The difference between how we viewed war movies in 60's and war movies in 70's - Term Paper Example

War movies were critical reflections of the logic of the cold war, and in the 1960s, they were something that the society demanded1. In the 1970s, war movies were a nuisance, and considered the government’s propaganda to justify the nation’s stay in Vietnam. The negative attitude towards war movies during this period was due to the actions of American soldiers in Vietnam as aired by television networks2. The change of attitude altered the production structure of American wars, and this formed the basic difference between war movies of the 1960s, and of the 1970s.

This paper is a discussion about the difference in the perception of war movies between 1960 and 1980. War movies during this era had action oriented plots and were characterized by historical recreations of war related events, or major battles, and POW camp escapes and experiences. They also included espionage or spy tales, biopics of important war figures, submarine warfare, personal heroism, air dogfights, resistance movements, brutalities showing war as hell, tough trench experiences, veterans returning home, and pre-war intrigue.

The films explored themes such as the effects war on the society, combat, studies of inhumanity and futility of battle, escape and survivor stories, intelligent explorations of human issues and morality, and stories of courageous sacrifice and fight back3. 1960s war movies were stories about the cold war. They were stories of American power, pride, and might. The movies represented Americans’ will to fight for what they believe was right. Reading through the perceptions that American people had about war movies at the time shows that the movies were also their source of information about their leaders’ potential4.

To Americans, the movies told the truth about the cold war and the communists intentions. Americans were believed that communists wanted to destroy socialism. The movies acted as the real stories about what was going on in the battle