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Why Hollywood turned broken men into heroes after the Vietnam War
Hollywood films portraying the 'heroic myth' no longer resonated after Vietnam, critics say
While the Second World War offered Hollywood plenty of heroic stories, widespread discontent over U.S. involvement in Vietnam made for a tough sell — so the studios changed track.
In the two decades that followed the "good war," Hollywood produced hundreds of Second World War films, evoking the valiant efforts of American troops, often with the input of the military.
But with the U.S. losing the war in Vietnam — and American soldiers being seen more like war criminals than heroes — production of war epics ground to a halt.
Hollywood pivoted to stories of veterans broken by the horrors they experienced — without the military's editorial oversight on the scripts, according to Tanner Mirrlees, an associate professor of communication and digital media studies at Ontario Tech University.
"They are dealing with complex and sensitive issues, like post-traumatic stress disorder, disabilities among veterans," he said.
Critics have called the post-Vietnam period the "Hollywood Revolution" because of the gritty truth portrayed on the silver screen.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/why-hollywood-turned-broken-men-into-heroes-after-the-vietnam-war-1.5570479
Hollywood films portraying the 'heroic myth' no longer resonated after Vietnam, critics say
While the Second World War offered Hollywood plenty of heroic stories, widespread discontent over U.S. involvement in Vietnam made for a tough sell — so the studios changed track.
In the two decades that followed the "good war," Hollywood produced hundreds of Second World War films, evoking the valiant efforts of American troops, often with the input of the military.
But with the U.S. losing the war in Vietnam — and American soldiers being seen more like war criminals than heroes — production of war epics ground to a halt.
Hollywood pivoted to stories of veterans broken by the horrors they experienced — without the military's editorial oversight on the scripts, according to Tanner Mirrlees, an associate professor of communication and digital media studies at Ontario Tech University.
"They are dealing with complex and sensitive issues, like post-traumatic stress disorder, disabilities among veterans," he said.
Critics have called the post-Vietnam period the "Hollywood Revolution" because of the gritty truth portrayed on the silver screen.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/why-hollywood-turned-broken-men-into-heroes-after-the-vietnam-war-1.5570479
