It seems like a lot of movies made during the 80's were centered around Vietnam: Platoon, Hamburger Hill, MIA, Rambo, any thoughts on this or how if affected you?

Well, during the '80s the Vietnam Era was the "good old days" that everyone looked back to. Only the "good old days" then weren't always so good, ya know. Back then, we had a lot of "old hippies" AKA Baby Boomers sitting about where us Gen X'ers are sitting right now - looking back on their teen years with fond nostalgia as they began to hit midlife.

And people were also beginning to look at Vietnam as something other than just a grand screw-job. They were becoming interested in the history and the politics of it, for more reasons than just to villify people but to actually understand what the heck went on and where it went wrong. A lot of Vietnam vets were still feeling a profound sense of alienation - and many directors wanted to explore just why that might be.

As for the Rambo phenomenon, well, in that case it was a chance to go back and "salvage our country's honor" even if only an imaginary form. To kick ass in an area we got our ass kicked in.  A lot of people resonded to that.

This was also an era where it was once again acceptible to admit you were/are in the military.  Military movies fell out of style in the 1970's, and they were finally getting popular again.  And since World War II had been done to death, it was only natural they would go to our most recent conflict.  Plus it was a war that was not covered much when it was happening.

Some of the first ones were of the "look at what war did to me", or the "let's go back and make things right" genre.  Movies like First Blood, Mission MIA, and Uncommon Valor.  Uncommon Valor was actually based on Ross Perot, and his attempts to enter Vietnam to rescue suspected POWs.

After that came the movies that took us back to the war itself.  Apocolypse Now, The Deer Hunter, The Boys Of Company C, Full Metal Jacket, and others.  These were original because they tended to look more at the people who fought then the battles themselves.  The most common story was how men could be thrown together in a horrible situation, and come out the other side alive and sane.

There were also two terrific television dramas that focused on the Vietnam War, China Beach and Tour of Duty. Even though they were both critically acclaimed and won various awards, they only lasted a few seasons each...

There were also two terrific television dramas that focused on the Vietnam War, China Beach and Tour of Duty. Even though they were both critically acclaimed and won various awards, they only lasted a few seasons each...


If I remember correctly, those were both casualties of network blundering.

Quite often, a network would pay for a show, then realize it really did not want it.  A good example of this in the 1980's was to put something up against Cosby or Dallas.  It was a guarantee that any show in that timespot would fail.

In the 90's, those shows were ER and Friends.

China Beach ran in competition of Knott's Landing, one of the biggest shows of the era.  I forget what Tour Of Duty ran against, but I remember that it also suffered from network bungling because they were constantly changing what night it ran on.  That is what did in shows like Beauty And The Beast and Early Edition.

Hey guys don't forget The A-Team as another part of Vietnam mythology of the 80s.  On the surface it was very much a fluffy cartoon show with cartoony violence and action.  But this TV show was more 80s pop culture righting the wrongs of the 60s and 70s.

If you remember, the series was about 4 Vietnam vets accused of a crime they didn't commit, and constantly running from the law while they helped the oppressed from evil doers.  In this TV show once again the Vietnam vets are made out to be the bad guys, but are really the good guys, i.e. they never commited the military crime they were accused of and were constantly championing American values.

I think the Vietnam War entered into American pop mythology as early as the late 70s actually, only a few years after the War ended in 1975.  It started with movies like The Deer Hunter and Apocaylpse Now.

To me as a kid growing up in the 80s, this war might as well have been World War II though.  It seemed so long ago from my child's point of view.  The War ended the year I was born, 1975, so I had no idea at the time that the Vietnam conflict was actually a relatively very recent thing, as was the 1960s....the same way the 80s actually are *relatively* recent times in the '00s now.  What does make me feel aged though, is the fact that the Vietnam War is no longer such a part of our Ameircan pop culture as it was in the 80s and even 90s.  Hollywood is not making Vietnam themed TV shows or movies the way it used to.  So even though I wasn't around for the Vietnam War, a lot of us here grew up with it's pop history during the late 70s, 80s and 90s....and I sorta miss that. 

*bump*

ahh man,....nobody wanted to continue this discussion?  I really liked this thread and I always wondered what happened to it.  Vietnam in the 80s is an interesting topic.

OK I'll spice it up for THIS board's menatilty.  I think people born from 1964 to 1968 were most affected by the Vietnam films of the early 80s, but those born from 1972 to 1977 were quite impacted by the Vietnam flicks of the late 80s.  1982 to 1988 were the prime years of Vietnam movies during the 80s.  I do however think that people born in 1982 are very similar to those born in 1979 in their tastes of Vietnam movies.  But '83ers and '84ers sometimes have been known to like 80s Vietnam movies. 

(You do realize that my last paragraph was pure sarcasm and a total sendup of conversions held on this board)  ;) 

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