Leatherstocking in 'Nam: Rambo, Platoon, and the American Frontier Myth.

Motion pictures; Popular culture; Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Rambo: First Blood, Part II (Film); Stone, Oliver, 1946-; Platoon (Film : 1986); Vietnamese history, 1945-1975; War in mass media; United States history, 1945-

Vietnam; United States

This article reviews the motion pictures Rambo: First Blood, Part II and Platoon, which both exhibited the U.S. frontier myth during the Vietnam War. The cinematic depictions of the most unpopular war of the U.S. were allegedly regarded as box-office poison and that such a perception has undergone a complete turnabout during the period. In terms of style, sensibility, and political viewpoint, it would allegedly be hard to conceive of two war movies more antithetical than both movies. A high-velocity action film in which character Sly Stallone returns to Southeast Asia on a mission to rescue captive missing in actions, Rambo was widely denounced for its rampaging narcissism, rabid anti-Communism, and shameless rewriting of the U.S. history. That a movie as violent and one-dimensional as Rambo became the top-grossing film of the year was, in the eyes of many critics, depressing confirmation of the troglodyte taste of the mass audience, as well as its steadfast refusal to face the inglorious truth about the involvement of the U.S. in Vietnam. As a result, the phenomenal success of Oliver Stone's Platoon left the pundits in a state of some perplexity. Before its opening, industry insiders expected Stone's low-budget movie to be, at best, a success.