By: Gerald Loeffers

Hello everyone! Again, I am shying away from the news of the day to bring you another
culture article. I will be talking about the changes in the way war is depicted on the screen over the last 100 years. I remember watching old war movies with John Wayne and others of that era and I also remember watching one of the oldest war movies of all time: “ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT.” It was very realistic at the time and it depicted how there was no fun to be had in a real war. I was born during the last breaths of the Vietnam war, in the early 1970s, so I didn’t learn of it until history class in the later 1980s. The war movies of that time were not supportive of the war, or of the troops who were fighting it. And let’s be honest… the troops were treated like crap and made invisible by both the radical left and traitors like John Kerry and Jane “HANOI” Fonda. But let’s not forget the collusion of Washington and Hollywood in utilizing government-run propaganda to sell recruitment and war bonds. Remember what they did with DAFFY DUCK and the early part of the first CAPTAIN AMERICA, where they turned him into a propaganda salesman.

TURN OF THE CENTURY

When America voted in Woodrow Wilson, he promised a peaceful no war America, but oh… he did it again with a lie and a smile! We had WORLD WAR I — the war to end all wars. Yeah right! The early war movies of this day and age, were a mixed bag with classics such as, THE FOUR FEATHERS and ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT. Both of these were anti-war in nature, but not anti-military and they did cover how unglamorous war is when you see your friends shot or blown up. That’s not good (J.R.R. TOLKIEN can attest to this… he was a WWI VET who saw his friend blown up next to him) and later on down the road, the GARY COOPER’s (I used to live in MISSOULA, MT on a street named after this humble man) classic SARGENT YORK came out. It was about a man who wanted to serve, but didn’t want to do the killing part. He ended up being a legend along with AUDIE MURPHY.

LET ME BE CLEAR

I support the troops period… no matter who their CNC is. I have never been in the military. I have never been to war or in combat. I will never be able to fully understand what current or past veterans have gone through and what they have lost or have suffered in silence or openly. But I do read and I do talk to vets who want someone to hear them out. Reading about it and watching a movie will never replace real experiences or the thoughts of the real deal vets. I can only support and lesson. The thing I do know is that if you talk to any current vet of our current wars, they will tell you the same thing… street to street and door to door gun fighting SUCKS!

LET’S SELL THE WAR!

1941 and America is at war again with Japan and Germany. We as a nation were not ready for the war at first amid a draw down on our military, little to no infrastructure for an all out war and an economy on the skids. FDR went to war with Germany simply to stop Germany. He could of cared less what happened with the Jews. He thought they brought it on themselves. So, fast acting plans were set in motion to get the American industrial complex geared up for war and to force America to buy into sacrificing for the war effort. He wanted to gin up the people onto a war footing. Now, a lot of the war films of that day were collaborative efforts between Hollywood and Washington. People such as ERROL FLYNN and WALT DISNEY worked to promote everything from recruiting, to war bonds. Now don’t get me wrong. We needed to fight Japan and the Nazis and whip their ass. We had plenty of well meaning men who volunteered to do so. Then there were the over dramatized war movies from John Wayne. I have heard some of the older vets express their dislike for these movies for their own reasons. I like his classic: THE SANDS OF IWO JIMA. I understand that without the help of the U.S. MARINE CORPS, they wouldn’t have been able to show the file footage or use parts of the base for filming. So, I get why that was needed.

THE ANTI-WAR WAR MOVIE

The late 1960s through the 1980s saw a whole cultural shift change and a war tired America at certain points went along with this change. With counter culture anti-war, anti-soldier movies like the DEER HUNTER, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, Platoon and many others, we saw a shift in how the media and politicians react (who by my standards mismanaged the Vietnam war in the first place and then stretched it out). They shouldn’t whine about the very mess they created. These movies were created by directors who hadn’t had any combat time, but they had plenty of drama time and who believed people like John “football face” Kerry or JANE FONDA were credible sources (don’t get me started on that disgusting woman). In their younger years, these same people were part of the radical anti-war, anti-military hippie left that spit and threw SH%$T at our boys because they believed John Kerry’s lies. The one war-based movie I did love and still do from the 1980s, is CLINT EASTWOOD’s HEARTBREAK RIDGE. An old Gunny Sargent had loads guts and love for the men he was training and a serious distaste for political correctness and office BS. It was a great modern pro-Marine movie.

LET’S GET REALISTIC

The early 21st century saw another shift change in views on the military and warfare reality, with more vets actually writing down or talking about the experience and more film makers wanting to do something different with the war movement. I noticed a shift, a pull back from over the top drama and a focus on historical and warfare accuracy. They started showing the personal side of the troops, no matter the era. Steven Spielberg, with whom I disagree most of the time, impressed me with SCHINDLER’S LIST and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Later on, MEL GIBSON’s (Not a fan anymore after finding he has “PROBLEMS.” I can’t watch his stuff anymore.) WE WERE SOLDIERS, showed the bravery of the 107TH and the realities of close combat and even showed the fight on the side of the enemy. BLACK HAWK DOWN was a great historical feature that told of the FUBAR day mission that left RANGERS, DELTA and SEALs stuck in a 72-hour street fire fight and one pilot dead, with another fighting for his life. And a no clue president who almost got his block knocked off. Until LONE SURVIVOR, my favorite SEAL movie was TEARS OF THE SUN, but MARCUS LUTTRELL’s story about his mission, the men he fought with and loved and the loss of his battle brothers, was a personal reflection I won’t even bother to delve into. I have no right or business going there. That fire fight on the mountain is the real tear jerker part for me in the movie and the book. It will get to you – I don’t care how tough you are. I hear they are filming CHRIS KYLE’s AMERICAN SNIPER story as we speak. They better get that one right. MARCUS and CHRIS knew each other – it’s a TEXAS thing.

Let’s be honest… Hollywood in general and people currently in Washington on both sides, don’t get it and have used our boys as political props and photo ops and nothing more. They have been ignored, made invisible and threatened if they speak out. But there a few that care and do something about all this – whether it is MONTEL WILLIAMS or GARY SINISE doing all they can to get our boys what they need in the way of medical help at all levels, moral support or reintegration into society, these are great volunteers. But these later century war movies that have been true to form, have only been the tip of the iceberg. They are a good start and vets need to be assisted through our actions and help. You can lend an ear to talk to, buy them a cold beer or coffee on the house – just be there for them.