In the late 1960s support for the Vietnam War was dwindling. Many families wanted their loved ones back home and protests were at an all time high. With the rapid change in war judgment, Hollywood decided to dedicate a movie to those overseas. “The Green Berets” was Hollywood’s propagandist outlook that showed “America’s best”, the war, and the Vietcong how they wanted the population to see them. The movie was released in 1968 and was based upon 1962-1963. During it release year it was nominated the Golden Laurel for Action-Drama and won third place for best Actor Performance from John Wayne. However, what is more impressive than awards is the directors were able to slip so many persuasive ideas into the movie.
The first thing the movie was able to do was introduce the audience to someone who was against the war. It was a good choice to use a reporter because at the time the media gave little support to the war. The media loves to report the negative and give very little positive facts. It is the same in today’s society and today’s war. The movie started of right away by asking the question that the US citizens wanted to know; why are we helping the Vietnamese? The Green Beret answered the reporters question by showing him all Vietnam weapons given to them by communist countries. This refers to the history of the period because America greatly feared the communist sphere of influence. The propagandist take on the reporter is by the end of the movie his views change after seeing the war first hand. He decides to continue observing the Green Berets and supported the war one hundred percent.
Another Hollywood spin on the war was adding kids to the battlefield. During a real war you would never see a kid at a military base. It gives an emotional connection to the audience when they see an orphan getting taken care of by a Green Beret. They support the Green Berets when they see them taking care of someone who has no one verse the Vietcong. When...