Hollywood
We Were Soldiers (Rated: R; Violence)
Studying individual soldier’s accounts is crucial to developing a firm understanding of the complexity and brutality of the Vietnam War. That is what makes "We Were Soldiers" written by Col. Hal Moore (Portrayed by Mel Gibson) a great film to use in the classroom to help students better understand the conditions faced by the soldiers in battle.
Talking points: Age of soldiers, Fear, Destruction, Glory/Lake of Glory, Death, Family Roles, Fighting Conditions, Differences in technology between Vietcong and U.S. Military, Friendly Fire.
Talking points: Age of soldiers, Fear, Destruction, Glory/Lake of Glory, Death, Family Roles, Fighting Conditions, Differences in technology between Vietcong and U.S. Military, Friendly Fire.
Forrest Gump (Rated: PG-13; Violence, Minor Sexual Situations)
The film Forrest Gump can be used to explore many aspects of the Vietnam War. The film shows the many different aspects of the war; The home front, The War itself, and the return of soldiers.
Talking Points: Anti-War Protests, Draft, Drug Use, Battle, Glory, PTSD, Physical/Mental Disabilities.
Talking Points: Anti-War Protests, Draft, Drug Use, Battle, Glory, PTSD, Physical/Mental Disabilities.
Born on the 4th of July (Rated: R; Pervasive Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content)
Born on the Fourth of July is ideal for examining the effects of the war on the men who fought as well as serves as an avenue for examining the home front and the challenges soldiers had to face when they returned.
Talking points: Anti-War Protests, Battle, PTSD, Physical/Mental Disabilities.
Talking points: Anti-War Protests, Battle, PTSD, Physical/Mental Disabilities.
The Boys in Company C:
This war drama, which prefigures the similarly bifurcated Full Metal Jacket, follows the lives of five young Marine inductees from their training in boot camp in 1967 through a tour in Vietnam in 1968. Things quickly devolve into a hellish nightmare. Disheartened by futile combat, appalled by the corruption of their South Vietnamese ally, and constantly endangered by the incompetence of their own company commander, the young men find a possible way out of the war. They are told that if they win a soccer game against a South Vietnamese team, they can spend the rest of their tour playing exhibition games behind the lines. However as they might have known, once the match starts, nothing in Vietnam is as simple as it seems.
Full Metal Jacket:
In 1967, during the Vietnam War, a group of new U.S. Marine Corps recruits arrives at Parris Island for basic training. After having their heads shaved, they meet their Senior Drill Instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. Hartman employs draconian tactics to turn the recruits into hardened Marines prepared for combat. Among the recruits are Privates "Joker", "Cowboy", and the overweight, bumbling Leonard Lawrence, who earns the nickname "Gomer Pyle" after attracting Hartman's wrath.
Heaven and Earth:
Le Ly Hayslip is a girl growing up in a Vietnamese village. Her life changes when the communist insurgents show up in the village to first fight the forces of France and then the United States. During the American involvement, Le Ly is captured and tortured by South Vietnamese government troops, and later raped by theViet Cong because they suspect that she is a traitor. After the rape, her relationship with her village is destroyed, and she and her family are forced to move.
Apocalypse Now:U.S. Army Captain and special operations veteran Benjamin L. Willard has returned to Saigon where he drinks heavily and destroys his hotel room. Military intelligence officers Lt. General Corman and Colonel Lucas approach him with an assignment: Willard must follow the Nung River into the remote jungle, find rogue Special Forces Colonel Walter E. Kurtz and kill him. Kurtz apparently went insane and now commands his own Montagnard troops inside neutra lCambodia.
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Good Morning Vietnam:
In 1965, Airman First Class Adrian Cronauer arrives in Saigon from Crete to work as a DJ forArmed Forces Radio Service. Cronauer is greeted by Private First Class Edward Montesquieu Garlick. Cronauer's irreverence contrasts sharply with many staff members and soon rouses the ire of two of his superiors, Second Lieutenant Steven Hauk and Sergeant Major Phillip Dickerson . Hauk adheres to strict Army guidelines in terms of humor and music programming, while Dickerson is annoyed by Cronauer's behavior in general. However, Brigadier General Taylor and the other DJs quickly grow to like the new man and his brand of comedy. Cronauer's show consists of unpredictable humor segments mixed with news updates and rock and roll records that are frowned upon by his superiors.
Platoon:
In 1967, Chris Taylor has dropped out of college and volunteered for combat duty in Vietnam. Assigned to Bravo Company, 25th Infantry Division near the Cambodian border, he is worn down by the exhausting conditions and his enthusiasm for the war wanes. One night his unit is set upon by a group of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) soldiers, who retreat after a brief gunfight. New recruit Gardner is killed while another soldier, Tex, is maimed by friendly fire from a grenade thrown by Sergeant "Red" O'Neill, with Taylor being mistakenly reprimanded by the ruthless Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes. Taylor eventually gains acceptance from a tight-knit group in his unit who socialize and use drugs in a cabin clubhouse. He finds a mentor in Sergeant Elias as well as the elder King.
Coming Home:Luke had gone to Vietnam but came back wounded. He is recuperating at the hospital from the injuries he sustained in the Vietnam War and which left him a paraplegic. Filled with pain, anger, and frustration, Luke is now opposed to the war. Luke at first is a bitter young man, but as he is increasingly thrown into contact with Sally, a relationship starts to develop. Eventually, Luke is released from the hospital, and, newly mobile with his own wheelchair, begins to rebuild his life. His relationship with Sally deepens. She is also transformed by him and her outlook on life starts to change. They have happy times, play at the beach, and the two fall in love. Meanwhile Billy, traumatized by his experiences at war, commits suicide by injecting air into his veins. After Billy’s suicide, Luke has only one obsession: do anything to stop sending young men off to war.
Casualties of War:
In November 1966, a squad of American soldiers is on patrol when they are suddenly attacked by the Viet Cong. The ground cracks under Eriksson while he walks above a Viet Cong tunnel, and he is stuck in the hole while enemy mortar shells land near him. Unknown to him, a Viet Cong soldier in the tunnel below him prepares to silently kill him with a knife. Sergeant Tony Meserve hears Eriksson, pulls him out of the hole, and shoots the Viet Cong soldier dead. Eventually, the Americans stave off the attack.
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