A New Twist on an Old War:

Changing Representations in Contemporary Vietnam War Films

Thesis Submitted for Bachelor of Arts (Honours)

Australian Catholic University
Carly Clement

October 2015

Author Declaration

To the best of my knowledge and belief, this thesis contains no material previously
published by any other person except where due acknowledgement has been made.
This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other
degree or diploma by any other university

Signed

Carly Clement

Acknowledgements

I dedicate this thesis to my late father (Glen), who always encouraged me to pursue
my academic goals and who first instilled my love of history. I would like to thank
my incredible and supportive family, to my mother (Helen), siblings, (Philip, Jessica,
Simon and Joy) and grandmother (Jean): your unconditional love and belief in me has
meant that world. Thank you for also helping me brainstorm and bounce ideas off and
for being there when I needed stress relief and a good laugh! To my dearest friends
Nicola and Tony, thank you for keeping me grounded and for supporting me when I
struggled. To Claire and Dr. Laura Saxton thank you for guiding me to resources and
helping me during the editing process. To my Honours cohort (Adrienne, Emma,
Jarrod, Julian, Natham and Zyl) your support, study sessions and editing has helped
enrich my thesis and me personally. You are the ones that have made this year far
more enjoyable than I could have ever imagined. Lastly I would like to wholeheartedly thank my wonderful supervisor, Dr. Noah Riseman. You have pushed me
this year and believed in my skills at times when I did not I have become a far better
student and person under your tutelage.

Abstract
This thesis explores post-2001 Vietnam War films depictions of ethnic minorities,
women and the war itself. The thesis concludes the films 1968 Tunnel Rats (2008), 21
and a Wake-Up (2009) and Love and Honor (2013) project contemporary debates
about the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts and gender and race beliefs onto the Vietnam
War. The first chapter looks at contemporary films as a commentary on modern
warfare that embraces previous Vietnam War film tropes of faulting the government
for war atrocities. Chapters two and three argue that post-2001 films depict women
and minority groups based on current social and cultural ideologies: more complex
understandings of gender and the mythology of a post-race society. These conclusions
enhance research into the ways contemporary beliefs shape depictions of the past in
historical films, while simultaneously highlighting the importance of conducting
research on post-2001 films.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE - SAME WAR, DIFFERENT MESSAGE: A THEMATIC

COMPARISON OF PRE AND POST- 11 SEPTEMBER FILMS

16

CHAPTER TWO - MODERN WOMEN IN AN OLD WAR:

REPRESENTATIONS OF WOMEN IN POST-2001 FILMS

34

CHAPTER THREE - MORE THAN JUST A TOKEN: REPRESENTATIONS

OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND NATIVE AMERICANS

50

CONCLUSION

67

BIBLIOGRAPHY

69

Introduction

Since the French Indochina War (1946-54), there have been over 400 Vietnam
War films made in the English language, with many being household names and
contributors to the popular remembrance of the war.1 The films vary in thematic
intention from anti-war (Apocalypse Now, Platoon and Full Metal Jacket) to prosoldier (Uncommon Valour and Rambo: First Blood Part II), and have been of
interest to many historians.
The majority of scholarly literature about Vietnam War films was written prior
to 2001, which is noteworthy because the themes and soldiers depictions have altered
over time. Post-11 September 2001 films represent an important new era, with the socalled War on Terror and conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan reshaping Americans
perceptions of war and the role of American soldiers. The new millennium also has
witnessed the rise of post-race theory especially prominent after the election of
President Barack Obama and more women in leadership and military combat roles.
As this thesis shows, in the contemporary era, Vietnam War films depictions of key
social groups and soldiers are distinct from earlier eras, particularly for women and
racial minorities. These portrayals distort understandings of the past, while
simultaneously projecting present mythologies onto history.
There has been a decline in Vietnam War films produced since the 1990s, due
in part to a renewed interest in the Second World War, in addition to a focus on more
topical military events. Much of this interest in the Second World War arises out of
the Greatest Generation mythology: the idea that Second World War service overseas
and on the home front epitomised the heroic values and patriotism central to

1

Jeremy M. Devine, Vietnam at 24 Frames a Second (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999), xiv.

Americas national identity.2 Yet, since 11 September 2001 there have been seven
fictional (as in non-documentary) American Vietnam War films made: We Were
Soldiers (2002), Flags of My Fathers (2005), Rescue Dawn (2006), A.W.O.L (2007),
1968 Tunnel Rats (2008), 21 and a Wake-Up (2009) and Love and Honor (2013).
Only We Were Soldiers has received acknowledgement in existing scholarly
literature.3 This is problematic, for historians can use these films to investigate a new
wave of representations of the Vietnam War and the people involved. For example,
these films challenge previous films depictions of American soldiers, ethnic
minorities and women.
Love and Honor is one post-2001 film that differs significantly from earlier
productions. It is a romantic drama aimed at female young adults that challenges
previous films representations of marginalised groups by downplaying racism and
showing contrasting images of female characters.4 21 and a Wakeup likewise is
unique because it is the only American movie to be filmed in Vietnam and to centre
on a female medic protagonist. The film also features African-American and Native
American characters in positions of authority.5 1968 Tunnel Rats also showcases
African-American soldiers in a unique way, as well as provides new representations
of the brutality of war.6 These three films alone showcase evidence of a new wave of
representations of the Vietnam War.
This thesis argues that modern films have used the Vietnam War, and common
tropes of previous films, to make commentary on contemporary conflicts. Moreover it

See Tom Brokaw, The Greatest Generation (New York: Random House, 2004); Martin Barker, A
"Toxic Genre": The Iraq War Films (London: Pluto Press, 2011).
3
Stephen Badsey, "The Depiction of War Reporters in Hollywood Feature Films from the Vietnam
War to the Present," Film History 14, no. 3/4 (2002): 1.
4
Danny Mooney, Love and Honor (USA: IFC Films, 2013).
5
Chris McIntyre, 21 and a Wake-Up (USA: 2009).
6
Uwe Boll, 1968 Tunnel Rats (Canada and Germany: Kinostar, Vivendi Entertainment, 2008).

argues that post-2001 films use contemporary mentalities to depict women and
minorities in new ways that do not necessarily reflect historical accounts.
Historiography of Vietnam War film analysis:
Robert Burgoyne concludes that Hollywood historical films can be divided
into six categories: epic, biographical, costume, war, topical and metahistorical.7 He
also concludes that most war films (not solely about the Vietnam War) of the 1970s
and 1980s often were anti-war in sentiment and posed serious questions about the
consequence of nationalism and patriotism, and stressed the dehumanising effects of
the war.8 He identifies a shift in the 2000s back towards traditional war films that
depict heroism and sacrifice that comes with war. Furthermore, Burgoyne notes that
several films of the 2000s depict war from two sides, not just the American
perspective.9
Historians who have studied just Vietnam War films conclude that early
Vietnam War films were anti-war in sentiment. Karen Rassmussen and Sharon
Downey argue that several Vietnam War films of the 1980s debunked the myth that
American soldiers were heroes. They argue films of this era portrayed the American
government as a war machine, which, through a process of dehumanisation, changed
soldiers into killers.10 David Desser supports this belief, but further argues that such
films were showing American culture in general to be problematic and negative.11
Another group of historians have concluded that many Vietnam War films
were made to uncover, to know and to critique also [with a] wish to rationalize, to

7

Robert Burgoyne, The Hollywood Historical Film (Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2008), 29-48.
Ibid., 30-31.
9
Ibid., 30-32.
10
Karen Rasmussen and Sharon Downey, "Dialectical Disorientation in Vietnam War Films:
Subversion of the Mythology of War," Quarterly Journal of Speech 77 (1991): 176-95.
11
David Desser, "'Charlie Don't Surf': Race and Culture in the Vietnam War Films," in Inventing
Vietnam: The War in Film and Television, ed. Michael Anderegg (Philadelphia: Temple University
Press, 1991), 81.
8

repress and to exorcise the war.12 Simply put, they argue that films were used to
make sense of the war and to mask the faults of American involvement. Linda
Dittmar and Gene Michaud conclude that other films from the 1980s failed both to
raise the question of what got us into Vietnam in the first place. [and] To address
the consequences of the war for the people of Vietnam.13 Furthermore, they address
the ambivalent and sometimes contradictory ways Vietnam War films may function
to realign the nation and its government for present and future action.14
The final relevant field of literature to this thesis focuses on the portrayal of
marginalised social groups in Vietnam War films, with the majority of the limited
research highlighting women and African-Americans. The first group who constituted
a minority in the Vietnam War are American women, and although there is little
written on this topic, there have been interesting and useful conclusions drawn. Most
literature addresses films portrayals of women on the home front and analyses their
role as threatening the soldiers masculinity.15 David Sutton and Emmett Winn
suggest that Vietnam War films of the Prisoner of War (POW) and Missing in Action
(MIA) subgenre portray American women in a negative way by showing them not
following male characters instructions. In contrast, the Vietnamese women serve,
fight and even die for the American soldiers. The authors suggest that these films send
an underlying message that with the rise of feminism, American women ceased to be
of any help to American soldier and fail to understand the masculine meaning of the

12

Linda Dittmar and Gene Michaud, "America's Vietnam War Films: Marching toward Denial," in
From Hanoi to Hollywood: The War in American Film, ed. Linda Dittmar and Gene Michaud (New
Brunswick and London: Rutgers University Press, 1999), 1.
13
Ibid., 12.
14
Ibid.
15
Sutton and Winn, "'Do We Get to Win This Time?': POW/MIA Rescue Films and the American
Monomyth," 25-30; Michel, "Danger on the Home Front: Motherhood, Sexuality and Disabled
Veterans in American Postwar Films," 109-28.

Vietnam War.16 Sonya Michel agrees that the majority of pre-millennial productions
portray the idea that women represent a threat to masculinity. However, she notes that
Coming Home (1978) is a notable exception. Michel argues that the female characters
in this film are not just tokens as the female lead is a caring and sensual equal to the
male one. Michel suggests that this film discusses feminism in a way that was not
around in the films setting of the late 1960s. She writes, in linking antiwar politics
to sexual and womens liberation, this 1970s film indulges in a certain amount of
hindsight, for it constructs associations that even movement activists were only dimly
aware of during the Vietnam era itself.17
Carolyn Reed Vartanian analyses the television series China Beach (19881991), which features female nurses stationed in Vietnam. Vartanian concludes that
the female characters relationships with men and other women, not their jobs in the
war, define their service experience.18 These portrayals vary significantly from most
films that tend to show hyper-masculinity and debate the merits of the war.
Brian Woodman, predominate scholar in African-American depictions, found
that films often portray Black soldiers as sidekicks to the lead. The stereotypes of
being uneducated, volatile and without life goals often underpin their
characterisations. Additionally, he argues that films often fail to show enough
African-American troop numbers to reflect statistical evidence of the correct
proportion of African-American soldiers and deaths.19 He does acknowledge, though,
that some films portray elements of African-American experiences accurately,

16

Sutton and Winn, "'Do We Get to Win This Time?': POW/MIA Rescue Films and the American
Monomyth," 28.
17
Sonya Michel, "Danger on the Home Front: Motherhood, Sexuality and Disabled Veterans in
American Postwar Films," Journal of the History of Sexuality 3, no. 1 (1992), 125.
18
Carolyn Reed Vartian, "Women Next Door to War: China Beach," in Inventing Vietnam: The War in
Film and Television, ed. Michael Anderegg (Philadelphia: Temple Universtiy Press, 1991), 191.
19
Brian J Woodman, "Represented in the Margins: Images of African American Soldiers in Vietnam
War Combat Films," Journal of Film and Video 53, no. 2 (2001), 38-60.

10

notably Hamburger Hills (1987) portrayal of African-Americans being cannonfodder and Platoons (1986) discussion of the draft.20 Given the changed
contemporary political and cultural ideologies surrounding gender and ethnicity, an
analysis of post-2001 films necessitates revisiting Vietnam War films depictions of
gender and race relations. Indeed, as chapters two and three explain, the depictions of
gender and race in these films are so stark that they warrant discussion.
Contextualising the films with the history necessitates an understanding of the
literature on women and ethnic minority groups actual experiences of the war. Kara
Dixon Vuic is a lead researcher in the field of American servicewomen. She argues
that women were expected to fulfil gendered roles to serve as a feminine symbol of
what soldiers sought to protect and whom they longed to return.21 Despite this, Vuic
finds nurses experiences varied greatly.22 James Westheider is the preeminent
researcher in the field of African-American involvement in the war. Westheider
maintains that African-Americans were fighting two enemies: the North Vietnamese
and racism.23 Tom Holm has documented the experiences of Native Americans in the
Vietnam War and their philosophy towards war, including their rituals around
preparing and recovering from service.24 These studies inform my analysis of how
effectively the films depictions of American minorities in the Vietnam War stand up
against the historical accounts.

20

Ibid., 56-57, 52.

Kara Dixon Vuic, Officer, Nurse, Woman: The Army Nurse Corps in the Vietnam War, Pbk. ed.
(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011), 137.
22
Ibid.
23
James Westheider, Fighting on Two Fronts: African Americans and the Vietnam War (New York:
New York University Press, 1997); James Westheider, The African-American Experience in Vietnam:
Brothers in Arms (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008).
24
Tom Holm, Strong Hearts, Wounded Souls: Native American Veterans of the Vietnam War (Austin:
University of Texas Press, 1996).
21

11

Conceptual Framework and Methodology:

To analyse the historical films, I draw on the work of two key schools of
historical film analysis: Robert Rosenstone and Mike Chopra-Gant. Rosenstone
asserts that there have been two traditional ways to analyse historical films. He states
that the explicit approach investigates the historical climate of when a film was made
because films reflect social and political concerns of the era.25 Secondly, Rosenstone
argues the implicit approach conducts the analysis of films in the same way as written
history, for researchers see films as historical books shown on screen. Rosenstone
argues that both approaches are problematic and proposes that historical films should
be analysed using four questions: what sort of historical world does each film
construct and how does it construct that world? How can we make judgements about
that construction? How and what does that historical construction mean to us? ...
[and] How does the historical world on the screen relate to written history?26
Hayden White, in addition to Rosenstone, maintains that historical films are
able to shape a representation of historical events.27 However, White insists that
historical films should be analysed in a similar way to historical works because they,
too, are capable of showcasing cause and effect, historical facts and historiographical
discussions. However, both White and Rosenstone acknowledge differences between
written and visual history. They conclude that film can be more successful at eliciting
clear meanings and accurate accounts of landscapes, sounds, strong emotions, certain

25

Robert Rosenstone, "The Historical Film: Looking at the Past in a Postliterate Age," in The
Historical Film: History and Memory in Media, ed. Marcia Landy (New Brunswick: Rutgers
University Press, 1995), 51.
26
Ibid., 52.
27
Hayden White, "Historiography and Historiophoty," The American Historical Reveiw 93, no. 5
(1988): 1195.

12

kinds of conflicts between individuals and groups, collective events and the
movement of crowds.28
Mike Chopra-Gants approach pays more attention to historical accuracy,
whilst arguing that one must accept that the viewer is one producer of meaning in
film. Viewers must analyse the wider culture within which they were produced and
offered to the cinemagoing public.29 This is important as the social, cultural and
political climate of the post-11 September period is very different to the conditions of
the prior decades. Furthermore, Chopra-Gant argues there is merit in the study of
historical films because they explore representations of what it would look and feel
like to live in the past.30 Chopra-Gant argues that the analysis of historical films
should focus on three key components: the textual mechanisms, the use of historical
evidence and accuracy.31 I additionally draw from Jay Winter, who examines the
important difference between the memory formed from experiencing an event and the
memory constructed by hearing or seeing visuals depicting an event. He concludes
that films have the power to contribute to a national memory, as not everyone has
first-hand experience of historical events.32
As this thesis focuses predominantly on films, my methodology entails a
combination of cinema studies and historical research. Chapters one and two focus on
a comparison of the post-2001 films with earlier ones, more in line with Rosenstones
approach. Chapter three draws more on historical evidence, in line with ChopraGants methodology. I adopt this dual approach because sources vary in my three
areas of study and therefore have impacted the methodological approach taken. The

28

Ibid., 1194.
Mike Chopra-Gant, Cinema and History: The Telling of Stories (London: Wallflower 2008), 27.
30
Ibid., 68.
31
Ibid., 101.
32
Jay Winter, Remembering War: The Great War between Memory and History in the Twentieth
Century (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006).
29

13

three films on which I focus my analysis are 1968 Tunnel Rats, 21 and a Wakeup and
Love and Honor. I selected these films because they feature African-American,
Native American and female characters. Because there are so many pre-2001 Vietnam
War films and there have been frequent studies, this thesis draws primarily on the
scholarly analysis of earlier films as the point of comparison. It is acknowledged that
post-2001 Vietnam War films never reached the box-office success of previous years.
The decrease in sales is possibly due to the renewed popularity of Second World War
and contemporary war films. Nevertheless, I still deem these films important because
they are rich with content that needs to be evaluated.
To assess the character portrayals in the contemporary films, I draw on
primary sources and secondary literature. The primary sources are predominantly
autobiographical works of veterans and oral testimonies found in books. The
secondary sources include literature on the Vietnam War and pre-2001 films. Because
several of the post-2001 films had such small budgets and did not achieve wide
release, there is a lack of sources such as reviews and interviews with cast and crew to
include as sources in this thesis.

Thesis Outline:
This thesis consists of three chapters. The first examines the major themes of
the three chosen films while comparing and contrasting them with the pre-millennial
film tropes. The second chapter follows a similar approach to investigate the
representation of female characters and engages gender theories to analyse how two
of the three films both reinforce and challenge traditional gender norms. The final
chapter examines the representations of African-American and Native American
soldiers and analyses the ways in which they address the racism that occurred during

14

the war, as well as how the films reflect contemporary cultural and political debates
about racism. This chapter draws heavily on post-race theory, which I will discuss in
more detail at the beginning of the chapter.
This thesis continues on from previous historical works that examine Vietnam
War films, drawing that research into the twenty-first century. This thesis assesses
how post-2001 mentalities have been used to reshape the memory and experiences of
the Vietnam War and how these films have used the war as a setting to reflect current
ideologies. Moreover, the need to analyse films from this time period can be linked to
both war and culturally based similarities between the Vietnam and post-2001 eras.
This is seen through the Vietnam War and both Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts
following similar patterns and the resurgence in gender and civil right issues in new
ways, which highlight unresolved tensions since the era of the Vietnam War, Civil
Rights Movement and Womens Liberation Movement. Therefore twenty-first
century films, and the cultural times that influence them, mark an important new area
of study to which this thesis contributes new knowledge.

15

Chapter One
Same War, Different Message:
A Thematic Comparison of Pre and Post- 11 September Films

Over time, filmmakers have depicted Americas involvement in the Vietnam

War in a number of different ways. This chapter argues that although the majority of
Vietnam War films are anti-war in sentiment, films made pre and post-2001 show
variances in their depiction of the American soldiers and in which wartime actor is
portrayed as the bad guy. Pre-2001 films shifted from portraying soldiers as bad and
damaged in the 1970s, to the early 1980s portraying a heroic soldier, to the late 1980s
revisiting the damaged soldier trope. Pre-2001 films also assigned blame for the
conduct of the war on different parties. Films made in the 1970s blame the nature of
war itself for the atrocities committed by American soldiers. Movies in 1980s tend to
direct blame towards high-ranking military officials and the government for the
brutalities of war. Post-2001 films adopt all of these tropes to varying degrees, but are
more complex, though they all blame the government and the military hierarchy for
the brutality of war. Contemporary films show depictions of bad and heroic soldiers
in addition to soldiers whose mental states deteriorate through the course of the war.
However, common among all post-2001 films is the mentality that soldiers did what
they had to do to survive. These portrayals reflect two key contemporary issues:
lessons learnt post-Vietnam about the treatment of veterans, and, the two wars in the
Middle East at the time of these films productions.

16

Pre-2001 Tropes: A Little Bit of Everything

Films made prior to 2001 are categorised by scholars in two ways: by subgenre and by time of release. Rasmussen and Downey identified four subgenres of
Vietnam War films based on themes and overall messages. The first group features
films like Wild Angels (1966) and Petulia (1968). These productions used the war as
a backdrop for dramatic action.33 Michael Paris suggests that these films merely
acknowledged the war because Hollywood could not even rely on the relatively nonpolitical action war film, for public feeling was too incensed.34 This counters the
tradition of promotional war films of earlier periods. Rasmussen and Downey also
place later films that focus on anit-war protest, such as The Strawberry Statement
(1970) and Hair (1979), into this subgenre because they still use the war as a
backdrop. The second subgenre is an extension of the anti-war message that centres
on the lives of the veterans and their physical and psychological war wounds. This
subgenre includes films such as Taxi Driver (1976), Rolling Thunder (1977) and Born
on the Fourth of July (1989).
The third subgenre consists of POW/MIA films that aim to restore the heroic
image of the American soldier. Such films, most prevalent in the mid-1980s, include
Uncommon Valor (1984), Missing in Action (1985) and Rambo: First Blood, Part II
(1986).35 These films were made in response to the myth that the American
government lied to the public about the presence of POWs/MIAs left in Southeast
Asia.36 Sutton and Winn explore this sub-genre and argue that the films are highly
formulaic. They all feature a soldier returning to Vietnam to rescue POWs/MIAS,

33

Rasmussen and Downey, "Dialectical Disorientation in Vietnam War Films: Subversion of the
Mythology of War," 176.
34
Michael Paris, "The American Film Industry & Vietnam," History Today 37, no. 4 (1987): 21.
35
Rasmussen and Downey, "Dialectical Disorientation in Vietnam War Films: Subversion of the
Mythology of War," 176.
36
Sutton and Winn, "'Do We Get to Win This Time?': POW/MIA Rescue Films and the American
Monomyth," 25.

17

defying the governments orders in some way, and finally killing Vietnamese soldiers.
The films also all conclude with the soldiers finding the POWs/MIAs, thus proving
the government wrong and giving the Vietnamese their just desserts.37 The authors
suggest that these films became popular in the 1980s because they had the ability to
resolve the POW/MIA question while also giving Americans a symbolic victory in
the Vietnam War.38 Moreover they argue that this combination aimed to restore the
images of American soldiers as heroes.39
The last subgenre identified by Rasmussen and Downey focuses on the
experiences of the soldiers and the depiction of their dehumanisation, challenging the
gallant image of the American soldier.40 This subgenre includes Deer Hunter (1978),
Apocalypse Now (1978), Platoon (1986) and Full Metal Jacket (1987). The authors
argue that these films break the myth of heroic American soldiers in three ways. First,
they set a different context by featuring scenes depicting brutal, dehumanised and
insane soldiers. Second, they counter the traditional characteristics of a soldier having
a balance between militarism and moralism. They do this by showing the characters
go insane as the reality of war sets in. Lastly, these films use cinematic effects to draw
viewers into the feelings of tension and confusion to give a sense of the emotions that
the soldiers themselves felt.41
These four subgenres showcase how the majority of films made pre-2001
blame the wars loss on different parties. Backdrop and veteran-focused films charge
the damaged soldiers and divisions on the home front; the POW/MIA films accuse the

37

Ibid., 30.
Ibid., 25.
39
Ibid., 30.
40
Rasmussen and Downey, "Dialectical Disorientation in Vietnam War Films: Subversion of the
Mythology of War," 176.
41
Ibid., 189.
38

18

government of letting down the soldiers; and the soldiers experience subgenre
attribute the war crimes to soldiers and the military hierarchy.
Other historians, through a separate chronological study of Vietnam War
films, have come to similar conclusions. Dittmar and Michaud argue that the
experiences of veterans form the basis for films made during the war period. They
write: During the period from the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s, when the
commercial film industry largely avoided direct representations of the Vietnam War,
the image of the veteran became the site where Americas ambivalent feelings toward
the conflict were made manifest.42 Judy Lee Kinney concluded in 1991 that there
were two waves of Vietnam War films, first in the 1970s and then in the 1980s:
[1970s films] are marked by images and narrative strategies of rupture and
dislocation, films of the 1980s are driven by the need for closure.43 Kinney also
argues that films made in the 1980s employ realist cinematic techniques and
storylines that offer us the authentic experience of the grunt 44 to memorialise the
war.
Jeremy Devine additionally analyses key themes by era. His evaluation of the
films Apocalypse Now, Friendly Fire and other movies released in 1979 concurs with
Kinneys sentiment. Devine states, head-on Vietnam depictions would begin to
evolve from antiwar and provocative well-constructed films of 1978 and 1979 to
cartoonish revisionism and gung-ho exploitation of the early 1980s.45 However, he
delves deeper into the reason for this occurrence. He writes:

42

Dittmar and Michaud, "America's Vietnam War Films: Marching toward Denial," 4.
Judy Lee Kinney, "Gardens of Stone, Platoon and Hamburger Hill: Ritual and Remembrance," in
Inventing Vietnam: The War in Film and Television, ed. Michael Anderegg (Philadelphia: Temple
University Press, 1991), 155.
44
Ibid., 159.
45
Devine, Vietnam at 24 Frames a Second, 196.
43

19

With the election of Ronald Reagan and a fatigue with the events of
the 1960s and 1970s civil strife, assassinations, Vietnam and
Watergate the lineup will begin to change. The films that
acknowledge individual and collective loss will be joined by those that
fictionally attempt to do what the country and its fighting troops were
not able (or allowed) to do in the actual war: win it.46
Devine additionally highlights another theme shift in the 1990s, during which most
Vietnam War films were telemovies. The films became more about moving on from
the trauma or providing commentary on the culture of the war era.47 Devine also notes
that films made in the 1990s were far less popular and successful than films made in
the prior decades.48 Possible reasons for this include the end of the Cold War,
Americas attention being drawn to the Middle East and the Persian Gulf War, and the
rise in Second World War films based on the Greatest Generation mythology.
Together the thematic and chronological approaches highlight several key
subgenres to Vietnam War films, and that films made in different time periods reflect
different ideals and attitudes towards the war, soldiers and government. Post-11
September 2001 films 1968 Tunnel Rats, 21 and a Wake-Up and Love and Honor
promote a resounding anti-war message. However, they identify the government as
responsible for the wars disastrous effects, rather than the soldiers themselves. This
is not to say that the movies are devoid of the soldier brutality marked in earlier films,
but rather that the narratives also portray the soldiers as victims of ill-conceived
government policies.

46

Ibid.
Ibid., 318-19.
48
Ibid., 364-65.
47

20

Post-2001 Tropes: Synopsises and Soldiers

1968 Tunnel Rats tells the story of a US Army platoon specialised in
underground warfare, set over two days. The first day entails the soldiers acquainting
themselves with each other and discussing the purpose of the war and the types of
soldiers fighting. In one scene, Private Carl Johnson identifies three types of soldiers:
Battle hardened vets, they come in they eat their chow and they leave; then you have
the illicit types who thinks this is a fucking game and then there are guys like Miller;
future KIA [killed in action], someone who talks a lot cause he is scared shitless to
be here.49 The second day shows the platoon going into the tunnels and the resulting
warfare that leads to the death of every character. The characters die graphically,
marking this film as anti-war by depicting war as abhorrent and a waste of life.
21 and a Wake-Up is a semi-autobiographical account of the directors
experience during the war and retells the stories of people whom he met while in
Vietnam. The film focuses on protagonist Caitlin Murphy and her quest to Cambodia
to rescue the secret daughter of a deceased doctor. It also delves into Murphys
various personal and professional relationships, with the most important being her
tempestuous one with Major Rose Thorn. In the end, Caitlin is killed by an American
sniper while attempting to protect a Vietnamese boy. The films closing narration
features Caitlin summarising her opinion of the war:
America lost 58,000 of its finest sons and daughters in the Vietnam
War The country of Vietnam lost between 2 and 4 million of its own
people, both famous and unknown in the same period of time.
Countries fight wars for many reasons: for oil, for treasure, for
territory, for pride and from fear. And on occasion to liberate other

49

1968 Tunnel Rats.

21

peoples by the tens of million. Old men will always find reason to send
young men and women to war and find no shortage of them eager to
go.50
These final lines summarise the films anti-war mentality while simultaneously
blaming the government for wrongfully sending Americans to Vietnam.
Love and Honor depicts the lives of two American soldiers, their experiences
questioning their involvement in the war, and their romantic relationships on a trip
home to the US during their Rest and Relaxation (R&R) in July 1969. One storyline
follows point-man Dalton Joiner and his fitful relationship with girlfriend turned war
protester, Jane. The film concludes with Dalton and Jane ending their relationship for
good. As a consequence, Dalton deserts the war, as he feels unable to walk point
without Janes support. The concurrent storyline explores radio-man Mickey Wrights
transformation from playboy to committed boyfriend of protester, Candace. The final
scene shows Mickey assuming Daltons position of point-man with Candaces
support. Although the film has an anti-war undertone, the film does not clearly blame
one group. However, it is critical of the governments decision-making.
In 1968 Tunnel Rats, there is a diverse portrayal of soldiers, from morally
good to morally bad to just damaged. Private Peter Harris is established as a morally
good soldier when he tries to save the life of a Viet Cong woman and her children.
Lieutenant Vic Hallowborn, on the other hand, gives orders to hang a Vietnamese
prisoner publicly without trial, thus earning himself a label of moral corrupt. He also
fights the morally good soldier and calls in an airstrike, which results in the death of
Vietnamese and American soldiers. Other American soldiers are established as
immoral through references to raping Vietnamese women. Corporal Dan Green

50

21 and a Wake-Up, McIntyre.

22

represents a damaged soldier because of his perceived mental deterioration through

the course of the film culminating in him repeatedly stabbing a Viet Cong soldier.
21 and A Wake-Up portrays the troops in a predominantly positive way. The
film projects the image of dedicated military personnel who do their best to save the
lives of Americans and Vietnamese people. The film does not glamorise the US
involvement as it acknowledges the militarys role in killing millions of Vietnamese.
Despite this, the film showcases many positive attributes of the servicewomen and
men. One way it generates positive attitudes towards the characters is by having many
place themselves in difficult and life threatening situations for morally good reasons.
Such scenes include Caitlins sacrificial death, and Dr. Durys death while attempting
to remove a live grenade from inside an American soldier.
Love and Honor likewise depicts soldiers in a positive light by showing one
soldier sacrificing his life for his platoon and having both protagonists voluntarily
take up the dangerous position of point-man. Though the film also features a deserter
and a draft dodger, the film paints both these characters in a sympathetic light.
Daltons desertion is justified because he feels he would be worthless to the squad,
unable to succeed without the goal of staying alive for Jane.51 Isaac, the draftee, is
justified in draft dodging because the film establishes him as a morally good person
opposed to violence. The film also generates a positive image of the soldiers by
reiterating the theme that the soldiers are not the bad guys. In a closing scene, Mickey
reads a letter from Candace that includes the following: In our rage to stop this evil
war, I think we have forgotten that our boys over there arent the bad guys; they are

51

The depiction of Daltons desertion is also historically accurate, as white deserters were often
enlistees who chose to abandon the war for personal reasons. Moreover the majority of desertion
occurred on American soil. Westheider, Fighting on Two Fronts: African Americans and the Vietnam
War (New York: New York University Press, 1997), 79.

23

just trying to survive. Guys like Joiner who risks their live with every step and guys
like Burns who sacrifice their life to save their friends.52
These portrayals mimic themes and characterisations found in films released
prior to 2001. Dan Green in 1968 Tunnel Rats mirrors the descent into madness
shown in The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now, Platoon and Full Metal Jacket. Caitlin
Murphys troubled relationship with high up military officials replicates plotlines in
Full Metal Jacket and Rambo: First Blood, Part II. Mickeys transformation from
soldier to hero in Love and Honor is similar to storylines in Born on the Fourth of
July and Coming Home. However, the various films motivations for these specific
representations vary significantly based on time period.
Films of the late 1970s (i.e. Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now)
used the veterans as scapegoats to clear Americas collective guilt, as they were easy
targets in the initial post-war years.53 Deborah Ballard-Reisch argues they were
targeted because the Vietnam veteran returned to a society that had rejected his
war [and] rejected the veterans sacrifices.54 Attitudes towards veterans shifted in
the 1980s due to changing dynamics in academia, politics and pop culture. Early
academic and popular history works featured anti-Vietnam messages. The successful
1980 orthodox historical works of Stanley Karnow and Neil Sheehan share this
sentiment and reason: the only real American heroes of the war were the reporters
and a few servicemen who recognized that the enterprise was doomed from the

52

Love and Honor.

Deborah Ballard-Reisch, "China Beach and Tour of Duty: American Television and Revisionist
History of the Vietnam War," The Journal of Popular Culture 25, no. 3 (1991): 138.
54
Deborah Ballard-Reisch "Veterans and Society as Victims of Vietnam: Understanding the Dilemma
of Moral Pain," paper presented at the 73rd anuual meeting of the Speech Communcation Association,
November 1987: 20, as cited in ibid., 138-39.
53

24

start.55 Other orthodox historians accused the US military of fighting unlawfully

and unsuccessfully against a wily adversary that regularly outwitted it.56
However, Ronald Reagans presidency in the 1980s aimed to reconceptualise
the war. Reagan famously described the war as a noble cause and refocused the
blame of Americas loss away from the veterans and onto timid leadership.57 He said:
Many veterans of Vietnam still serve in the Armed Forces, work in our
offices, on our farms, and in our factories. Most have kept their
experiences private, but most have been strengthened by their call to
duty. A grateful nation opens her heart today in gratitude for their
sacrifice, for their courage, and for their noble service. Let us, if we
must, debate the lessons learned at some other time. Today, we simply
say with pride, Thank you, dear son. May God cradle you in His
loving arms.58
In addition to Reagans conservative government, the time lapse since the war created
a climate more sympathetic to the soldiers. Eben Muse suggests that by the late
1970s/early 1980s the anti-war protesters had matured and were now responsible
citizens who could respect the sacrifices others had made for the country and who
would build on those sacrifices to make a better life for themselves.59 Two television
series based on the Vietnam War aired in the mid to late 1980s, which continued the
trend of featuring storylines sympathetic towards soldiers. Ballard-Reisch argues the
programs, Tour of Duty (1987-1990) and China Beach (1988-1991) show the ethical

55

Mark Moyar, "Vietnam: Historians at War," Academic Questions 21, no. 1 (2008): 41.
Ibid., 43.
57
Mark Taylor, The Vietnam War in History, Literature and Film (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama
Press, 2003), 141.
58
Ronald Reagan, Remarks at Memorial Day Ceremonies Honouring an Unknown Serviceman of the
Vietnam Conflict, 28 May 1984, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, online, available from
http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1984/52884a.htm, accessed 29 July, 2015.
59
Eben Muse, The Land of Nam: The Vietnam War in American Film (Landham: The Scarecrow Press,
1995), 85.
56

25

and moral conflicts drawn clearly, and for the most part resolved in the favour of the
soldiers. Their humanity and good intentions under adverse circumstances are
recognised.60
Whilst this combination of factors led to a mixed portrayal of soldiers in the
1980s, the varying portrayal in millennial films can be attributed to capricious cultural
and political opinions surrounding the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The 11 September
2001 terrorist attack triggered American military action in Afghanistan (2001) and
later in Iraq (2003). Political commentators and historians alike both pro- and antiwar have drawn significant parallels between these conflicts and the Vietnam War.
First, both Vietnam and the Middle East conflicts started with the majority of the
American public having immense faith in their military. The Vietnam War came a
generation after America had proved its military capability in both World Wars and
Korea, whilst the war in Afghanistan came ten years after Americas swift victory in
the 1991 Gulf War.
Second, both conflicts started with government talk of moral obligations. In a
news conference held on 7 February 1962, President John F. Kennedy said America
was assisting in every way we properly can the people of South Vietnam, who with
the greatest courage and under danger are attempting to maintain their freedom.61
President George W. Bush similarly framed the so-called War on Terror as a battle to
preserve American freedom and to protect the freedom of citizens of Iraq and
Afghanistan. Both these moral obligations are centred on Americas perceived need to
help preserve the freedom of the citizens of the world. These moral and pro-military

60

Ballard-Reisch, "China Beach and Tour of Duty: American Television and Revisionist History of the
Vietnam War," 147.
61
John F. Kennedy, Response to a Question on American Involvement in South Vietnam, President
Kennedys News Conference, 7 February 1962, available from
http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/Press-Conferences/NewsConference-23.aspx, accessed 1 August, 2015.

26

crusades were reflected in films released at the start of both the Vietnam War and War
on Terror. The only combat Vietnam War film made during the war was The Green
Berets (1968), and presented audiences with a morally clear-cut and pro-American
soldier interpretation of the war. The famous line they need us and they want us
reinforced this message.62 Complementarily, the first Vietnam War film released post11 September was We Were Soldiers (2002). Susan Carruthers interprets the film as a
call to arms film providing a timely embodiment of Americans resurgent
enthusiasm for military ventures, encouraging confidence in armed forces equipped to
prosecute the war on terror to a successful conclusion.63
Thirdly, the three wars all faced steep declines in support the longer they
endured. One study showed that between 2008 and 2013 negative attitudes towards
the war in Afghanistan rose from 28% to 44%.64 The same poll found that opinions
towards the Iraq War were worse, with an average of 57.33% of Americans sharing
negative sentiments between 2008 and 2013.65 It is important to note these polls were
conducted over a time period that saw the Afghanistan War surpass Vietnam to
become Americas longest war.66
Lastly 1968 Tunnel Rats and 21 and a Wake-Ups acknowledgement of
American war atrocities in Vietnam can be interpreted as a subtle hint towards the

62

John Wayne and LeRoy Kellogg, The Green Berets (Warner-Bros, Seven Arts, 1968). as cited in
Muse, The Land of Nam: The Vietnam War in American Film, 41.
63
Susan Carruthers, "Bringing It All Back Home: Hollywood Returns to War," Small Wars &
Insurgencies 14, no. 1 (2010): 171.
64
Gallup Poll, Thinking now about U.S. military action in Afghanistan that began in October 2001, do
you think the United States made a mistake in sending military forces to Afghanistan or not?
http://www.gallup.com/poll/116233/Afghanistan.aspx?g_source=Afghanistan&g_medium=search&g_
campaign=tiles, accessed 1 August 2015.
65
Gallup Poll, In View of the developments since we first send out troops to Iraq, do you think the
United states made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, or not?
http://www.gallup.com/poll/1633/iraq.aspx, accessed 1 August, 2015. This had a range from 53% 63% over 15 polls.
66
This occurred on 7 July 2010. Bill Bradley, Americas War in Afghanistan Now Officially Longer
than Vietnam, 7 June 2010, Vanity Fair, online, available at
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2010/06/americas-war-in-afghanistan-now-officially-longer-thanvietnam, accessed 1 August 2015.

27

known atrocities and civilian casualties inflicted by American soldiers in the Middle
East, such as the torture in Iraqs Abu Ghraib Prison. Seymour Hersh describes it as
one of the worlds more notorious prisons, with torture, weekly executions and vile
living conditions.67 The prison activities created a strong difference of opinion in
political discourse about the legitimacy of torture. One military member suggested the
harsh interrogation methods were like making a sausage you like the result but you
dont want to know how it is made.68 For the purposes of this thesis, what is most
important is not the detail about specific atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan, but rather
the ways that Vietnam War films reflect the debates over the behaviour of American
soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Post-2001 Tropes: Blame and Responsibility
Post-2001 films fault the US government for wrongly sending Americans into
Vietnam, whilst adopting several of the earlier eras tropes relating to the meanings
behind soldier brutality. What unites these films, whether they showcase American
atrocities or emphasise moral soldiers, is that they focus on survival as the underlying
factor driving soldiers. This differs from previous films, where survival is often
secondary to aforementioned themes, such as rescuing soldiers or the descent into
madness. Throughout 1968 Tunnel Rats there are references to the idea that the war
was only about survival. Lieutenant Hallowborn tells Private Harris: [the war] isnt
about God or the Devil Harris; its about survival, Asshole. In another scene Platoon
Sergeant Mike Heaney says to Private Terence Verano: Let me tell you the only
thing you need to know this place is all about survival. Alright, it isnt black and
white it is all grey and the sooner you realise that, the better chance you got of

67

Seymour M. Hersh, Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib, 1st Harper Perennial
ed. (New York: Harper Perennial, 2005), 20.
68
Ibid., 65.

28

packing your shit together one day and doing that duffle bag drag back to the
world.69
21 and a Wake-Up similarly features the theme of survival. The characters
often discuss how much time they have left on their tours, and even the title refers to
the number of days the protagonist had until she could return home at her death. This
mentality centred on returning home rather than fighting for the cause reflects primary
and secondary sources; a Stanford University study reports one veteran stating:
I was a typical college student. I didn't really even know where
Vietnam was or why we were there. All I definitely knew was that
friends, relatives and classmates were dying. I did not want to go and
from what I saw and heard it was nothing but a political mess that for
some unknown reason, continued endlessly. Although, once I was
involved in the fighting it became personal. All I cared about was
survival and I could have cared less about right or wrong, good or
bad.70
Love and Honor, too, explores the theme of survival. In a monologue, Dalton explains
how his survival instinct came from his love for Jane: You knew, I knew, everybody
knew, that this war was about one thing staying alive, and from that moment forth
the only way I knew how to do that was to stay focused on Jane.71
Although these films all focus on survival, they assign blame for the conduct
of the war, especially government decisions and war atrocities, onto different parties.
1968 Tunnel Rats seemingly blames the atrocities on the military high-ups and the
nature of war. The former is seen when Sergeant Heaney breaks downs and cries after

69

21 and a Wake-Up.
Josh Hochgesang, Tracye Lawyer, and Toby Stevenson, "The Psychological Effects of the Vietnam
War," Stanford University, https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/war_peace/media/hpsych.html,
accessed 30 July 2015.
71
Love and Honor.
70

29

hanging a Viet Cong sniper on the Lieutenants orders. The latter is showcased
throughout the film through the graphic killings committed by both Viet Cong and
American soldiers while in battle.
Both 21 and a Wake-Up and Love and Honor, however, dispense blame onto
the American government for the war. In 21 and a Wake-Up Caitlin argues that the
government lied to military personal:
Caitlin Murphy: Nobody would be in this God forsaken place if they
knew what it was like. First you lie your asses off to get us here. Then
every son of a bitch from LBJ to ABC to the fucking CIA has to keep
lying their asses off to keep us here
Major Thorn: Thats right, Murphy. Nobody would be here unless we
lied our asses off, and then who in hell would fight the wars?
Caitlin Murphy: Nobody would and wouldnt that be a freaking
shame.
Likewise Love and Honor blames the government for sending troops to Vietnam.
Peter argues that soldiers are not the bad guys but merely men who have been lied to
by Nixon, Kissinger, and Westmoreland just like the rest of America.72 By
assigning war-related blame, post-2001 films are illuminating a trend commonly
found in films of the prior-era. Additionally, these films can be interpreted as a way of
reflecting the pre-2001 trope of using films as a tool for making sense and meaning of
the war. However, post-2001 films can be argued as a mechanism for making sense of
the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, and not just the Vietnam War like their predecessors.
Films from 1978 and 1979 assign blame for the wars conduct to many
different parties. In The Boys of Company C (1978) the message is that the men were

72

Ibid.

30

good soldiers stuck in a bad war and America cared more about winning the war
than the lives of soldiers.73 This is evident in the final monologue: So I guess well
keep on walking into one bloody mess after another, till somebody figures out that
living has got to be more important than winning.74 Apocalypse Now also showcases
irresponsible and brutal military higher-ups who express little care for their soldiers.
However, the film delves into the intentions of all characters and questions the impact
that the war has on their mental states with the answer being as ambiguous as the film
itself.75
POW/MIA films of the early 1980s placed blame for the wars loss on two
parties: the Vietnamese and the US government. Gayland Studlar and David Desser
argue that the belief:
in the MIAs [gave] credence to the view that the Vietnamese are now
and therefore have always been an inhuman and cruel enemy [it]
serves as an index of our essential rightness in fighting such an enemy
in the past Moreover, our alleged unwillingness to confront Vietnam
on the MIA issues is taken to be an index of the governments
cowardice in the Vietnam policy: confrontation would mean
confirmation. The American bureaucracy remains spineless: they
didnt let us win then, and they wont let us win again.76

73

Muse, The Land of Nam: The Vietnam War in American Film, 106.
Sidney J. Furie, The Boys in Company C (Columbia Pictures, 1978),
as cited in Ibid. Devine also argues that the films overarching theme was about the American
government lying to its soldiers. Devine, Vietnam at 24 Frames a Second, 140.
75
For further reading on this see Devine, Vietnam at 24 Frames a Second 173-97. Frank P. Tomasulo,
"The Politics of Ambivalence: Apocalypse Now as Prowar and Antiwar Film," in From Hanoi to
Hollywood: The Vietnam War in American Film, eds Linda Dittmar and Gene Michaud (New
Brunswick and London: Rutgers University Press, 1999), 145-158; Muse, The Land of Nam: The
Vietnam War in American Film, 113-18.
76
Gaylan Studlar and David Desser, "Never Having to Say You're Sorry: Rambo's Rewriting of the
Vietnam War," in From Hanoi to Hollywood: The Vietnam War in American Film, ed. Linda Dittmar
(1999), 105. Original emphasis.
74

31

The films of the mid-late 1980s mirror themes of the late 1970s by
apportioning blame to every American party involved. Platoon continues the
Apocalypse Now idea of exploring the soldiers motivations to kill. Mike Taylor
argues the character Bunny massacres for enjoyment and protagonist Chris partakes in
the killing to act out accumulated frustration.77 These motivations seemingly place
blame for the atrocities solely on the soldiers and the nature of the war itself, as the
film only features American combat troops.78 Trevor McCrisken and Andrew Pepper
argue that Born on The Fourth of July (1989) blames the corporate, governmental
and criminal elite, who betrayed the ideal of American exceptionalism;79 James
Stuart Olson and Randy Roberts argue that in Born on the Fourth of July: American
males were conditioned to follow orders and go to war.80 Additionally, the film asks
the question of whether the patriotism of the Cold War years reflected something
distinct to American society.81
As with the depiction of the soldier, there are social and political reasons for
the distribution of blame for the wars conduct in the films of the 1960s-80s. Olson
and Roberts identify three schools of thought about the war itself, which manifest in
the films representations of the war. They argue that during the 1960s and 1970s
there were two views of the war: that it resulted from unfortunate decisions made by
well-meaning officials, or that it was more deliberately malign [and] the result of an
imperialistic American foreign policy.82 The first interpretation mimics the pro-war
propaganda film The Green Berets. The second is seen in previously mentioned films

77

Taylor, The Vietnam War in History, Literature and Film, 119-20.

Trevor B McCrisken and Andrew Pepper, American History and Contemporary Hollywood Film
(New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2005), 133.
79
Ibid., 152.
80
James Stuart Olson and Randy W. Roberts, Where the Domino Fell: America and Vietnam 19452010 (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013), 256.
81
McCrisken and Pepper, American History and Contemporary Hollywood Film, 137.
82
Olson and Roberts, Where the Domino Fell: America and Vietnam 1945-2010, 253.
78

32

made in the late 1970s. The third view came in the 1980s and reflects the idea that
the loss of Vietnam was not the fault of the troops. Civilians back home, both inside
and outside the government, had failed.83
Studlar and Desser argue that one reason for the numerous themes of the
1980s was the rise of collective guilt. They write: their [themes] coexistence might
be read as a register of the nations ambivalent feelings about the war, and
ambivalence, Freud tells us, is one of the necessary ingredients in the creation of guilt
feelings.84 While the Vietnam War films of the twenty-first century are unlikely to
be a result of residual guilt for the war itself, it can, however, be argued that the
ambiguous feelings and assignment of blame reflect guilt about the contemporary
Middle Eastern wars. Over time, as more information has come out about misleading
justifications for war such as weapons of mass destruction, the American public has
grown more wary of Middle Eastern conflicts and the decision-making process.
Conclusion
Pre and post-2001 Vietnam War films may follow similar thematic trends and
waves in both the depiction of the American soldier and the assignment of blame.
However, post-2001 films focus predominantly on the importance of the soldiers
need for survival. Moreover, films reflect the political and social climate of their
release eras, rather than on the need to tell a truthful story. Additionally, both preand post-2001 films can be argued as vehicles for creating meaning and understating
out of their respective wars of their time. Yet there have been other significant
changes in American society since the early Vietnam War films, and these changes
would indeed be present in contemporary Vietnam War films: changes to

83

Ibid.
Studlar and Desser, "Never Having to Say You're Sorry: Rambo's Rewriting of the Vietnam War,"
102.
84

33

understandings of attitudes towards gender and race. Gender is the subject of the next
chapter.

34

Chapter Two
Modern Women in an Old War:
Representations of Women in Post-2001 Films

Pre-2001 Vietnam War films have a heavy emphasis on American male

soldiers. The few films with female characters feature American women on the home
front or Vietnamese sex workers. However, 21 and a Wake-Up and Love and Honor
both include female characters in much larger roles.85 Love and Honor features two
female characters as the protagonists love interests on the home front, and 21 and a
Wake-Up is the first film to present the Vietnam War from an American nurses
perspective. This chapter argues that both films challenge preconceived gender norms
for women, with 21 and a Wake-Up pushing the boundaries further. The female
characters in Love and Honor mimic and enhance the two typical images of women
found in pre-2001 films: the all-American carer and the emasculating rebel whereas
21 and a Wake-Up depicts the various historical roles of American nurses while
simultaneously subverting the traditional gender norms, with the female characters
claiming the mantra of hero.

Gender Constructs
Scientific studies have found that characteristics typically assigned to men
form part of an overall characteristic of instrumentality: acting upon the world and
getting things done. 86 These include the traits of adventurousness, ambition,

85

This chapter does not address 1968 Tunnel Rats because it only features a Vietnamese woman, and
this chapter focuses on the depictions of American women.
86
John Archer and Barbara Lloyd, Sex and Gender (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002),
22.

35

confidence, courage, independence and rationality.87 Conversely, scholars argue

traits assigned to women form part of an overall characteristic of expressiveness,
expressing emotions and caring for others. 88 Such traits include affection,
appreciation, charm, complaining, gentleness, prudishness and weakness.89 Jennifer
Harding states that Michel Foucaults explanation of gender construction, published
in 1981, led to calls for the overthrow of the category of sex and its regulatory
effects.90 Moreover, Harding argues that society (wrongly) categorises men and
women by attributes or traits considered feminine or masculine.91
R.W. Connell argues, Gender is a way in which social practice is ordered.92
This approach suggests gender norms are malleable to changing societies. Moreover,
variable gender norms have led to changes in relationships between males and
females, as their traditional role expectations have too changed. Judith Butler
pioneered the discussion about the construction of gender and argues that gender is
manufactured through performing norms that cultural and societal pressures impart.93
She writes that these norms establish what will not be intelligibly human, what will
and will not be considered to be real, they establish the ontological field in which
bodies may be given legitimate expression.94 Harding simplifies this to state:
gender identity is not an attribute of an individual, but an act which must be
repeatedly performed.95 She also concurs with Butler and Connell that gender

87

John Williams and Susan Bennett, "The Definition of Sex Stereotypes Via the Adjective Check
List," Sex Roles 1, no. 4 (1975), as cited in Archer and Lloyd, Sex and Gender, 21.
88
Ibid., 22.
89
Williams and Bennett, "The Definition of Sex Stereotypes Via the Adjective Check List," as cited in
Ibid., 21.
90
Jennifer Harding, Sex Acts: Practices of Femininity and Masculinity (London: Sage Publications,
1998), 47.
91
Ibid., 44.
92
R.W. Connell, Masculinities, second ed. (Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, 2005), 71.
93
Judith Butler, Gender Trouble Tenth Anniversary, second ed. (Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 1999).
xiv
94
Ibid., xxiii.
95
Harding, Sex Acts: Practices of Femininity and Masculinity, 2.

36

constructs are entrenched in culture.96 Such scholars argue that constructs of gender
evolve as culture and society change. This leads to the argument that the experiences
of women during the Vietnam War and depictions of the women over time have been
varied due to changing in cultural and societal ideas about gender norms over time
periods. Working off this premise, as well as the traditional gender constructs outlined
above, this chapter will now examine some of those changing depictions of American
women in Vietnam War films.

Pre-2001 film depictions: All-American vs. Rebel

Throughout the duration of the Vietnam War, American society was in a
constant state of evolution, with the rise of the Civil Rights, Womens Liberation and
Anti-War movements. These changing times were mimicked in pop culture. Andi
Zeisler argues that the 1970s marked a shift in the depiction of women in pop culture,
as white women in films, television and the limelight since then have become more
varied and not just a symbol of the ideal housewife.97 Vietnam War films made pre2001 reflected these changing times by depicting home front women in one of two
ways: either as supportive, caring, all-American girls, or unsupportive emasculating
rebel women.
The films Coming Home and Born on the Fourth of July focus on women who
care for disabled soldiers. Coming Home shows a female embrace her role as carer
while the woman in Born on the Fourth of July rejects the role of caring for her
injured son. Coming Home is also provocative because it contains a scene where the
disabled veteran performs cunnilingus on the female lead and she reaches orgasm.

96
97

Ibid., 44.
Andi Zeisler, Feminism and Pop Culture (Berkeley, California: Seal Press, 2008), 12-14.

37

Sonya Michel argues that the films openness to discussing sex was an example of the
sexual liberation and open discussion of feminist values of the 1970s. In contrast,
Born on the Fourth of July focuses on the disabled soldier re-establishing his
masculinity after his mother refuses to care for him. Michel argues this, too, is due to
the gender norms of the time. She writes, The film suggests that in the
remasculinized culture of the 1980s, opposition to the war has found an acceptable
niche, but women are once again viewed as threatening.98 Michel argues these
conflicting images of women and femininity suggest that it is difficult to maintain
such a delicate gender balance in modern American culture.99
Other films made throughout the pre-millennial era also show one of the two
abovementioned images of women on the home front. Films such as The Promise of
Love (1980), Purple Hearts (1984) and The Indian Runner (1991) embrace the first
image of a feminine all-American woman. These women are supportive of
American soldiers who are on their respective love interests.100 Devine argues that
these films create a happy ending to film[s] set in a place that had no such happy
endings and the return of romanticism and optimism is reflective of the overall
societal healing process of the 1980s.101 In contrast, films that portray unsupportive
and socially rebellious women include Welcome Home (1989), Soldier Boy (1972)
and The Deer Hunter (1978). These films focus on the unfaithfulness of their female
characters, and POW/MIA films argue American women were problematic to
American soldiers because they had forgotten their place American women [had]

98

Michel, "Danger on the Home Front: Motherhood, Sexuality and Disabled Veterans in American
Postwar Films," 126.
99
Ibid., 128.
100
Devine, Vietnam at 24 Frames a Second 206, 22, 348-50.
101
Ibid., 224.

38

ceased to be of any help to American soldiers. American women no longer serve their
men without complaint.102
The television series China Beach (1988-1991) is also noteworthy because it
focuses on caring, all-American female medical officers in an evacuation hospital.
Although the program may show the war through a female lens, it has been argued
that the women depicted are merely just witnesses to the war. They are tools that
affirm male soldiers masculinity and status as heroes. Vartian argues that China
Beach contributes:
to a larger attempt to recoup or reconstruct the meaning of heroism and
hence offers its audience a referent in the real discourse of the U.S.
Vietnam WarA primary goal of China Beach is to construct the
Vietnam vet as hero in a traditional sense, to attempt to imbue this war
with a purpose that history in fact denies it.103
This depiction of womens relationships to Vietnam veterans can be attributed
to the influence of the 1980s. First, it continues on from the key theme of the
restoration of veterans hero status. Secondly, reconfiguring the female roles from an
emasculating influence continues on from other films of the period. Films such as
Coming Home embraced female sexual liberation while simultaneously allowing the
female characters to comprise the stereotypical feminine traits of caring and nurturing
for men thus moving away from the emasculating stereotype. China Beach also
includes storylines that often pit the women against each other during quests for male
attention, which counters the traditional trope of male camaraderie.104 Overall, while
China Beach broke ground by presenting the first on screen portrayal of female nurses

102

Sutton and Winn, "'Do We Get to Win This Time?': POW/MIA Rescue Films and the American
Monomyth," 28.
103
Vartian, "Women Next Door to War: China Beach," 190.
104
Such film examples include The Boys in Company C (1978), Platoon and Full Metal Jacket.

39

in lead roles, it was still an attempt to restore the image of a masculine male American
war hero; it was a new spin on a popular message.
In summary, pre-millennial films limit themselves to showing one of two
perceived images of women: the all-American girl restoring the veterans heroism,
or the rebel trying to emasculate him. In doing so, these films are about the male
soldiers masculinity only, neglecting the experiences of women or defining them in
relation to men. As such, the Vietnam War film genre was limited in its depiction of
gender.

Love and Honor: Embracing Duelling Images

Love and Honor showcases varying female characterisations through the two
female leads, Jane and Candace. Jane is initially a woman who wants the white picket
fence lifestyle, but, comes to realise it is not what she desires. In contrast, Candace is
initially an independent anti-war protester, but evolves to become a pro-soldier lucky
charm girl. By the conclusion of the film the two female leads characterisations
mimic the two images of women in pre-2001 films: Jane is likened to the
unsupportive and rebellious woman, and Candace represents the supportive and
feminine all-American image who affirms the mens masculinity.
Janes character reflects the shift of the majority of American women on the
home front attitudes during the wartime era. Jane was initially supportive of the war
and would often send care packages to Dalton and Mickey. Her break-up letter to
Dalton triggers his return home to win her back at the start of the film. Dalton returns
to find Jane now goes by the name Juniper and is a hippy anti-war protester who
partakes in both alcohol and recreational drug use. The two become engaged but
ultimately break up near the conclusion of the film. Even when they break up, though,

40

Jane is remorseful, thus breaking from the earlier films portrayal of unsupportive
women being inherently bad.
There are two key scenes that showcase Janes evolution. The first is halfway
through the film when Jane and Dalton go to a nightclub to celebrate their
engagement. Jane and her friends pressure normally straight-laced Dalton to smoke
weed. Soon after this Dalton sees Jane kissing her housemate and fellow anti-war
protester, Topher, which leads to Dalton initiating a fight with Topher. Dalton throws
Topher onto the ground, saying, Nobody messes with my girl. You hear me?
Nobody! Topher responds, Shes a human being, man, nobody owns her.105 The
scene concludes with Jane asking Dalton to leave and to stop calling her Jane, as she
is now Juniper. Tophers quote highlights one of the major points reflecting the
Womens Liberation Movement goals: a man acknowledging that women are not
property. This battle over womens liberation continues throughout the film, with the
victor ultimately being Topher and his progressive views.
The other scene that showcases Janes evolution occurs when she and Dalton
end their relationship. The dialogue goes as follow:
Dalton: You know whats funny? Ive got this picture in my head. Of
you, me, a house, kids, having our folks over for Sunday barbeques.
But thats not the picture in your head anymore, is it Juniper?
Jane: cries
Dalton: What?
Jane: You called me Juniper.
Dalton: Well, thats who you are now, isnt it?106

105
106

Love and Honor.

Ibid.

41

This scene epitomises Janes transformation from a previously traditional woman to a

liberated one, as well as Daltons acceptance of Janes ability to make decisions and
speak for herself.
This transformation links to historical sources that show that many female
anti-war protesters later joined the Womens Liberation Movement. Deirdre English
was first introduced to the war by witnessing protests and believed the war in
Vietnam made people start to question everything. Once you ask whether a war is
legitimate, you start to question the way all decisions are being made.107 Vivian
Rothstein was also a protester who felt that there was a strong connection between
being a woman and the anti-war movement. Moreover she states that Vietnamese
women encouraged American women to join the anti-war movement, as she believed
American women in general would understand why the war was so bad because they
were mothers and sisters and wives. Rothstein found protesting empowering because
she had never thought about women being a powerful constituency on their own with
special talents and sensitivities.108
Candaces plotline contrasts with Janes. Candace is independent, strongwilled and virtuous. She also frequently expresses her anti-war position. During
several interactions with Mickey, the audience learns that she does not drink or do
drugs and wanted to join the Peace Corps at age fourteen. Through the course of the
film Candace becomes nurturing towards Mickey after he tells her stories about
Vietnam. This nurturing culminates in Candace taking Mickey to a lake to show him
someplace peaceful, someplace beautiful to offset the horrors of Nam.109 The film
concludes with Candace calling herself Mickeys lucky charm girl as a token of her

107

Christian G. Appy, Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides (New York: Viking
Penguin, 2003), 31.
108
Ibid., 275.
109
Love and Honor.

42

support for his return to the war. This concludes Candaces transformation from antiwar to pro-soldier, while simultaneously mirroring the image of the supportive
American woman in pre-2001 films. Candaces characterisation most closely imitates
the film The Indian Runner, which shows an anti-war protester falling in love with a
soldier despite her conviction.110 Finally, Candaces portrayal shows how the love of
a woman can turn a man into a hero. This is seen by Mickeys transformation from a
womaniser who volunteered for the radio position, to a committed man who walks
point. Mickey declares to Candace in the latter stages of the film:
Im not like you. I never wanted to save the world when I was
fourteen. I have never been committed to a damn thing in my whole
life. Not school, not the war, nothing until now I love you for you,
not for any cause.111
In contrast, Jane influences Daltons decision to desert the war. Dalton
acknowledges this when he states, over there without Jane I am dead.112 In a pivotal
scene when Dalton and Mickey fight over the idea of deserting, Mickey states: Jesus,
I mean dont you think I know what youre feeling? You know how badly I want to
run off with Candace. Id be happy as hell to go to some damn farm in Canada, but
Im not You made a commitment, not to winning the war, but to our squad.113
This scene highlights the contrast in the two protagonists. Mickey is willing to risk his
life and his relationship with Candace to fight in a war he does not believe in for the
sake of duty and friendship; Dalton is deserting because he feels without the
motivating goal of returning home to Jane he is unable to survive in Vietnam. This
use of female characters thus continues the pre-millennial trope that depicted some

110

Devine, Vietnam at 24 Frames a Second 224.

Love and Honor.
112
Ibid.
113
Ibid.
111

43

women as denigrating the heroic image of the American soldier, as because of an

American woman Dalton is not courageous enough to return to war.
Love and Honor highlights both of the previous eras images of women,
presenting a complex portrayal of women which shows both the positive and negative
influences American women had on soldiers and their heroic image. The film is
attempting to strike the gender balance that Michel argued in 1992 was a struggle for
Vietnam War films. Even so, the film still fits the mould of pre-2001 films by
showing the war solely through the eyes of men.

21 and A Wake-Up to female experiences during the War.

21 and a Wake-Up focuses predominantly on the experiences of American
female medical staff during the war. The film portrays nurses Caitlin Murphy, Jenny
Valentine and Skylar Paige all as strong-willed, resilient, sexual and compassionate.
These various traits can be attributed to contemporary shifts in gender constructs,
while the actual events and experiences of the women in the film are an homage to the
real life experiences of Vietnam nurses.
The films protagonist is Caitlin, and she embodies a balance between the two
historic images of female soldiers: the strong independent woman and the feminine
carer. Caitlins complex character moves beyond what Vuic describes as the historic
stereotypes of military women as aggressive, lesbian and unfeminine.114 Caitlins
depiction plays up some of this imagery, as she is aggressive throughout the film.
Some examples include when she breaks the window of Major Thorns office door in
response to the death of a colleague, and when a doctor states the last time I tried to

114

Kara Dixon Vuic, "'I'm Afraid We're Going to Have to Just Change Our Ways': Marriage,
Motherhood, and Pregnancy in the Army Nurse Corps During the Vietnam War," Signs 32, no. 4
(2007): 1019.

44

take Captain Murphy somewhere she didnt want to go, she kicked me so hard in the
nuts.115 Furthermore, Caitlin is a rule breaker. During the film she is on lock-down
twice; the first time she holds a party in her room, and the second time she sneaks out.
Many nurses did engage in such activities as a form of coping mechanism. Carol
Lynn Mithers explains that women drank, smoked, partied hard and sometimes had
affairs that just brought more grief Some became cynical, some became bitter;
manylearned to stop feeling anything at all.116 These coping mechanisms appear
throughout 21 and a Wake-Up, as every time the characters have bad days they either
drink or party. Skylar even tells Jenny: there is nothing a little alcohol cant fix.117
Caitlin contradicts traditional constructs of femininity in various ways. First,
she takes control in various dangerous situations, despite being in the presence of
men. The key scene where this occurs is when Caitlin and war reporter, Chris
Cameron, are crossing the border between Vietnam and Cambodia. After Chriss
inept language skills lead to guns being pointed at them, Caitlin says, From now on
newshound, Ill do the talking its dangerous enough without bullets for
beginners if you stop to get directions, which being a guy you wont until we are
hopelessly lost, at least wake me up so I am not shot in my sleep.118
Caitlin also challenges historical constructs about female sexuality. After
Caitlin has coitus with Chris, she says: Im here for sex, nothing more,119 thus
implying that women can want just to have sex rather than a relationship. During the
war some nurses did choose to embrace the sexual liberation of the time. However,
unlike in 21 and a Wake-Up, most women found it hard to execute these forms of

115

21 and a Wake-Up.
Carol Lynn Mithers, "Missing in Action: Women Warriors in Vietnam," Cultural Critique, no. 3
(1986): 80-81.
117
21 and a Wake-Up.
118
Ibid.
119
Ibid.
116

45

relationships because of the armys restrictions. Vuic argues that many nurses felt
there were conflicting ideas between army policy and soldier expectations for nurses.
She writes, Ironically, while some army officers seem to expect sexual favours from
the nurses, the army acted as moral guardian for women.120 This guardianship led to
fences being built around the nurses hootches to crack down on the loose morals of
the nurse.121 Nurse Mary Reynolds Powell argues these crackdowns were proof of a
double standard that dictated military men could have liaisons whenever and
wherever they wanted, but military women, particularly nurses could not.122 Caitlin
and the other female characters contradict this double-standard, instead showing the
women controlling, and most importantly not being judged, in their sexual
relationships. This is shown throughout the film, with scenes set in a bar often
depicting the female characters encouraging one another to engage in one-night
stands.
Moreover Caitlins depiction appropriates the hero role previously reserved
for males, particularly in the scene discussed in chapter one when Caitlin risks her life
to save a Vietnamese boy. The film also uses the secondary male characters to
emphasise Caitlins hero status. First, Chris is depicted as Caitlins sidekick in their
mission to save Dr. Durys child in Cambodia. Second, Caitlins interactions with
various doctors suggest that her decision-making skills are superior to the males.
Caitlin objects to a sexist doctor performing surgery on one of her friends, and she is
vindicated when her friend dies because of the doctors incompetence. She
additionally stands up against a call made by her Colonel, saving the lives of two
soldiers. These examples suggest that the male characters highlight Caitlins heroic

120

Vuic, Officer, Nurse, Woman: The Army Nurse Corps in the Vietnam War, 149.
Ibid. It needs to be noted that at times the army erected such fences as a way to protect the women
from assault. Ibid., 144.
122
Ibid., 149.
121

46

nature. Where China Beach depicts women as witnesses to the war, 21 and a WakeUp sees Caitlin, and the supporting female cast, as active participants. Overall the
differences between 21 and a Wake-Up and China Beach reflect their respective time
periods. China Beach was made when the trend was to encourage the renewal of the
image of heroic American male soldier, whereas 21 and a Wake-Up was made in a
time period where films are beginning to celebrate servicewomen and the modern
discourse that women can perform the same jobs as men.
Interestingly, Caitlins hero role is grounded in feminine constructs as well:
Caitlins nurturing is seen through her interactions with the Vietnamese community
and her bedside vigil over her wounded friend. These characteristics reflect the other
of the perceived images of female nurses: the feminine carer. Female nurses were
anticipated to be continuing to perform the gendered roles of wives and mothers that
they had long been expected to assume.123 Vuic notes that many female nurses who
served embraced these characteristics. Some nurses argue that it was their femininity
that made them better at their jobs. Jenny Rivera says, I think sometimes a womans
touch really came to the aid of a lot of these severely wounded GIs.124 Joan
Waradzyn Thomas concurs, stating that she felt fortunate to be a woman who could
be sympathetic and caring, and yet do the job at the same time.125 Vuic argues that
the nurses reflections of femininity made the soldiers act like traditional gentlemen,
and this in turn helped to stymie the overwhelming masculine nature of the army.126
21 and a Wake-Up therefore achieves what films of the 1980s failed to do: to show
women embrace both the images of strong and nurturing.

123

"'I'm Afraid We're Going to Have to Just Change Our Ways': Marriage, Motherhood, and Pregnancy
in the Army Nurse Corps During the Vietnam War," 1019.
124
Officer, Nurse, Woman: The Army Nurse Corps in the Vietnam War, 150.
125
Ibid., 151.
126
Ibid.

47

Other characters also subvert traditional ideas of femininity. Skylar Paige

appears as the blonde bombshell of the group. She exhibits the nurturing ideal through
her interactions with wounded soldiers, the families of the injured and with her fellow
servicewomen. In one key scene Skylar explains that she decided to become a nurse
because of her caring demeanour: I couldnt keep people from dyin Im not a
doctor, not smart like Jenny here, she could be a doctor. What I can do is help make
people feel a little bit better if they are going to get well, and make them feel a little
bit better if theyre not.127 The film also shows Skylar as being on hand to comfort
her friends when they have a bad day through encouragement and moral support.
Though Skylar has these feminine qualities, she is additionally depicted as
being promiscuous. In one scene she goes from discussing the loss of a past lover to
inviting a corporal to her bedroom within three lines of dialogue, even using alcohol
to entice the soldier into bed. This scene is important for two reasons. First, it reverses
the traditional gendered image of a male using alcohol to seduce women. Second, it
praises the woman taking charge. Skylar does not come across as a harlot or femme
fatale, as her actions would have been interpreted during the war era. Instead, this
contemporary depiction celebrates a woman taking charge in sexual relationships.
Jenny Valentine is another female character who embraces the duelling
images of the female nurse. In a key scene she states, We arrive with the stars in our
eyes, Paige, save the world and meet Captain Right. Turns out Captain Right just
wants a blow job and the world dont want to be saved.128 This touches on one of the
key strategies that the army embraced in recruitment. Campaigns included such
slogans as Doctors, patients and colleagues will be your friends, new ones made in
the Army Nurse Corps will be some of the finest youll ever have and Your Army

127
128

21 and a Wake-Up.
Ibid.

48

friends will last a lifetime. Dont be surprised if a diamond crops up on your left
hand!129 Jennys quote also remarks on the conditions that nurses faced in Vietnam.
Many female nurses state that they experienced lots of attention, and this led women
to either embrace their power to choose whomever they want, or to women being
taken advantage of.130 Jenny falls into the former category, as she is not seen to have
any male companion. Jennys storyline mostly revolves around her quest to become a
doctor, a goal that represents womens changing roles of the time. Jennys portrayal
highlights how the Vietnam War period was certainly a time of change, as she went to
the war with traditional gender expectations but left with more progressive ideas akin
to womens liberation.
21 and a Wake-up does overlook one critical experience that many nurses
faced: sexual harassment. Mary Banigan found that there were two different levels of
harassment, and that most men never faced repercussions. She remembers, Sexual
harassment could be subtle with something as simple as guys stealing our
underwear or pressuring us for date/sex... [Other] such pressure resulted in overt
sexual and/or physical assault.131 There are, however, allusions to sexual harassment
through Jennys statement about Captain Right wanting a blow-job. It is unclear why
21 and a Wake-ups writer Christ McIntyre chose not to incorporate a sexual
harassment plotline. However, the exclusion could be explained by the limiting nature
of films; it is understandable that not every experience of female nurses can be
included in one film. The fact that the writer was a male and based the script on his
own interactions with women during the Vietnam War could also contribute to this.

129

U.S. Department of the Army, What Are You Doing Tomorrow? Washington, DC: Government
Printing Office, 1968, as cited in Vuic, "'I'm Afraid We're Going to Have to Just Change Our Ways':
Marriage, Motherhood, and Pregnancy in the Army Nurse Corps During the Vietnam War," 1001.
130
Officer, Nurse, Woman: The Army Nurse Corps in the Vietnam War.141.
131
Ibid., 144.

49

Conclusion
This chapter has highlighted how two post-2001 films have related women
characters both to previous productions and historical sources. Love and Honor
continues the pre-2001 tradition of exploring the ability of American women either to
create or deconstruct the image of heroic American soldiers. The film contrasts the
two iconic cinematic images of the supportive and unsupportive American woman. 21
and a Wake-Up incorporates the two contrasting historical depictions of American
nurses, the aggressive and the caring, within all female characters. The film also
reverses the pre-millennial trend of using women to resurrect the image of the heroic
American serviceman. These films suggest that the post-2001 era is producing
Vietnam War films with more nuanced and complex female, and arguably male,
characters. However, while 21 and a Wake-up in particular represents a different type
of female-led Vietnam War film, only time will tell if it is the start of a new trope.

50

Chapter Three
More than Just a Token:
Representations of African-Americans and Native Americans

The Vietnam War was not just a war for White American soldiers, as many
films would suggest. The war also included a large presence of African-American and
Native American soldiers, yet films in both the pre and post-2001 eras rarely linger on
the experiences of minority soldiers. Previous war films merely include stereotyped
soldiers of various non-Caucasian ethnicities as part of the platoon to show that even
the most downtrodden, poverty-stricken, and displaced, stood at arms together.132
This chapter investigates how the three contemporary films represent minority
soldiers and argues that post-2001 films reflect contemporary mythology of post-race
theory through positive, equal depictions of ethnic minority soldiers. This counters the
dominant historical narrative of minorities experiences in Vietnam.`

Post-Race Theory:
In the generations since the Civil Rights Movement, there has been an
increasing belief that the US has become a society where race is no longer important,
or matters significantly less than in the past. This mythology, whilst present in the
early 2000s, became a commonplace ideal in the wake of Barack Obamas election as
president of the US in 2008. This idea is now called post-race theory.133 The three

132

Richard Allen and Tom Holm, "Fighting the White Man's Wars (on the Silver Screen): A Look at
the Images of Native American Servicemen in Film," courtesy of author Tom Holm, (2015), 1.
133
Lydia Lum, "The Obama Era: A Post-Racial Society? Despite the Election of President Barack
Obama, Many Longtime Scholars Whose Work Intertwines with Race Disagree That the Country Has
Reached a Post-Racial Period," Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 5 February 2009, 14.

51

dominant interpretations of post-race theory are that the US should become a postracial society, that the US is already one, and that the ideal is just a myth. Paul Gilroy,
a predominant scholar of the first school, believes society should look beyond the
colour line. He argues: that action against racial hierarchies can proceed more
effectively when it has been purged of any lingering respect for the idea of race.134
Therefore the demise of race is what the US should strive for to achieve equality.135
John McWhorter argues that America is already a post-racial society. He
states: Its smack down to think America is still all about racism Racism is not
Black peoples main problem anymore. To say that is like saying the earth is flat.136
Additional support for this school comes from various polls that indicate that a
majority of citizens White citizens in particular believe the US is a post-racial
society.137
Racial minorities tend to support the third school: post-race is a myth, as seen
most dramatically by the recent spate of police shootings, the racist driven Charleston
church massacre and the establishment of the #BlackLivesMatter campaign. One poll
shows that nine out of ten African-Americans say that minority groups regularly
receive unequal treatment.138 However, films made post-2001 reflect the mythology
of a post-racial society, even though racial inequality is present both today and in the
Vietnam War period.

134

Paul Gilroy, Against Race: Imagining Political Culture Beyond the Colour Line (Cambridge:
Harvard Universtiy Press, 2001), 13.
135
Joshua Paul further supports this. He adds that a post-racial society should occur because race is an
invalid construct that only leads to discrimination. See Joshua Paul, "Post-Racial Futures: Imagining
Post-Racialist Anti-Racism," Ethnic and Racial Studies 37, no. 4 (2014): 704.
136
Lum, "The Obama Era: A Post-Racial Society? Despite the Election of President Barack Obama,
Many Longtime Scholars Whose Work Intertwines with Race Disagree That the Country Has Reached
a Post-Racial Period."
137
This includes a poll conducted in 2010 that found 57% of 1,649 White Americans believe that there
is too much attention being given to race, whereas 47.2% of 825 African-Americans believe that there
is either not enough or the right amount of attention. See Blair-Rockefeller Poll: Political Survey of
Southern and Non-Southern Residents, 2010, conducted by Knowledge Networks.
http://blairrockefellerpoll.uark.edu/6107.php accessed 1 August 2015.
138
Jonathan Capehart, "The Fallacy of a 'Post-Racial' Society," The Washington Post, 29 December
2014.

52

Wheres the Love and Honor?

Love and Honor features three African-American characters. The first is
Franklin, who is a soldier in the same platoon as the protagonists and appears only
briefly at the films start and end. The second is anti-war protester and gentle giant
Isaac, who lives in the protest house with Jane and Candace. Throughout the film
Isaac establishes friendships with both Dalton and Mickey. When he receives his draft
notice, he deserts with Dalton. The last Black character is Ray, who is a high-up
member of an anti-war organisation. The representations of these Black men, their
relationships with the White characters, and the downplaying of institutional racism in
regards to military tasks and the draft project the contemporary myth that the US is a
post-racial society onto the Vietnam War era.
The key way that Love and Honor portrays this myth is by showing mixedrace friendships where race is not mentioned, and by excluding racial tension.
Franklins character is present in several key early scenes where male bonding occurs.
The first is in Vietnam, where Mickey is telling the story of one of his sexual
conquests. When Franklin asks why that does not happen to him, the other men mock
him in jest. The film further showcases the positive group dynamic when Franklin,
Mickey and Latino character Sanchez plan to partake in their R&R together. Although
these scenes are insignificant to the bigger plot, they are important because historians
argue that interracial friendships were exceptions to the norm.
Westheider argues that Black soldiers were fighting both the North
Vietnamese and Whites during the war. He details many race riots including one at
Camp Lejeune on 20 July 1969, coincidently a day that occurs in Love and Honor.
During the riot twelve men were injured, three white soldiers were hospitalised and
one died. Westheider notes that forty-four men were arrested and only twenty were

53

charged. These twenty were either African-American or Puerto Rican. Westheider

argues that there were several reasons why these race riots broke out: significant
segregation between Blacks and Whites in most defense installations, and an
increase in solidarity and racial pride that led to an overall increase in Black culture.
This often became a vehicle for venting their hatred and frustration with white
society.139
Arguably the largest contributing factor was the individual and institutional
racism that many African-American soldiers faced in Vietnam. Individual racism took
many forms, from racial slurs to bar fights and full-blown riots.140 Institutional racism
constituted policies or practices which appear to be neutral in their effect on minority
individuals or groups but which have the effect of disproportionately impacting upon
them in harmful or negative ways.141 This racism included culturally biased testing,
the slower awarding of promotions and disproportionately assigning AfricanAmericans and other minority groups to dangerous jobs such as point-man.142
Oral testimonies of African-American soldiers highlight the many forms
racism took. Private First Class Reginald Malik Edwards experienced racism in
training camps and explains:
You didnt have white friends. White people was the aliens to me
You expected them to treat you bad. But somehow in the Marine Corps
you hoping thats gonna change. Of course I found out this was not

139

Westheider, Fighting on Two Fronts: African Americans and the Vietnam War, 95.
Ibid., 100-01.
141
Office of the Deputy Assistant of Defense for Equal Opportunity and Safety Policy, "Task Force on
the Administration of Military Justice in the Armed Forces," ed. Department of Defence (Washington
D.C: Government Printing Office, 1972), 19, as cited in Westheider, Fighting on Two Fronts: African
Americans and the Vietnam War, 37.
142
Fighting on Two Fronts: African Americans and the Vietnam War, 37-44; Woodman, "Represented
in the Margins: Images of African American Soldiers in Vietnam War Combat Films," 38, 41, 56.
140

54

true Then we had a Southern from Arkansas that liked to call you
chocolate bunny and Brillo head. That kind of shit.143
Black soldiers also experienced racism in the field, as recalled by Radarman Second
Class Dwyte A. Brown:
The only serious fighting at Marketime was between black guys and
white guys. There would be this power struggle over the field And
we could go into barracks, and there would be nothing but Confederate
flags all over the place. And one time they burned a cross. And like
some of the brothers was getting beat up. And we were more or less
head hunting too. Payback.144
African-Americans also experienced racism when they were home. An oral testimony
by Specialist 4 Richard J. Ford III, who was wounded during the war, recounts: You
know they decorated me in Vietnam the whites did (but) back in the states the
same officers that pat me on the back wouldnt even speak to me. They wanted that
salute, that attention I didnt get the respect that I thought I was gonna get.145
However, not all African-American soldiers experienced racism. First
Lieutenant Archie Joe Biggers was one such soldier. He recalls events where other
African-Americans excluded him. He says:
The thing that hurt me more than anything in the world was when I
came back to the states and black people considered me as part of the
establishment. Because I am an officer and most of the blacks
wouldnt associate with me One day I wore my uniform over to
Howard University in Washington to help recruit officer candidates

143

Reginald Edwards, "Private First Class Reginald "Malik" Edwards," in Bloods: An Oral History of
the Vietnam War by Black Veterans, ed. Wallace Terry (New York: Random House, 1985), 4-5.
144
Dwyte A. Brown, "Radarman Second Class Dwyte A. Brown," in Ibid., 253.
145
Richard J. Ford III, "Specialist Richard J. Ford III," in Ibid., 31-32.

55

I thought I would feel at home. The guys poked fun at me calling me

Uncle Sams flunky.146
Biggers also argues that not all problems confronting African-American soldiers were
race driven. He states: Our biggest problem as a race is a tendency to say that the
only reason something didnt go the way it was programmed to go is because we are
black And when we dont measure up to the expectations are the first thing we
want to holler is racial discrimination.147 All of these accounts show that AfricanAmericans experienced complex hardships and various forms of discrimination
during the war, something that is never shown or acknowledged in Love and Honor.
Instead it tells a particular story that caters to the contemporary myth of a post-racial
society.
The friendships and interactions between Black and White characters extend
the myth of a post-racial society. The most important interracial friendships are those
of Isaac with Mickey and Dalton. Isaac and Mickeys relationship revolves around
one main interaction. Mickey comes to Isaacs aid when police attack him, for a nonracial reason, after an anti-war protest turns violent. Isaac then thanks Mickey for
what he did by embracing him in a bear hug. Throughout the film there are several
bonding scenes between Isaac and Dalton as well. One scene shows Isaac checking up
on Dalton after his disastrous engagement party. In this pivotal scene Isaac arrives at
Daltons hotel with a bottle of whiskey and the two discuss Isaacs anti-violent nature,
Daltons lie about deserting and finally the draft. The interaction is as follows
Dalton: I just dont see you playing football, hurting people.
Isaac: Yeah well, I dont see you deserting either. Its cool man, I
wasnt really buying Wrights story anyway. But you gotta give it to

146

Archie Biggers, "First Lieutenant Archie 'Joe' Briggers," in Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam
War by Black Veterans, ed. Wallace Terry (New York: Random House, 1984), 113.
147
Ibid., 107-08.

56

him, though. He sure can talk some shit.

Dalton: Yeah, he sure can.
Isaac: But tell me, be real, you can do it all over again; knowing what
its like, would you still go?
Dalton: I sure as hell wouldnt volunteer.
Isaac: What if they sent you the letter?
Dalton: Nah, I thought you were in school.
Isaac: shakes head
Dalton: Ah, shit, Isaac.
During another scene, Isaac stops Dalton from starting a fight, stating it aint gonna
change anything, brother.148 Finally, Isaac and Dalton desert the war together at the
end of the film. These scenes establish that Isaac is morally opposed to violence, as
well as characterise him as the glue that holds many characters together.
The film portrays African-American protester Ray in a different light. Ray still
has a strong relationship with a White guy (Peter) and is still the glue that holds the
anti-war movement together; however, unlike Isaac, he accepts violence as a
necessary protest method. Significantly, during Rays monologue at the anti-war
protest, he never links the war to racism. Aaron Fountain Jr. argues that ethnic
minority groups such as African-Americans, Chicanos and Asian-Americans would
often include domestic racial issues in their anti-war protests.149 Malcolm X
summarised many Black protesters reasoning in the iconic quote: Here lies a YM
[Yellow Man], killed by a BM [Black Man], fighting for the WM [White Man], who
killed all the RM [Red Men].150 Daniel Lucks notes that African-Americans,

148

Love and Honor.

Aaron G Fountain Jr., "The War in the Schools," California History 92, no. 2 (2015): 30.
150
Malcolm X, quoted in Noah Riseman, "Indigenous Soldiers: Native American and Aboriginal
Australian Service in Vietnam," in New Perceptions of the Vietnam War: Essays on the War, the South
149

57

especially from the South, would relate oppression in the South to U.S oppression in
Vietnam.151 Moreover, Private First Class Edwards explains that African-American
veterans would often return to join the Black Panthers. He writes:
For me the thought of being killed in the Black Panther Party by the
police and the thought of being killed by Vietnamese was just a
qualitative difference. I left one war and came back and got into
another one. Most of the Panthers then were veterans. We figured if we
had been in Vietnam fighting for our own country, which at that point
wasnt serving us properly, it was only proper that we had to go out
and fight for our own cause.152
Another veteran echoes this when he says: Theyre angry because they fought for the
man and black people are still being messed over.153
African-Americans also protested the war for other reasons, with many
famous Black protesters vocalising their opinions. James Bevel simply argued,
Vietnam is a racist War,154 and Martin Luther King Jr. insisted that the war was
negatively taking focus away from the civil rights movement.155 Muhammad Ali
became an anti-war figurehead through his protest of the draft.156
Love and Honors inclusion of interracial friendships is not a new trope, as
previous films likewise show them. In The Boys in Company C (1978) the AfricanAmerican character Tyrone Washington saves the life of a soldier who overdoses and

Vietnames Experience, the Diaspora and the Continuing Impact, ed. Nathalie Huynh Chau Nguyen
(North Carolina: McFarlane & Company, Inc., 2015), 203.
151
Daniel Lucks, Selma to Saigon: The Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War (Kentucky:
University Press of Kentucky 2014), 83.
152
Edwards, "Private First Class Reginald "Malik" Edwards," 11.
153
Bobby Seale, quoted in Thomas A. Jackson, The Negro in Vietnam, New York Times, 29 April
1968, 16, as cited in Lucks, Selma to Saigon: The Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War, 136.
154
Douglas Robinson, Doctor King to Play Leading Role in War Protest Here, New York Times, 17
March 1967, 4, as cited in ibid., 192.
155
Ibid., 192-93.
156
Mitchell K. Hall, "The Vietnam Era Antiwar Movement," OAH Magazine of History 18, no. 5
(2004): 14.

58

lies about another soldiers brain damage to allow the soldier to return home.
Washington also consoles a troop member after his friend dies by saying, Youre a
man. You can cry any goddamn time you are ready.157 In Apocalypse Now two of the
main African-American characters are compassionate, with the character Clean being
heavily focused on his family and Chief being depicted as a leader who first and
foremost cares about the men on his boat.158 However, earlier films also include
depictions of African-American soldiers as being violent. In the case of Tyrone
Washington, he is often shown to explode in anger when confronting racism.159
Another way Love and Honor perpetuates the post-racial myth is by changing
the racial dynamics behind the role of point-man. Point-men had the responsibility
for clearing a pathway and providing frontal security in addition to guard[ing]
against an enemy ambush, against booby traps, and be[ing] on the lookout for a cache
or bunker complex.160 The point-man was exceedingly dangerous and Love and
Honor uses this danger element to glorify the position by having both protagonists,
who are White, volunteer for the position. The film also establishes that this is a
position for men of great strength and skills. In one scene when Dalton finds a trap,
one platoon member responds: Damn, how does he do it?!161 This portrayal of
point-man contradicts the historical narrative put forth by Westheider and Holm, who
argue that the role was often for racial minorities rather than heroes.
Westheider argues that African-Americans often occupied the position of
point-man as either cannon-fodder or as a way to prove their worth. AfricanAmerican soldiers would sometimes volunteer for point-man because they felt as

157

Woodman, "Represented in the Margins: Images of African American Soldiers in Vietnam War
Combat Films," 44.
158
Ibid., 47-8.
159
Ibid., 44.
160
Larry Trammell and Peter Gyallay-Pap, "'It's What's up Front That Counts': Pointman Uses 'Sixth
Sense' to Save Lives," The Hurricane, February 1969.
161
Love and Honor.

59

though they had to be more intelligent, more motivated, more patriotic, and more
aggressive than white officers to get the same consideration for promotion.162
Furthermore, Westheider claims that this was a manifestation of institutional racism,
for Black soldiers felt a need to become these super-soldiers.163 Holm argues that
Native Americans were often assigned on point for racially driven reasons. First was
the racial stereotype that considered Native Americans to have superior abilities to
scout and to read the land. Second, Holm argues that Native Americans walked point
because Indian lives were expendable and that in many units the point position was
given to a cherry, or new man, because, simply put, it was thought that his life was
not as important as a veterans.164 Thus the point-man position fits two
interpretations of racial discrimination in Vietnam: either driving Black soldiers to
volunteer to prove their worth, or forcing minority soldiers to take the role because
they were expendable.
This notion that non-White soldiers were seen as replaceable is a common
trope in earlier films. In the 1987 film Hamburger Hill the first point-man is AfricanAmerican character McDaniel, who dies while serving in this position towards the
end of his service. This death then leads other characters to chant: It dont mean
nuthin. Not a thing.165 McDaniels replacement is another African-American
soldier, this time one straight from America who, it can be assumed, would have
minimal experience and understanding of Vietnam.166 This representation aligns with

162

Westheider, Fighting on Two Fronts: African Americans and the Vietnam War, 126.
Ibid. An oral history account by Archie Biggers also supports this claim. He describes one AfricanAmerican soldier who would often choose to walk point to prove his worth: Biggers, "First Lieutenant
Archie 'Joe' Briggers," 109.
164
Holm, Strong Hearts, Wounded Souls: Native American Veterans of the Vietnam War, 151.
165
Woodman, "Represented in the Margins: Images of African American Soldiers in Vietnam War
Combat Films," 56.
166
Ibid.
163

60

Westheider and Holms interpretations of history that focus on the institutional racism
of the war.
Love and Honors portrayal is clearly different; however, it can be linked back
to the different eras in which the films were made. In the 1970s one aim of Vietnam
War films was to expose racism experienced by the troops.167 In the twenty-first
century two post-racial elements come together in the portrayal of point-men. First
they change the discussion of the position to bravery, which aligns with the new trope
of empathising with the soldier, as discussed in chapter one. Then the film removes
the racial factors linked to the point-man, reinforcing the myth of a post-racial society.
Though Love and Honor downplays individual and institutional racism in
Vietnam, it does effectively show one important way that African-Americans were
negatively targeted: the draft. Statistically, African-American men were more likely
to receive draft notices than Caucasian men. Draft boards would target the poor, who
were often African-American. Blacks made up 20% of combat troops in Vietnam, yet
they only made up 9.8% of all American military forces in 1968 and 11.1% in
1972.168 Additionally only 1% of all draft boards members were African-American,
with some states having no representation at all.169 Westheider argues that this was
part of the overall institutionalised racism that engulfed the war.170 Furthermore,
African-Americans who sought exemptions from the draft were often unfairly
dismissed or their appeals for conscientious objector status were rejected based on
board members racist beliefs.171 Some reform did occur when there was a switch to a

167

Ibid., 38.
Ibid., 41; Westheider, Fighting on Two Fronts: African Americans and the Vietnam War, 13.
169
Woodman, "Represented in the Margins: Images of African American Soldiers in Vietnam War
Combat Films," 41.
170
Westheider, Fighting on Two Fronts: African Americans and the Vietnam War, 24.
171
Ibid., 24-6.
168

61

lottery based draft system in 1969.172 Even in light of this data, the film downplays
the racial discrimination of the draft when Mickey reminds secondary white character
Peter that he could receive the letter at any time.
This choice to reference the draft is not new, with the 1986 film Platoon
including a scene where Chris, a Caucasian volunteer, discusses the draft with
African-American draftee King. They discuss the disproportionate race drafting,
appointment of African-Americans to the worst positions and class assumptions about
African-Americans.173 Love and Honor does not delve as deeply into the discussion of
the draft; Isaac merely receives the draft notice with no acknowledgement that his
race would have increased the likelihood of him getting the letter. This perpetuates
post-racial mythology by projecting the contemporary belief that racism is no longer
an issue in America onto the Vietnam War era.

1968 Tunnel Rats: Fighting Within not Between

1968 Tunnel Rats has upwards of five African-American characters and
features many of the same tropes as Love and Honor. It emphasises friendship instead
of racism and features White guys as cannon fodder. However, it does not altogether
avoid Black culture to the same extent as Love and Honor. The film does not show
any racial discrimination between the White and Black characters and instead this
film projects the message that the tension within a mixed-race platoon came from
within ethnic groups: White soldiers fighting White soldiers, and Black soldiers
arguing with Black soldiers. Intra-racial tensions among African-American soldiers
was present in Vietnam according to Westheider, who says: There were probably

172

Daniel Bergan, "The Draft Lottery and Attitudes Towards the Vietnam War," The Public Opinion
Quarterly 73, no. 2 (2009): 381.
173
Woodman, "Represented in the Margins: Images of African American Soldiers in Vietnam War
Combat Films," 52.

62

just as many complaints from black enlisted personnel that brother officers and NCOs
showed them no favoritism and were tougher on them than they were on whites.174
This film follows the trope of White soldiers taking on the traditional cannonfodder positions. White character Dan Green walks point and White soldiers Dean
Garraty and Carl Johnson volunteer to go into the tunnels first. This latter role was
another position that was often given to ethnic minorities. Holm relates how one
Native American, who was not the traditional build, was selected to be a tunnel rat
because his commanding officer thought that Indians had been born with remarkably
keen eyesight.175
1968 Tunnel Rats also reinforces the theme of interracial friendship, albeit in a
reversed fashion. The friendship between Caucasian soldier Terence Verano and
African-American Jim Lidford is the predominant one and is the main example of
how 1968 Tunnel Rats differs from Love and Honor. This relationship shows the
White character adapting and learning Black culture, which is different to Love and
Honor because that film shows almost no references to Black culture.176 Lidford
teaches Verano street hustler card tricks and how to smoke a cigarette like him. The
film also uses these characters to point out the different backgrounds that the soldiers
historically had. White guy Verano talks about his time growing up on Lake Michigan
with his family, whereas Private Lidford briefly mentions growing up on the streets of
Chicago. The discussion ends when another African-American character says, None
of that shit matters, where youve been, where youre from right now you are in
Vietnam. What matters is what you do on that field.177 This quote suggests that racial
differences did not matter in Vietnam, and the war became an equaliser. This is

174

Westheider, The African-American Experience in Vietnam: Brothers in Arms, 78.

Holm, Strong Hearts, Wounded Souls: Native American Veterans of the Vietnam War, 150.
176
Westheider states that African-American soldiers would call each other brother as a sign of Black
pride. Westheider, The African-American Experience in Vietnam: Brothers in Arms, 76.
177
1968 Tunnel Rats.
175

63

further suggested by the mixed-racial hootches, which were not commonplace during
the war.178
Many pre-millennial films depict the idea of uniting for survival, such as in
Hamburger Hill. The film closes with three soldiers standing on top of the hill: two
White, one Black. Autobiographical works support this argument about survival.
African-American soldier Robert Sanders says that the war forced unity between
Black and White soldiers on the battlefield, as it was essential to everyones
survival.179
Where 1968 Tunnel Rats differs from previous films is the elimination of the
importance of personal background. Platoon uses the varying racial backgrounds as a
commentary on the inequality of the draft, whereas 1968 Tunnel Rats never delves
into the political reasons behind the different upbringings.180 This variance can be
explained by differing political and cultural climates of the two periods. Platoon was
made when it was the norm to politicise and critique all elements of the war; 1968
Tunnel Rats was released during a period far removed from the war and when the
draft is not an issue. Additionally, 1968 Tunnel Rats mentality that soldiers are
assessed by their actions during battle reflects the post-racial mythology that America
is a society that judges someone on their merits, and not their race.

21 and a Wake-Up, a Black guy and an Indian.

21 and a Wake-Up features one African-American character: Dr. Jim West.
He is a talented and heartfelt surgeon who is superior to the White doctor because he

178

Westheider, The African-American Experience in Vietnam: Brothers in Arms, 78.

Stanley Goff, Robert Sanders, and Clark Smith, Brothers, Black Soldiers in the Nam (Novato, CA;
London: Presido Press, Arms & Armour Press, 1982), 133.
180
In Platoon the protagonist describes the draftees as follows: they come from the end of the line
theyre the bottom of the barrel and they know it. He reasons this was because of the unfairness of
the draft. See Devine, Vietnam at 24 Frames a Second 247.
179

64

keeps every patient alive, while the other doctor is compared to a butcher and is
responsible for the death of a beloved character discussed in chapter two. West, too,
faces no racism throughout the film, and instead admired by all characters. The choice
of having an African-American doctor has been common in Vietnam War films, with
The Green Berets including one, and Platoon featuring an African-American called
Doc as a sign of respect. Devine argues that films included an African-American
doctor to provide a certain self-conscious racial balancing to the Nam equation.181
This casting is problematic, as there are few historical accounts of African-American
doctors in Vietnam.
There is one key difference between 21 and a Wake-Up and other post-2001
and most pre-2001 films: it features a Native American in a position of power. Native
American actor Wes Studi plays Colonel Gleason, and the film also includes the
characters son as a wounded soldier. Gleason Sr. is depicted as a pragmatic leader
who willingly acknowledges Americas defeat. Additionally he is portrayed as
protective. In one scene he orders the medical staff to stop their surgeries to tend to
his wounded son immediately, and when they do not, he raises a gun to them. Caitlin
Murphy in turn raises a gun and talks Gleason down. When his son is in the clear,
Gleason grants Murphy forty-eight hours leave and rescinds orders to have her
detained. This compassion contrasts with Major Thorn, who shows Murphy no
sympathy. Historically speaking, some Native Americans did receive promotions
throughout the war; however they were uncommon. One exception was Leroy
TeCube, who was a platoon leader. He writes, Now I was in a top leadership
position, and the responsibilities were great. Yes, I had reached the top I had been a

181

Ibid., 40-41.

65

team leader, squad leader, and a platoon sergeant and now was a platoon leader.182
Yet even this leadership role was not as high-ranking as Gleasons character.
Gleasons depiction certainly differs from previous depictions of Native
Americans in pre-millennial films. Holm and Richard Allen conducted research on
the depiction of Native American soldiers in numerous war films. They found only a
few combat and veteran-based Vietnam War films feature Native American soldiers.
Films such as Flap (1970) and Powwow Highway (1989) both focus on Native
American veterans and mostly discuss the question of why they served when they
were fighting oppression in their own country. The characters are shown to be
alcoholic, impoverished, angry and suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In
addition, Flap and other veteran-based films often feature the protagonist dying at an
early age.183
In contrast, Native American characters in Vietnam War films typically
projected the image of a super-warrior.184 Holm and Allen identify Vietnam War
films that reinforce this image: Billy Jack (1971) and Rambo, First Blood, Part II
(1985). The Native American characters are portrayed, and praised, for having innate
superior scouting skills. Yet the films ignore the reality of racism that Native
American soldiers faced throughout the war.185 As already established, Native
Americans faced discrimination based on stereotyping and the belief that they were
dispensable. Noah Riseman notes a study of Native American veterans that Found
that forty-three percent reported being singled out as the butt of jokes or as racially
suited for dangerous or distasteful duties (i.e. cleaning outhouses). Almost all Native
American veterans recall being nicknamed chief and some were called blanketass

182

Leroy TeCube, Year in Nam: A Native American Soldier's Story (Lincoln University of Nebraska
Press, 1999), 210.
183
Allen and Holm, Fighting the White Mans War, 11-13.
184
Ibid., 14.
185
Ibid., 14-16.

66

or redskin.186 However, neither the pre-2001 films nor 21 and A Wake-Up

acknowledge discrimination against Native American soldiers. This can be attributed
primarily to the fact that Native Americans situations have never been high on
American political agendas.
Another explanation is the stereotype of Native Americans as a martial race
was supposedly a compliment.187 21 and a Wake-Ups choice to feature a Native
American in such a high-up position is certainly the most unique. Based on the postracial mentality, people should be assessed by their personal attributes, and the film
makes it clear that Colonel Gleason is strong, practical and determined. Such
attributes may have led to promotion of any soldier if there were no racial prejudice.

Conclusion
Through analysing the portrayal of African-American and Native American
characters in both pre and post-2001 Vietnam War films, it is clear that the portrayals
are significantly different. Earlier films do not shy away from displaying the racial
discrimination that Blacks faced during the war.188 However, recent films Love and
Honor, 1968 Tunnel Rats and 21 and a Wake-Up emphasise interracial friendships
and downplay or overlook racial discrimination. Seeing the film as a reflection of our
times, the films sanitised versions of race relations project the current mythology that
racism is no longer a problem onto representations of the Vietnam War. Downplaying
the presence of racism in the past can only extend that myth in the present.

186

Riseman, "Indigenous Soldiers: Native American and Aboriginal Australian Service in Vietnam,"
209.
187
Cynthia H. Enloe, Ethnic Soldiers: State Security in Divided Societies (Athens: The University of
Georgia Press, 1980).
188
Woodman, "Represented in the Margins: Images of African American Soldiers in Vietnam War
Combat Films," 38-60.

67

Conclusion

This thesis has outlined how post-2001 Vietnam War films embrace several
tropes of earlier films, but changed them to encompass ideas from contemporary
society. The first chapter discussed cinematic representations of soldiers and the
assignment of blame for the wars conduct in both pre and post-2001 films. The
chapter explored the ways films from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 2000s depicted
these two key themes. The chapter found the depictions of the pre-2001 era were
related to their respective time periods attitude towards the soldiers and the war.
Post-2001 film depictions follow many of these tropes, but were also influenced by a
mix of positive and negative societal opinions of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Millennial films embrace some tropes from the previous eras by assigning blame for
the conduct of the war on the government and being distinctly anti-war in sentiment.
However, the films are not consistent in soldier depictions, with 1968 Tunnel Rats
showing a range of morally good and bad soldiers, and 21 and a Wake-Up and Love
and Honor focusing primarily on heroic ones.
Chapter two investigated film portrayals of American women in Love and
Honor and 21 and a Wake-Up. The chapter compared these two films to female
portrayals in pre-2001 films and the television series China Beach. This chapter
argued that Love and Honor embraces both images of women shown in pre-2001
depictions: the all-American supportive woman and the emasculating rebel.
Moreover, this dual portrayal was an attempt at showcasing nuance and complexity
among American women. The chapter additionally argued that 21 and a Wake-Up
deviates further from last centurys norms by reversing the hero image from male to
female, and by depicting women with traditionally feminine and masculine traits.

68

Chapter three explored the contemporary depiction of African-American and

Native American soldiers and comparing them to historical sources and older films. It
found that post-2001 films fail to portray the racism that many ethnic soldiers faced
during the war accurately, while pre-millennial films that feature Black characters do
not shy away from addressing it. Modern films showcase interracial friendships and
portray the cannon fodder positions, historically assigned to African-Americans or
Native Americans, as a heroic position for White soldiers. The chapter concluded that
the contemporary films avoid racial issues as a reflection of contemporary post-race
ideology.
These conclusions support wider theories about how cultural and social
ideologies shape historical films representations of the past. Throughout the thesis
there has been evidence that the messages and depictions on film reflect the various
changing cultural and societal feelings towards the Vietnam War. Moreover this
thesis has showed how contemporary films have used the war to reflect modern
thoughts on race, women and war itself. Such conclusions suggest the need for
continuing research into post-2001 Vietnam films, and other wars, especially as the
current political and cultural climate of America becomes increasingly similar to that
of Vietnam War era.

69

Bibliography
Films:
Boll, Uwe. 1968 Tunnel Rats (Canada and Germany: Kinostar, Vivendi
Entertainment, 2008).
Irvin, John. Hamburger Hill (USA: Paramount Pictures, 1987).
McIntyre, Chris. 21 and a Wake-Up (USA: 2009).
Mooney, Chris Love and Honor (USA: IFC Films, 2013).

Other Sources:
Allen, Richard, and Tom Holm. "Fighting the White Man's Wars (on the Silver
Screen): A Look at the Images of Native American Servicemen in Film."
2015. Provided courtesy of Tom Holm.
Appy, Christian G. Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides. New
York: Viking Penguin, 2003.
Archer, John, and Barbara Lloyd. Sex and Gender. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2002.
Badsey, Stephen. "The Depiction of War Reporters in Hollywood Feature Films from
the Vietnam War to the Present." Film History 14, no. 3/4 (2002): 243-60.
Ballard-Reisch, Deborah. "China Beach and Tour of Duty: American Television and
Revisionist History of the Vietnam War." The Journal of Popular Culture 25,
no. 3 (1991): 135-49.
Barker, Martin. A "Toxic Genre": The Iraq War Films London: Pluto Press, 2011.
Bergan, Daniel. "The Draft Lottery and Attitudes Towards the Vietnam War." The
Public Opinion Quarterly 73, no. 2 (2009): 379-84.

70

Biggers, Archie. "First Lieutenant Archie 'Joe' Briggers." In Bloods: An Oral History
of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans edited by Wallace Terry, 105-13. New
York: Random House, 1984.
Blair-Rockefeller Poll: Political Survey of Southern and Non-Southern Residents,
2010, conducted by Knowledge Networks.
Bradley, Bill. Americas War in Afghanistan Now Officially Longer than Vietnam,
7 June 2010, Vanity Fair, online, available at
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2010/06/americas-war-in-afghanistan-nowofficially-longer-than-vietnam.
Brokaw, Tom. The Greatest Generation. New York: Random House, 2004.
Brown, Dwyte A. "Radarman Second Class Dwyte A. Brown." In Bloods: An Oral
History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans, edited by Wallace Terry, 25259 New York: Random House, 1984.
Burgoyne, Robert. The Hollywood Historical Film Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub.,
2008.
Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble Tenth Anniversary. Second ed. Hoboken: Taylor and
Francis, 1999.
Capehart, Jonathan. "The Fallacy of a 'Post-Racial' Society." The Washington Post, 29
December 2014.
Carruthers, Susan. "Bringing It All Back Home: Hollywood Returns to War." Small
Wars & Insurgencies 14, no. 1 (2010): 167-82.
Chopra-Gant, Mike. Cinema and History: The Telling of Stories London: Wallflower
2008.
Connell, R.W. Masculinities. Second ed. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, 2005.

71

Desser, David. "'Charlie Don't Surf': Race and Culture in the Vietnam War Films." In
Inventing Vietnam: The War in Film and Television, edited by Michael
Anderegg, 81- 102. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991.
Devine, Jeremy M. Vietnam at 24 Frames a Second Austin: University of Texas
Press, 1999.
Dittmar, Linda, and Gene Michaud. "America's Vietnam War Films: Marching
toward Denial." In From Hanoi to Hollywood: The War in American Film,
edited by Linda Dittmar and Gene Michaud. New Brunswick and London:
Rutgers University Press, 1999.
Edwards, Reginald. "Private First Class Reginald "Malik" Edwards." In Bloods: An
Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans, edited by Wallace Terry,
1-14. New York: Random House, 1985.
Enloe, Cynthia H. Ethnic Soldiers: State Security in Divided Societies. Athens: The
University of Georgia Press, 1980.
Ford III, Richard J. "Specialist Richard J. Ford III." In Bloods: An Oral History of the
Vietnam War by Black Veterans, edited by Wallace Terry, 29-50. New York:
Random House, 1984.
Fountain Jr., Aaron G. "The War in the Schools." California History 92, no. 2 (2015):
22-41.
Gallup Poll, In View of the developments since we first send out troops to Iraq, do
you think the United states made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, or not?
http://www.gallup.com/poll/1633/iraq.aspx.
. Thinking now about U.S. military action in Afghanistan that began in
October 2001, do you think the United States made a mistake in sending
military forces to Afghanistan or not?

72

http://www.gallup.com/poll/116233/Afghanistan.aspx?g_source=Afghanistan
&g_medium=search&g_campaign=tiles.
Gilroy, Paul. Against Race: Imagining Political Culture Beyond the Colour Line.
Cambridge: Harvard Universtiy Press, 2001.
Goff, Stanley, Robert Sanders, and Clark Smith. Brothers, Black Soldiers in the Nam.
Novato, Calif. : London: Presido Press, Arms & Armour Press, 1982.
Hall, Mitchell K. "The Vietnam Era Antiwar Movement." OAH Magazine of History
18, no. 5 (2004): 13-17.
Harding, Jennifer. Sex Acts: Practices of Femininity and Masculinity. London: Sage
Publications, 1998.
Hersh, Seymour M. Chain of Command : The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib. 1st
Harper Perennial ed. New York: Harper Perennial, 2005.
Hochgesang, Josh, Tracye Lawyer, and Toby Stevenson. "The Psychological Effects
of the Vietnam War." Stanford University,
https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/war_peace/media/hpsych.html.
Holm, Tom. Strong Hearts, Wounded Souls: Native American Veterans of the
Vietnam War. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996.
Kennedy, John F. Response to a Question on American Involvement in South
Vietnam, President Kennedys News Conference, 7 February 1962,
available from http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/ReadyReference/Press-Conferences/News-Conference-23.aspx.
Kinney, Judy Lee. "Gardens of Stone, Platoon and Hamburger Hill: Ritual and
Remembrance." In Inventing Vietnam: The War in Film and Television, edited
by Michael Anderegg, 153-65. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991.

73

Lucks, Daniel Selma to Saigon: The Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War.
Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky 2014.
Lum, Lydia. "The Obama Era: A Post-Racial Society? Despite the Election of
President Barack Obama, Many Longtime Scholars Whose Work Intertwines
with Race Disagree That the Country Has Reached a Post-Racial Period."
Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 5 February 2009, 14-16.
McCrisken, Trevor B , and Andrew Pepper. American History and Contemporary
Hollywood Film. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2005.
Michel, Sonya. "Danger on the Home Front: Motherhood, Sexuality and Disabled
Veterans in American Postwar Films." Journal of the History of Sexuality 3,
no. 1 (1992): 109-28.
Mithers, Carol Lynn. "Missing in Action: Women Warriors in Vietnam." Cultural
Critique, no. 3 (1986): 79-90.
Moyar, Mark. "Vietnam: Historians at War." Academic Questions 21, no. 1 (2008):
37-51.
Muse, Eben. The Land of Nam: The Vietnam War in American Film. Landham: The
Scarecrow Press, 1995.
Olson, James Stuart, and Randy W. Roberts. Where the Domino Fell: America and
Vietnam 1945-2010. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.
Paris, Michael. "The American Film Industry & Vietnam." History Today 37, no. 4
(1987): 19-26.
Paul, Joshua. "Post-Racial Futures: Imagining Post-Racialist Anti-Racism." Ethnic
and Racial Studies 37, no. 4 (2014): 702-18.
Reagan, Ronald. Remarks at Memorial Day Ceremonies Honouring an Unknown
Serviceman of the Vietnam Conflict, 28 May 1984, Ronald Reagan

74

Presidential Library, online, available from

http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1984/52884a.htm.
Rasmussen, Karen, and Sharon Downey. "Dialectical Disorientation in Vietnam War
Films: Subversion of the Mythology of War." Quarterly Journal of Speech 77
(1991): 176-95.
Riseman, Noah. "Indigenous Soldiers: Native American and Aboriginal Australian
Service in Vietnam." In New Perceptions of the Vietnam War: Essays on the
War, the South Vietnames Experience, the Diaspora and the Continuing
Impact, edited by Nathalie Huynh Chau Nguyen, 203-28. North Carolina:
McFarlane & Company, Inc., 2015.
Rosenstone, Robert. "The Historical Film: Looking at the Past in a Postliterate Age."
In The Historical Film: History and Memory in Media, edited by Marcia
Landy, 50-66. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1995.
Studlar, Gaylan, and David Desser. "Never Having to Say You're Sorry: Rambo's
Rewriting of the Vietnam War." In From Hanoi to Hollywood: The Vietnam
War in American Film, edited by Linda Dittmar, 101-12, 1999.
Sutton, David L., and J. Emmett Winn. "'Do We Get to Win This Time?': POW/MIA
Rescue Films and the American Monomyth." Journal of American and
Comparative Cultures 24, no. 1-2 (2001): 25-30.
Taylor, Mark. The Vietnam War in History, Literature and Film. Tuscaloosa:
University of Alabama Press, 2003.
TeCube, Leroy. Year in Nam: A Native American Soldier's Story. Lincoln University
of Nebraska Press, 1999.
Tomasulo, Frank P. "The Politics of Ambivalence: Apocalypse Now as Prowar and
Antiwar Film." In From Hanoi to Hollywood: The Vietnam War in American

75

Film edited by Linda Dittmar and Gene Michaud, 145-58. New Brunswick
and London: Rutgers University Press, 1999.
Trammell, Larry, and Peter Gyallay-Pap. "'It's What's up Front That Counts':
Pointman Uses 'Sixth Sense' to Save Lives." The Hurricane, February 1969, 122.
Vartian, Carolyn Reed. "Women Next Door to War: China Beach." In Inventing
Vietnam: The War in Film and Television, edited by Michael Anderegg, 190203. Philadelphia: Temple Universtiy Press, 1991.
Vuic, Kara Dixon. "'I'm Afraid We're Going to Have to Just Change Our Ways':
Marriage, Motherhood, and Pregnancy in the Army Nurse Corps During the
Vietnam War." Signs 32, no. 4 (2007): 997-1022.
. Officer, Nurse, Woman: The Army Nurse Corps in the Vietnam War. Pbk. ed.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011.
Westheider, James. The African-American Experience in Vietnam: Brothers in Arms.
Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008.
. Fighting on Two Fronts: African Americans and the Vietnam War. New
York: New York University Press, 1997.
White, Hayden. "Historiography and Historiophoty." The American Historical Reveiw
93, no. 5 (1988): 1193-99.
Williams, John, and Susan Bennett. "The Definition of Sex Stereotypes Via the
Adjective Check List." [In English]. Sex Roles 1, no. 4 (1975/12/01 1975):
327-37.
Winter, Jay. Remembering War: The Great War between Memory and History in the
Twentieth Century. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.

76

Woodman, Brian J. "Represented in the Margins: Images of African American

Soldiers in Vietnam War Combat Films." Journal of Film and Video 53, no. 2
(2001): 38-60.
Zeisler, Andi. Feminism and Pop Culture. Berkeley, California: Seal Press, 2008.

77