HOLLYWOOD’S TAKE ON VIETNAM What does the tradition and variety of Vietnam War Films reveal about the reaction and responses to the conflict in the cultural life of the USA?

This project is the result of a long-standing passion in both modern history being viewed and understood through popular culture resources, such as film, as well as an enduring interest in the Vietnam war – specifically its significant cultural impact upon American society. This dissertation aims to come to an understanding of America’s reaction and response to the variety of Vietnam war films produced since the end of the conflict. The conflict in Vietnam casts a shadow over American society and culture to an unprecedented degree, only equalled in America’s foreign policy interventions in both Iraq and Afghanistan respectively. The American combat in Vietnam was, and for many still is, a contentious issue which severely and irreparably divided the nation throughout the late twentieth century. Although many now argue that the Korean War, between 1950 to 1953, acted as a pre-curser to the later events, it was Vietnam that was truly the first case in American military history that provoked such widespread national embarrassment and shame. For many, it was unclear why America were so heavily involved in this civil war in South-East Asia – with others believing that America had no place there and were acting as the aggressors. This was a difficult period in American history and had a lasting impact on the nation’s high and popular culture. Not only did American intervention in Vietnam have a devastating impact on the lives of millions of Vietnamese civilians, it also caused the deaths of thousands of US troops as well as traumatically altering the lives for all that fought in the war