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This article discusses the evolution of war films through the twentieth century. The main argument of the article is about the shifting focus of combat films from films that are patriotic and depict soldiers as honorable men fighting for a noble cause, to films that focus less on plot and character development and more on the spectacle of battle.
The article begins by tracing the origins of the combat film. The first war films created in the 1920s focused on blood lust as a means of obtaining honor. However, by the 1930s, war films adopted a more pacifist view.
In the 1940s and 1950s, films about World War II focused on the idea that while the idea of war was wrong, it was necessary because it meant protecting the ideas of democracy. This concept of fighting tyrants in the name of freedom gave rise to a new form of honorable soldier.
In the late 1970s, when films about Vietnam began to appear, the cause of the war was no longer certain, and many people were ambivalent about whether America should be involved in the fight. This caused a new type of war film to develop – the lone wolf film. This group of films, in which The Deer Hunter is included, focuses on an antihero who abides by his own code in search of honor. While Michael is a good example of this, the article argues that he is too self-reliant, managing to find a way out of the most complicated situations, and rescue all of his friends as well.
The article concludes by discussing more recent war films, arguing that the focus has again shifted, this time to buddy stories, where soldiers would do anything to save their fellow unit members. However, while they would do anything for their friends, the article argues the reasons why are they fighting get lost in the background in favor of more violent, gory scenes.
Rollins, Peter C. “The Vietnam War: Perceptions Through Literature, Film, and Television.” American Quarterly. (1984). JSTOR. Oklahoma State University. University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia. 31 Mar. 2006. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-0678%281984%2936%3A3%3C419%3ATVWPTL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q.
The article begins by exploring the different ways in which novelists have explored the themes of the war. Many of the writers, writing from the point of view of soldiers, chose to focus on the theme of loss of innocence.
Next, the article discusses how filmmakers have interpreted the Vietnam War. Here, the article mentions The Deer Hunter. The article argues that this film is probably the most ambitious of the Vietnam films in its attempt to discuss themes of American life, but criticizes it for losing its focus at times. The themes the film attempts to explore, according to the article, are sexual and ethnic identity, the individual versus society, and civilization versus nature. The article explains that the film reaches no real conclusion about any of these issues; instead, it remains ambivalent, echoing the opinions of many Americans on such subjects.
The article concludes by exploring how television has explored the Vietnam War, examining news casts, documentaries, and propaganda. It discusses the role of Vietnam as the first “television war,” and examines how the use of television affected how Americans perceived the war and America’s role in it.
By examining the different ways each medium has treated the issue of the Vietnam War, the article concludes with a call to researchers and scholars to examine these differences and to find connections between the different interpretations.