War on Film

When I was in my final year of university, I took a course about the Vietnam War. Not knowing much about the war except what was depicted in Hollywood movies, it was an eye-opening course which was taught by an American professor. Now as I reflect upon my school days, this course has become one of my favourites - war definitely is not something I enjoy, however learning about the history of this conflict and others has been an interest.

For my final paper in the Vietnam War course, I chose to write about how the war was portrayed in the movies. Unfortunately due to various moves, this essay was lost...and I have always wondered how my findings/observances would stand up when read today. Actually, a couple of days ago after having seen 'The Hurt Locker' again, I contemplated re-writing that paper. Today's students will probably be writing papers about the treatment of the Iraq/Afghanistan war in movies.

The movies I selected were 'The Deer Hunter', 'Coming Home', 'Apocalypse Now', 'Hamburger Hill', 'Full Metal Jacket', 'Platoon', 'In Country', 'Born on the Fourth of July' and 'The Green Berets.'

Each a different treatment of some aspect of the war - combat, trauma, homecoming, etc. 'The Green Berets' was recommended by the professor as it really was a propaganda film created to promote the war and increase popularity for the war at a time when protests were beginning and my task was to compare & contrast the other films as to how the characters stories told the larger story of what the Vietnam war was.

It would be impossible to recreate the paper and not be fair as my opinions now may not align with those when I was younger. However, I do recall that my early observance was that 'Hamburger Hill' actually told the story of actual combat quite accurately compared to historical facts. 'Full Metal Jacket' showed the effects of the war on the soldiers, 'The Deer Hunter', 'Platoon' and 'Apocalypse Now' allegorical tales of soldiers starting to question the merit of what they were involved in. 'Born on the Fourth of July', 'Coming Home' and 'In Country' showing the aftermath of the trauma of the war on both the soldiers and their families. War is hell and unfortunately still affects too many lives each day.