* In general, the depiction of the Rangers as an elite force of experienced, consummate professionals is incorrect. The [[NewMeat average age of the Rangers in Mogadishu was 19]] and the majority had never been under fire before. Discipline broke down when the bullets actually started flying, which is part of the reason why there were so many casualties to begin with.

* Stebbins's name was changed to Grimes at the request of the [[BackedByThePentagon US Army]], due to Stebbins being court martialed for raping his own daughter in 1999.

* None of the back story is explained at all. The civil war and aforementioned famine had actually been caused by the policies of Siad Barre, the dictator who, with American aid given due to Cold War geopolitics, held control of Somalia from 1969 to 1991. The "international aid mission" was essentially just a convenient cover story for America to attempt to go back in with a force of 30,000 ground troops, and reassert control after Barre was driven into exile.

* This is not even getting into the fact that being dropped unto rooftops in the middle of an enemy-held urban environment is not something the Rangers, or line troops in any military for that matter, receive the training for. This is because it is actually an exceptionally stupid thing to do. It opens up the force to being surrounded on all sides in a dense, intensely hostile 3D environment, and being cut off from any supporting forces on the ground, which it should be noted is in fact exactly what occurs in the movie. Many retrospective analyses of the battle have come to the conclusion that the entire operation was a suicide mission from the start.
* The grim realities of war and many of the morally reprehensible things the Rangers did during the actual battle are also glossed over or not depicted at all. One of the crashed helicopters crushed a building with a child inside, and an incident where a group of Rangers took a family hostage is not in the movie. General Garrison himself and many of the Rangers interviewed also admitted to firing into crowds, and anything that moved towards the end of the battle.
* The Rangers and Delta members stranded in the city were ultimately rescued by a Pakistani armored brigade, which the Americans had almost nothing to do with. This is barely mentioned once in passing. The Pakistanis still drove off and left most of the Americans on foot without support. Their actual contribution to the battle is disputed, and their overall conduct in Somalia was less than stellar.
* Habr-Gedir clan under Aidid was brutal to non-allied clans, [[NotSoDifferent but that's actually pretty normal in Somalia]]. Habr-Gedir were the [[BlackAndGreyMorality designated "bad guys"]] because they happened to be on top of the heap in 1993. Even with Aidid dead and other clans in power, things in Somalia are only ''maybe'' slightly better today.
* Many Habr-Gedir clan soldiers had no particular desire to fight the Americans, and didn't even like Mohammad Farrah Aidid, but Aidid was their recognized clan leader, which is a big deal in Somalia. Many in Habr-Gedir felt that the American mission against Aidid was the result of a personal grudge between Aidid and a UN official, and regarded the US Soldiers as [[UnwittingPawn unwitting pawns]].
* A lot of the indigenous fighters who attacked the crash sites were from other clans opposed to Aidid's Habr-Gedir, and thus at least nominally [[EnemyOfMyEnemy on the same side as the Americans]]. They heard only that American helicopters were attacking the city and went to join the fight, making an already bad situation worse for everybody in a case of PoorCommunicationKills. The result was a bloody mess.
* Blackburn's fall from the helicopter is shown to be the result of the pilot maneuvering to avoid an incoming RPG at exactly the wrong moment. While the book and other accounts of the actual battle haven't definitively established why Blackburn was unable to hold on, it wasn't due to incoming fire - certainly not a rocket. Averted later on when [=McKnight=] asks what happened; the Ranger he questions says simply that Blackburn "missed the rope," and shrugs when asked "How'd he do that?"

The film has lots of [[ArtisticLicenseHistory this]]. This is especially apparent if one has read the book that it is [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory supposedly]] based on. This movie is often considered a prime example of a modern propaganda movie, for these reasons. To wit:

* The famine depicted in the introduction had actually ended a year prior to the events of the battle. By 1993 90% of aid shipments were getting where they were going, and Aideed's militia never fired on civilians getting food from aid stations, nor did they have any particular reason to want to do so either. The UN also never impeded American efforts to protect aid convoys.

* Local Somalians, in particular, disliked the Black Hawks because pilots would often fly over the streets and use the rotor wash to harass the population. The updraft from a Black Hawk was strong enough to destroy weak buildings, throw market places into chaos, and tear off women's robes and babies from their mother's arms. Many of the interviewed Rangers compared doing this to riding a roller coaster.
* In general, the depiction of the Rangers as an elite force of experienced, consummate professionals is incorrect. The [[NewMeat average age of the Rangers in Mogadishu was 19]] and the majority had never been under fire before. Discipline broke down when the bullets actually started flying, which is part of the reason that there were so many causalities to begin with.

* Finally, the Rangers and Delta members stranded in the city were ultimately rescued by a Pakistani armored brigade, which the Americans had almost nothing to do with. This is barely mentioned once in passing. The Pakistanis still drove off and left most of the Americans on foot without support. Their actual contribution to the battle is disputed, and their overall conduct in Somalia was less than stellar.