In a short post (300-500 words) provide an analysis of some aspect of Tropic Thunder. Because this is a short essay, please focus your post as much as possible by discussing only one scene, or one theme that plays out in a very specific way. A successful post will have a concise thesis statement followed by a well-organized argument. (Due November 25, Before Class Starts)
Alex Constantine
November 20, 2008
America and Vietnam
Blog: Rambo
Rambo: First Blood Part II is, for the most part, a pure action film and attempts to draw the viewer in through explosions, gunfire and gratuitous violence in general. The acting in the film is fairly weak and so are many other elements. Still, the overall message of the film is culturally important, and in fact relates to the issues discussed in class regarding the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial. The message of the film seems to be that governmental mistakes and poor leadership within the military were the reason for the US’s loss in Vietnam, but that individual soldiers were extraordinarily heroic and performed acts of great courage and valor. These soldiers, therefore, deserve the respect of every American as they gave much, if not all, in the name of their country. This message converses with the controversy surrounding the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial by raising many of the questions discussed by those veterans who disliked the design of the monument. Essentially, Rambo: First Blood Part II is the glorification of the American soldier in Vietnam that many veterans desired to portray in the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, and the feelings and message expressed through Rambo is representative of the reasoning behind building the statues that adorn the memorial (despite the architect’s protest) and glorify American soldiers. Although the entire film is a tribute to the bravery of American soldiers in Vietnam, the opening ten minutes or so is very important. First, we see Rambo in prison. This is representative of the prison that many Vietnam Veterans felt they were returning to when they came home from Vietnam without a normal life and worse yet, they were criticized for their participation in a war that they didn’t ask for, and served in valiantly. Rambo is enlisted for a mission to take pictures of a POW camp in Vietnam and to determine if there are American soldiers there. Rambo’s desire to actually save the POWs and Murdoch’s refusal to allow this, is further representative of the bravery of the soldiers on the ground in Vietnam. Furthermore, this scene attempts to portray the government and military leadership as hamstringing the soldiers and not allowing them to fight to their full potential and win the war.
“Rambo’s” portrayal of the soldier’s life after the war is best portrayed during the scene in the police station where the officers book John Rambo for vagrancy. The police officers obviously distain him for what he represents. Rambo is a pariah in this community not just because of his dirty clothes and long hair. The police force looks down on him for his military service; several times the officers heckle him about it. They do not like the idea of a single war veteran wandering through their town because they carry the same anti-soldier sentiments as were common elsewhere at the time. When the police escort Rambo into a hallway for a shave and he suddenly has flashbacks to Vietnam, the movie is making a direct statement about the treatment of psychologically damaged war veterans. The police station scene does not just set up the action scenes to come in the movie; when Rambo flips out and attacks the police officer, they creators are protesting the poor treatment and lack of understanding American veterans faced after the war.
When the police try to shave Rambo, his absent façade breaks down into a panicked attack mode because the prison setting and aggressive manner remind Rambo of a Vietnamese prison camp. The audience sees a few brief clips of Rambo’s torture and abuse in the prison camp. The director makes the police officers move and behave in a similar manner as his Vietcong captors. This comparison may be the most critical scene in the movie. The film seems to say that Rambo’s decorations and sacrifices for America are held as a stain against his name. The police use his service as a marker against him. Rambo’s outburst is a commit on the fragile nature of American soldiers returning from the war. Instead of getting the proper treatment Rambo needs, he is treated in a similarly barbaric manner to his capture in Vietnam. Rambo’s insignificant crime, too, reinforces the pettiness and the pointless cruelty of Rambo’s treatment. This scene is a layered critique against the cruel treatment of soldiers after the war. Through the insignificance of Rambo’s crime and coming fugitive statue on the lam, the filmmaker is saying that Americans cannot continue to ignore the problems of Vietnam veterans. While not every veteran possesses Rambo’s hunting skills or crazed demeanor, Rambo’s breakdown is emblematic for the problems with the war Vietnam veterans were treated after the war.
Hockensmith
While Rambo First Blood: Part II does much to assert and revalidate American masculinity, it does so at the continued expense of the Vietnamese peoples. The relationship between America and Vietnam continues to be propagated as that between a man and a woman in deliberately-gendered hierarchy. In Part II, this relationship may be seen in microcosm between Rambo and his relationship with the Vietnamese woman, Co Bao. A part from the nameless and often comic Vietnamese soldiers—usually shown drunk, horny, and/or seen leaving the base outhouse—Co Bao is the sole humanized portrayal of the Vietnamese that the audience receives in the course of the whole film. Their relationship thus reveals the tensions within, and consequences of this gendered understanding of the America-Vietnam relationship during this national conflict.
The first scene which comes to mind in terms of analyzing their relationship as a microcosm for that perceived relationship between the American and Vietnamese people is the scene where Rambo and Co Bao are sitting in the boat, traveling to the POW camp. The two discuss violence, their roles in the ongoing conflict, and eventually compare their respective tokens of luck—Co Bao, her green talisman necklace and Rambo, his survivor bow knife. In this way, even Co Bao’s semi-masculine efforts in her use of the machine gun are ultimately undermined by her femininity—a fact echoed in the appearance of the Soviet commanders as the true authority behind the Vietnamese soldiers. Conversely, Rambo’s knife, noticeably resembling a phallus, reasserts the virility of his masculinity and, therefore, America’s strength.
As noted above, Co Bao’s role within the film, for the audience, shifts from that of side-kick to romantic love interest. This shift is best scene in the two sequences of POW camp invasion that parallel each other. In the first, Rambo stealthy makes his way to the prisoners using rather primitive knife throwing and arrows to strike the enemy. In one crucial camera shot, Rambo is seem looking up through the floorboards of a room at a soldier and his “whore,” contemplating his next move. Later on in the film, Rambo himself becomes a POW of sorts. Scenes of him being tortured by the Soviets are juxtaposed with those showing Co Bao’s attempt to infiltrate the POW camp for a second time. Rather than use the masculine weaponry enlisted by Rambo, Co Bao, utilizing her femininity, positions herself as a sexual object in order to gain entrance to the camp. The floorboard scene is also interestingly echoed, with Co Bao looking up into the room where Rambo is being tortured, perhaps signifying an implicit commentary on the violence which underlies the ravages of war, torture, and prostitution.
Once Rambo and Co Bao finally consecrate their romantic love with a kiss, Co Bao is gunned down. Rambo then reappropriates her green talisman necklace, placing it around his own neck. In this way, he, the representative of American masculinity, assumes her burden as well as his own—that burden of the feminized Vietnamese people, who, with the Soviet’s defeated, are supposedly in need of a strong masculine arm.
If the goal of Rambo First Blood: Part II is to construct a separation between the government of America and the men working as its agents in the armed forces, the opening scene sets the stage. This separation, designed to disconnect American soldiers from the disrespect and protest ‘the state’ garnered in its handling of Vietnam, is evidenced throughout our introduction to John Rambo.
The first shot, an explosion on a hill with no context, (coupled with the movie’s trailer) immediately puts the viewer in the mindset that we are in Vietnam. From this perspective, the camera then pans down to the image of American men toiling away beating at rocks. We then realize from the whistles, verbal orders, and images of prison guards that what we’re seeing is not Vietnam, but rather some kind of prison labor camp or work release. The metaphor emerges clearly though, drawing similarities to mind between fighting in Vietnam and prison: American men being forced to do something by the government, seemingly as pointless as breaking rocks all day.
Continuing, we then get the characterization of the federal government in the form of the prison guards. They are the law/authority literally standing over the working men, maintaining dominance through the threat of shotguns. They all wear badges and hide their eyes (and perhaps souls) behind aviator sunglasses. They are part of the same “machine” Murdock will reference later.
Finally we get our first look at Rambo, the complete antithesis of the guards. He’s very dirty and sweaty after working hard all day and has long hair, unlike the prison guards with their clean uniforms and well-groomed mustaches and beards. He wears muddy work-boots, not the shiny black (totally useless) dress shoes of the prison guards.
Then we get Colonel Trautman, caught somewhere in the middle of this model, a role he’ll continue to work with the rest of the movie. He wears the aviators of ‘the state’ but also the boots and uniform of ‘one of the men.’ It seems like he has worked his way up the ranks to become a figure of governmental authority, a role he’s not entirely comfortable with. Rambo is so far removed from ‘the state,’ even his connection to Trautman is distant as the profile shot of the fence and barbed wire tells us.
And then verbal confirmation of this separation (and subjugation) comes in the two men’s conversation. While Rambo contemplates accepting the mission that might get him out of prison, Trautman says, “You couldn’t possibly want to stay in here [prison] for another five years.” Rambo’s response, “In here, at least I know where I stand,” highlights the distinction to be made between ‘the men’ and ‘the government.’ They couldn’t possibly be one and the same because Rambo feels he’s been double-crossed in the past by this ‘other.’ At least, in prison it’s obvious that he’s being dominated by ‘the state,’ rather than some ideological b.s. about altruism, personal sacrifice to achieve positive goals, and completing the mission.
Rambo eventually decides to engage in a short-term relationship with this ‘other’ that might result in a positive end. He asks if “we get to win this time,” referring to the previous connection between the government and the men (in which the government decided that time that they, in Rambo’s eyes, wouldn’t win). Trautman answers, “This time, it’s up to you.” This last line again suggests the separation between ‘the state’ and Rambo and a new degree of autonomy which he can now exercise.
This separation between the government and the soldiers (Rambo) and the negative portrayal of ‘the state’ continues to work to the goal of arousing respect for the Vietnam vets throughout the rest of the movie.
Rambo First Blood: Part II is a film very much on the defensive. This defensiveness comes in response to the (as Rambo puts it) “quiet war” waged against all the soldiers returning to the U.S. after the war in Vietnam. Though he doesn’t specify, it can be assumed contextually that he’s speaking mainly about the American public’s perception of returning soldiers and the trouble that this created (the focus of First Blood). It follows that because the war in Vietnam was unpopular, those who fought it (esp. those who volunteered), by serving as agents of the state that started and maintained our involvement, would reap the same associated unpopularity that the government suffered (the common story of soldiers getting spit on comes to mind).
To fight this ‘quiet war’ on behalf of Vietnam veterans, the movie works very hard to create an almost binary opposition between Rambo (the “best combat vet,” the hero of the working class soldiers) and ‘the state’ (best personified by Murdock). The goal is to create a separation between the men who fought the war and the men who started and controlled the men who fought the war, in order to win more respect for those who did fight and die for America.
Murdock, the personification of the state, is the officer in charge of Special Ops, “from Washington” as he declares. He wears a white shirt and tie and isn’t used to the temperature away from his home, sweating profusely in every scene. He’s almost always shown eating (white bread sandwich and beef jerky), drinking (Coke), or smoking cigars, enjoying the abundant wealth of America. He’s intent on his files and statistics, matter-of-factly relating to Rambo that the POW/MIA “thing” is an “emotional issue” for the American people and stating that the mission has a “better than average” chance of success- the pure embodiment of a war of attrition. He lies to Rambo about his military service, and he is completely reliant on technology, telling Trautman that “we’re [he and the bureaucracy/ technology around him] the machine, you’re [Trautman] just the tool.” Doubting of Rambo’s abilities from the get-go, Murdock’s first reaction to the parachute jump going awry is to order them to pull out.
Rambo’s character is the complete antithesis to everything Murdock represents. He’s pulled from a prison camp far away from Washington or anywhere else. He never wears bureaucrat clothes, not even a uniform of the American military. Instead he wears working-men’s clothes and boots, his simple, wide-cut neck shirts attaining an almost (Vietnamese) peasant feel, especially when paired with his contact’s jade charm. Unlike Murdock, we never see Rambo eat or drink anything, he’s too tough and too focused on winning (also unlike Murdock) and surviving instead. In addition Rambo isn’t impressed by his service record like Murdock is; at the end of the movie he rejects the most prestigious medal his government could award him. Rambo isn’t blindly naive to Murdock’s duplicity about his military service either; he only trusts Trautman. He also understands (and the film makes a point to emphasize the word) his position as “expendable” to ‘the state.’ Unlike Murdock’s rabid belief in the power of technology, Rambo “always believed the mind was the best weapon,” using strategy, the land, and his Bowie knife and bow most effectively/noticeably. Rambo declares at one point, “No more orders” and goes on to accomplish the mission, his mission (in direct contradiction to ‘the state’s’ desires) of saving the POW’s.
Working this dichotomy to the very end, Rambo declares he would still die for America, by which he specifically means the country and its people/values/ideas, not the wartime or current government of the country. He merely wants what the movie sets out to attain: respect, love, and the recognition of the sacrifice of soldiers from the American people.
In a short post (300-500 words) provide an analysis of some aspect of Rambo: First Blood, Part II (1985) or Magnum P.I. (1980). Because this is a short essay, please focus your post as much as possible by discussing only one scene, or one theme that plays out in a very specific way. A successful post will have a concise thesis statement followed by a well-organized argument. (Due November 20, Before Class Starts)
Some themes and questions to consider:
• How are these two texts in dialogue with The Deer Hunter and Coming Home?
• How do the bodies of Tom Selleck and Sylvester Stallone help to construct/mediate the memory of the Vietnam War?
• What role do women play in these texts?
• How are Vietnamese people represented?
• Are these texts conversing with the Vietnam Veteran’s memorial? (Think to the film we watched in class—do the issues raised in that film resurface in these texts?)
• What arguments do these texts make? How are they distinct? Related?
Some soldiers that had become seriously injured in the war were sent home so they could be better cared for in American VA hospitals. The VA staff in the movie Coming Home is portrayed as inept and absent however, leaving patients in need of assistance for long periods of time. With too many patients to look after, they are unable to get to everyone’s requests and seem to take the easy way out in dealing with the problems they face. A critical look at whether veterans were really getting better treatment is depicted through Luke’s urine bag debacle.
While Luke is unable to move his legs, he wheels around the hospital with canes on a hospital bed, only needing an aid to change his bag of urine. After getting dismissed by a staff member who already had too much on his plate, Luke leaves to find his nurse when Sally accidently runs into him. This collision loosened the hose connected to the bag or urine causing it to spill all over herself and the floor. Luke becomes enraged, shouting at the staff that finally arrives, berating them for not coming to his aid sooner, which would have prevented the entire ordeal. They cannot calm him down by talking to him, so they overtake him and sedate him with drugs, placing him in a solitary room to sleep off the medication. Instead of dealing with the emotional turmoil that the veteran’s have, this scene shows that the staff would rather just administer drugs and avoid dealing with the problem. Rather than acknowledging the fact that they were absent for a while and unwilling to help him, they turn the problem onto Luke, drugging him for being a menace.
When Luke wakes up, he realizes he has been placed in arm restraints and cannot move. Someone must sit with him and feed him, which he finds dejecting and ridiculous. He states that he can feed himself, but after his recent blow up they feel that he is a safety risk. By taking away one of the few things that Luke can do himself, they demoralize him further and exaggerate the fact that he is crippled and must rely on someone else to survive. He falls into a further depression, refusing to eat if he isn’t the one feeding himself. Worse than being absent, this power play displayed by the staff is disheartening to the viewer because it shows the poor treatment those who fought for our country are being given.
Community identity is an important theme in the movie, The Deer Hunter. The immigrant community in Clairton, Pennsylvania, feels strong pride for their Russian heritage as well as their American patriotism. The audience sees this early in the movie during the banquet scene celebrating Stevie, Michael, and Nick’s enlisting in the Army as well as Stevie’s wedding. This scene displays the community’s collective identity as both devoted Americans and culturally eastern-European. Together, the three young men celebrate their country, community, and their working class background with family and friends. This scene is important because it shows the audience the sense of community identity within each of these young men and sets up the clash they will later feel in the new world of South Vietnam.
The banquet hall is decorated in red, white, and blue sashes circling the room with three giant portraits of the men going to war. A traditional eastern-European band crowds the stage, playing Russian style music while the audience dances their culture’s usual dance. Several times, people make an effort to congratulate Nick, Michael, and Stevie over their coming service and the bandleader makes an approving announcement, dedicating a few songs to the trio. The atmosphere is festive. The community’s sense of identity is apparent in this scene; the crowd is present to celebrate the men shipping off to war, but their means of showing gratitude is manifested through their culture’s traditional practices. Here, the audience sees how the traditions of this immigrant community blend together with their newer patriotic sentiments. They are a strong communities held together by their traditional roots and combined values.
The men see a war veteran at the party and are initially put off by his lack of interesting in either them or the war: when asked what he though about Vietnam, the soldier says, “fuck it,” not necessarily maliciously, so much as absentmindedly. While they quickly right off the soldier, his wanton disregard foreshadows the coming troubles for each of the three young men in Vietnam. In Vietnam, their community and all of its support will no longer be present. This scene is important because it develops the strong community ties of each man. They feel like family together. The banquet scene astutely shows the audience the contrasts between the quite solidarity and homogony in the community of Clairton, Pennsylvania and coming lack of control found in South Vietnam, seen most clearly during the scenes surrounding the panic at the fall of Saigon.
Alex Constantine
November 13, 2008
America and Vietnam
Blog Post: The Deer Hunter
The Deer Hunter is a poignant film about the futility of American involvement in the Vietnam War and the needless loss of physical and emotional livelihood as a result. Perhaps the most significant scene in the film takes place when the three friends Michael, Steven and Nick are held captive in a Vietcong prison camp. The three prisoners are forced to play Russian roulette with one another and gamble on the result. I believe the representation of the Vietcong soldiers throughout this scene (while it is probably historically inaccurate and unfairly portrays the Vietnamese people as unredeemable, terrible, racist murderers) represents the horrific and absurd brutality of the Vietnam War. The scene is extremely tense in order to demonstrate the fear and stress that loomed over American soldiers throughout the war. The game of Russian roulette is a metaphor for the luck and lack of self-determination involved in a soldier’s life during the war and this complete lack of control over one’s life contributes heavily to the intensity of the scene. Furthermore, the graphic nature and violence of the scene demonstrates the gratuitous violence and disturbing imagery of the Vietnam War on the whole. Finally, the absurdity of Russian roulette as a game and the fact that the prisoners are forced to bet on the very lives of their friends represents the absurdity of the war and of America’s involvement therein. Obviously, Russian roulette also attaches to the motif of one bullet, one kill, eluded to by Michael in the beginning of the film. Steven’s mental instability as a result of his near death (the bullet grazes his head during Russian roulette) and subsequent punishment at the hands of the Vietcong, is representative of the mental instability that troubled many soldiers as a result of the war. Furthermore, the dichotomy between Michael’s willingness to leave his companion during his and Nick’s escape, and Nick’s disgust at this idea explores the different mental and emotional states brought on by the war. Michael develops a sort of every man for himself attitude, while for Nick, the war only strengthens the bonds between he and his comrades.