Myths and Crises: American Masculinity in 1980s Vietnam War Films - Analysis of Five Films (Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Hamburger Hill, Casualties of War, and Born on the Fourth of July)

Nonfiction, History, Military, Vietnam War, Asian, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies
Cover of the book Myths and Crises: American Masculinity in 1980s Vietnam War Films - Analysis of Five Films (Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Hamburger Hill, Casualties of War, and Born on the Fourth of July) by Progressive Management, Progressive Management
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Progressive Management ISBN: 9780463898024
Publisher: Progressive Management Publication: May 13, 2018
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: Progressive Management
ISBN: 9780463898024
Publisher: Progressive Management
Publication: May 13, 2018
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

This excellent report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction.

Throughout history, military service and wars have served as rites of passage for young men and often defined American manhood itself. Films about war capture this masculine journey and reveal myths about war service and American masculinity. Five films comprise the foundation of this study. Platoon (1986), Full Metal Jacket (1987), Hamburger Hill (1987), Casualties of War (1989), and Born on the Fourth of July (1989) were all released in the mid-to-late 1980s and reflect a resurgence in national attention on the troubling war. The films question the following national myths about norms of masculinity: the World War II American war hero, war service as a path to manhood, and a monolithic American masculinity. Aggressive efforts to restore American confidence and masculinity characterized the beginning of the 1980s with the election of President Ronald Reagan and the rise of the New Right's influence. The films reveal a tempering of the bravado and hypermasculinity promulgated in the earlier eighties and depict a more nuanced performance of masculinity. The study provides insight into the role masculinity plays in society and, specifically, the military, and provides a contextual framework for analyzing masculinity in film.

Beginning with an overview of the evolution of historical and war films, chapter 1 explores the connections between war and gender, along with film's importance in revealing these connections. Film's portrayal of issues of societal anxiety is also explored. Chapter 2 lays out a framework of masculinity, and provides a narrative history of masculinity from a sociohistorical perspective including important political, economic, and cultural factors starting with the Great Depression. Beginning with this period provides context to masculinity as an ever-evolving phenomenon. A short history of masculinity also reveals another of its key components and a common source of crisis, its plurality; despite what national myths may claim, there is no one monolithic American masculinity. Changes in access to institutions of power, economic opportunities, and gender relations all contribute to shifts in masculinity.5 Chapter 3 traces the turmoil of the previous decades' continued effects on the political, economic, and social aspects of 1980s life. Aggressive efforts to restore American confidence and masculinity characterized the beginning of the 1980s with the election of President Ronald Reagan and the rise of the New Right's influence. The emergence of this hypermasculinity was a response to the social movements of the previous decades and the loss in Vietnam, both of which undermined American masculinity. Chapter 4 analyzes the five Vietnam War films—Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Hamburger Hill, Casualties of War, and Born on the Fourth of July—within the framework of masculinity, and connects the films' portrayal of masculinity to the 1980s social history discussed in the second and third chapters. The films reveal critiques of national myths of norms of masculinity that emerged out of World War II. The mid-to-late 1980s—when these films were released—also marked a tempering of the bravado and hypermasculinity initially promulgated and the films depicted a more nuanced performance of masculinity. The concluding chapter discusses the significance of the films in understanding masculinity's role in American society, and especially in war.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This excellent report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction.

Throughout history, military service and wars have served as rites of passage for young men and often defined American manhood itself. Films about war capture this masculine journey and reveal myths about war service and American masculinity. Five films comprise the foundation of this study. Platoon (1986), Full Metal Jacket (1987), Hamburger Hill (1987), Casualties of War (1989), and Born on the Fourth of July (1989) were all released in the mid-to-late 1980s and reflect a resurgence in national attention on the troubling war. The films question the following national myths about norms of masculinity: the World War II American war hero, war service as a path to manhood, and a monolithic American masculinity. Aggressive efforts to restore American confidence and masculinity characterized the beginning of the 1980s with the election of President Ronald Reagan and the rise of the New Right's influence. The films reveal a tempering of the bravado and hypermasculinity promulgated in the earlier eighties and depict a more nuanced performance of masculinity. The study provides insight into the role masculinity plays in society and, specifically, the military, and provides a contextual framework for analyzing masculinity in film.

Beginning with an overview of the evolution of historical and war films, chapter 1 explores the connections between war and gender, along with film's importance in revealing these connections. Film's portrayal of issues of societal anxiety is also explored. Chapter 2 lays out a framework of masculinity, and provides a narrative history of masculinity from a sociohistorical perspective including important political, economic, and cultural factors starting with the Great Depression. Beginning with this period provides context to masculinity as an ever-evolving phenomenon. A short history of masculinity also reveals another of its key components and a common source of crisis, its plurality; despite what national myths may claim, there is no one monolithic American masculinity. Changes in access to institutions of power, economic opportunities, and gender relations all contribute to shifts in masculinity.5 Chapter 3 traces the turmoil of the previous decades' continued effects on the political, economic, and social aspects of 1980s life. Aggressive efforts to restore American confidence and masculinity characterized the beginning of the 1980s with the election of President Ronald Reagan and the rise of the New Right's influence. The emergence of this hypermasculinity was a response to the social movements of the previous decades and the loss in Vietnam, both of which undermined American masculinity. Chapter 4 analyzes the five Vietnam War films—Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Hamburger Hill, Casualties of War, and Born on the Fourth of July—within the framework of masculinity, and connects the films' portrayal of masculinity to the 1980s social history discussed in the second and third chapters. The films reveal critiques of national myths of norms of masculinity that emerged out of World War II. The mid-to-late 1980s—when these films were released—also marked a tempering of the bravado and hypermasculinity initially promulgated and the films depicted a more nuanced performance of masculinity. The concluding chapter discusses the significance of the films in understanding masculinity's role in American society, and especially in war.

More books from Progressive Management

Cover of the book Fire Effects Guide (PMS 481) - Wildland and Forest Fire Behavior, Characteristics, Fuels, Air Quality, Soils, Water, Plants, Wildlife, Habitat, Cultural Resources, Grazing Management by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The Paradox of Power: Sino-American Strategic Restraint in an Age of Vulnerability - China and the U.S., Chinese Nuclear Weapons, Space, Cyberspace, Strategic Power, Cyber Warfare by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The Catholic Church and Politics in Colombia: A Shifting Foundation - Protestant Growth, Post-La Violencia Dynamics, Frente Nacional, Catholic Charismatics, Priest-Government Clashes, Repression Role by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Force Structure Matters: U.S. Field Artillery (FA) in Operational Art - Fires Capability Requirements, Operational Art and ULO, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Anaconda, Division Artillery (DIVARTY) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Understanding the Form, Function, and Logic of Clandestine Insurgent and Terrorist Networks: The First Step in Effective Counternetwork Operations - al-Qaeda, Bin Laden, Iraq, COIN, Insurgencies by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The Pentagon: The First Fifty Years - Authoritative History of the Design and Construction of the Historic Department of Defense Headquarters Building by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century Essential Guide to HUD Programs and Housing Grants: Volume One, Community Development, SuperNOFA, Loans, Aid, Applications by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century Complete Guide to the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) - Commercial, Seabed Ocean Mining, Maritime Rights, and Military Implications by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Destination Moon: A History of the Lunar Orbiter Program - NASA Apollo Moon Landing Preparations, Boeing and Kodak Photo System, Problems with the Spacecraft, Great Lunar Exploration Achievements by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century Federal Prisons: Community Volunteer Handbook, Offender Transition Program Resource Manual (Jobs, Assistance), Legal Resource Guide to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Imprisonment by Progressive Management
Cover of the book United States' Grand Strategy Through the Lens of Lebanon in 1983 and Iraq in 2003: von Clausewitz, Walter Russell Mead, Eliot Cohen, Case Studies, Sabra and Shatila, Neocons, Rumsfeld, Powell by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Russian Anti-Americanism: Origins and Implications - Vladimir Putin Biography, KGB, Russian Orthodox Church, Slavophiles and Westernizers, Putin and President George W. Bush, Nationalism, NATO by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Increasing Airpower's Effectiveness: Applying the U.S. Army's Operational Design Methodology to Airpower in Warfare - North Vietnam, Operation CASTOR and the Battle for Dien Bien Phu, Linebacker II by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 2013 NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) Annual Report, Issued January 2014 - International Space Station, Commercial Crew Risk and Budget, SpaceX, Exploration Program by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Boko Haram's Strategy Deconstructed: A Case Study Comparison Between Boko Haram and the Algerian National Liberation Front - Salafist Islamic Insurgency Strategy in Nigeria and West Africa by Progressive Management
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy