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Hollywood and the Vietnam War - Alibi, Not Actuality - College Essay

Hollywood and the Vietnam War - Alibi, Not Actuality

Hollywood and the Vietnam War- Alibi, not Actuality

About two decades ago, film critics and observers lamented Hollywood’s avoidance of the Vietnam War. However, in recent years, Hollywood has produced Vietnam War films at a rapid rate and, the focus has shifted from the lack of Hollywood films on this topic to the lack of authenticity in Hollywood’s portrayal of the historical events surrounding the Vietnam War.
An analysis of these films will lead one to believe that in today’s post-Vietnam era, these films portray America’s desire to have won the war, and history which actually charted another course, and in this confrontation credibility and objectivity seem to have lost their ...

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do so in a way that will reinforce the ‘American national identity’ as an identity that is noble and unerring. This has been done through the characterization of the American soldier as the victim of this war.
Hollywood, in these films, constructs a male subject who as a result of the war progresses from innocence and naivety to knowledge and capability. And in most cases, this metamorphosis is set in the context of a conventional anti-war story, where the horror of war is the bridge that leads one to manhood (e.g. Coming Home; Platoon; Casualties of War; Born on the Fourth of July). In most of these films, youth and innocence are emphasized and the symbolic death of a paternal officer or sergeant is almost a regular (e.g. Apocalypse Now; Platoon; Full Metal Jacket; Off Limits). Their presumed knowledge of Vietnam is shown as idealistic and naļve, and they are forced to reconstitute their sense of self and their duty in the context of the events hat threaten to consume them.
The ...

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Hollywood and the Vietnam War - Alibi, Not Actuality. (2011, May 29). Retrieved January 16, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hollywood-Vietnam-War-Alibi-Not-Actuality/99463

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"Hollywood and the Vietnam War - Alibi, Not Actuality." Essayworld.com. May 29, 2011. Accessed January 16, 2026. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hollywood-Vietnam-War-Alibi-Not-Actuality/99463.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 5/29/2011 07:12:48 AM
Submitted By: ayeshachokhani
Category: Film & Theater
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1128
Pages: 5

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