The Vietnam Conflict in Film

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how the conflict in Vietnam is interpreted in various films. It specifically looks at Ray Kellogg's patriotic film, "The Green Berets," Stanley Kubrick's film, "Full Metal Jacket" and Randall Wallace's film, "We Were Soldiers." The paper examines how the three films are very different in their presentations and assessments of the American involvement in Vietnam, the Vietnamese response to that wa,r and in their use of violence to further their messages.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
The Green Berets (1968)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
We Were Soldiers (2002)
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The war in Vietnam has aroused more controversy than virtually any other conflict in American history. As time has passed, the nation's understanding of the nature of the war has changed. Films reflect those changes in viewpoint, as well as their creators' own interpretations of the war and its political ramifications. John Wayne ultimately felt he would be vindicated for making The Green Berets; although the war was unpopular, he believed that the cause was good and noble, and that history would prove him right. Full Metal Jacket questions the conditions that give rise to ruthless killing machines like the Marines it depicts. Randall Wallace, in his adaptation of the book We Were Soldiers Once...and Young by Hal Moore and Joseph Galloway, seeks to honor those who sacrificed their lives on both sides to fulfill their own ideas about freedom. All three films had their own objectives and their own questions to pose, and they hoped to answer them in the light of history."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Full Metal Jacket. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Perf. Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey. Warner Bros., 1987.
• The Green Berets. Dirs. Ray Kellogg, John Wayne. Perf. John Wayne, David Janssen, Jim Hutton, Aldo Ray, Raymond St. Jacques. Warner Bros., 1968.
• We Were Soldiers. Dir. Randall Wallace. Perf. Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliott, Chris Klein. Paramount, 2002.

More papers on The Vietnam Conflict in Film:

• Film Review # 130754 : "The Night is Sinister" and Europe"
• Analytical Essay # 2202 : "Reliving Vietnam"
• Essay # 121292 : "Emotional Reactions to WWII and Vietnam"

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