The Vietnam War Film Genre - 1313 Words

The Vietnam film is a specific sub-genre of the conventional Hollywood war film that arose as a result of the 1960s counter culture. According to Elliot Stegall’s article Ideological, Dystopic, and Antimythopoetic Formations of Masculinity in the Vietnam War Film many American war films depicted the glorification of war and emphasized the concept of American masculinity (Stegall). Previous to the Vietnam period, Hollywood war films stuck to contemporary tropes. These films often re-enact the idea of good versus evil in which the male hero of the film triumphantly fights for their country against a vilified enemy; thus reinforcing the American ideology of conquering the frontier (Schweitzer 67). The hollywood war films are often enjoyable†¦show more content†¦In Rich Schweitzer’s article Born to Kill: S. Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket as Historical Representation of America’s Experience in Vietnam , he comments on the military’s concern with: à ¢â‚¬Å"how to inculcate civilians reared in a western tradition, which emphasized the sanctity of life, with a willingness to kill† (Schweitzer 64). Schweitzer’s observation is most prominently debated in the beginning of the film. Split into three segments, the film illustrates the phases of re-birth, life, and death. The opening sequence depicts re-birth through the physical stripping of the individual identity. As the hair of the recruits is shaved off while the men wear the same dull blue capes, their faces begin to blur together into one unified identity. This is then furthered when the recruits are forced to say an oath to their rifles during the beginning of their military training on Parris Island. The scene is shot from one point perspective and displaying prominent symmetry in the composition. The room is stark and clinical. The recruits are all dressed in white which is a colour often associated with innocence. The men lay on their bunks in a head to toe forma tion which parallels with the scene of the mass Vietnamese grave in which the bodies are laid in the same manner and covered in white Lime powder. However, the putrid green colour is reminiscent of death or rather the process of dying which is contrasted by the violent red of the floor.Show MoreRelatedThe Second Golden Era Of The Film Industry1258 Words   |  6 PagesThe second golden era of the film industry, new hollywood, came about from 1969 through 1980. As the 1960’s started off positive and hopeful, there was now many Americans left devastated from the depressing events that occurred after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, such as the Vietnam War. There was also a conflict in the movie scene because Hollywood directors were torn between the old styles of filming and the new techniques. 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