Got Your 6 held its first Vetfronts on Thursday at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif.
The summit, which brought together more than 300 industry leaders, creators and programmers, was produced in association with the Hollywood Radio & Television Society and was designed to help break down the stereotypes of veterans.
“Now, more than ever, it is critical to change society’s perceptions of veterans from a population in need to a cohort of trained leaders,” said Chris Marvin, managing director of Got Your 6, in a statement. “If content creators can change the way veterans are portrayed in film and television, then the way veterans are perceived by the audience will shift as well, and communities will be better prepared to engage returning veterans as assets in our communities.”
The program featured a panel titled “The Power of Film and Television to Create Social Change” and honored Scandal’s Shonda Rhimes, The Newsroom’s Aaron Sorkin and The Mindy Project’s Michael Spiller for their depictions of veterans on the small screen.
“Film and television have immense power to shape public perception of U.S. military veterans,” said Alex Kurtzman, executive producer of Hawaii Five-0 and Sleepy Hollow, in a statement. “Portraying them as leaders and multi-dimensional characters prepares our communities to engage and empower returning veterans.”
Got Your 6 is a national campaign dedicated to fostering accurate portrayals of veterans in the media.
