U.s. Intervention Abroad During The Vietnam War - 1172 Words

From Vietnam to Iran: U.S. Intervention Abroad From Vietnam to Iraq, the United States has intervened in dozens of countries, claiming each instance as a fight for democracy and liberation. While that claim is embraced by some Americans, others reject it. Since the 1900s, a growing number of Americans have questioned U.S. international motives and oppose U.S. intervention abroad. These Americans believe that intervention results in pointless bloodshed without liberation. Movies can act as a medium to represent the full spectrum of American attitudes towards U.S. intervention abroad. Full Metal Jacket (1979) follows the journey of a Marine recruit during the Vietnam War, and Argo (2012) recounts the CIA rescue of six American hostages†¦show more content†¦involvement. Through Joker’s interactions with other U.S. soldiers, the film explores multiple opinions on the Vietnam War, focusing mostly on the critics of U.S. intervention. The Vietnam scene opens up with an interaction between Private Joker and Private Rafter man: â€Å"You know what really pisses me off...we’re supposed to helping them, and they shit all over us every chance they get. I just can’t feature that.† Rafterman’s remarks reflect the belief that the U.S. is really helping the Vietnamese; he is naive soldier who doesn’t understand the source of Vietnam hostility towards U.S. soldiers. The idea of America-helping-Vietnam is reiterated by a Colonel in the city of Hue: â€Å"We are here to help the Vietnamese because inside every gook there is an American trying to get out†. The Colonel portrays the U.S. intervention as a mission to liberate the Vietnamese. America is associated with freedom, and thus the image of an American climbing out of a Vietnamese represents the Vietnamese people discovering freedom. Therefore, Colonel believes the U.S. has a mission to help. While the messages of Rafterman and the Colonel support the war, the majority of characters in the film criticize the war as an unjustified bloodshed. About halfway into the movie, Private Joker and the squadron circle around the corpse of two dead comrades. Rafteran once again praises the U.S. sacrifice in the fight for democracy, but Private Animal Mother