Often times, Hollywood takes a real event in history and distorts it to a certain degree in order to tell the fictional story within it; movies were meant for entertainment after all. Should we trust in these Vietnam war movies or even documentaries so blindly? Although I have yet to see any films related to the Vietnam War, I have seen a couple of war movies and from what I've seen, historical accuracy is not always the priority in war films. This may actually lead the viewer into believing something completely off.
As for the Vietnam War itself, I don't really know the details as well as WWI or WWII but I do remember learning in class that the soldiers who returned home from this war were treated like dogs and disgraces rather than heroes. The Vietnam War was not only an American loss but the beginning of America's terrible record on foreign affairs. I also remember hearing how the people of Vietnam did not want America there in the first place so one could only assume one thing-why the hell in America go there in the first place? In any case, this will be an interesting topic to discuss and write about.
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4 comments:
well written my friend
I agree with what you're saying about how historical accuracy is totally off on war movies. However they are just movies designed to entertain us and fill actors and filmmakers pockets. For the question that you ask, to many americans, movies and documentries are primary sources from which they get information about topics such as the Vietnam. I mean how many anti-war activists went to Vietnam to get the facts? I don't think many did, but they got their "facts" from news reporters who did or just military reports reported to them by the media. Since the Vietnam War is a controversial topic to discuss, I too think this will be very interesting.
I agree with what you are discussing concerning the historical accuracy of certain war movies. I think we are unable to exactly pinpoint why some films go off the path of what actually is historically correct. I feel that in many cases the directors choose veer away from history in order to convey personal images they might have and need to express.
I agree with Paul that many times Hollywood takes history and turns it into something completely absurd. I don't think we should believe everything that's said in these movies. These movies are just for entertainment and to make money. These movies cause us to believe in things that aren't true about wars.
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