... is what hurts, it is what refuses desire and sets inexorable limits to individual as well as collective praxis..."3 In an era we have so easily conceived of as "post-Vietnam," Jameson's general pronouncement about "history" seems especially appropriate. There are many, no matter what their political persuasion, who say "we lost the war," a consensus recognition of frustrated national desire ... . The films about US intervention in Vietnam are structured around this confrontation between "desire" and "history." The difficulty, however, is that, as James William Gibson notes, "Unlike previ...

• Word Count: 2039
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... them and reinforce our Western values. Many well-educated, sensitive and more demanding spectators are dissatisfied with robotlike, superficial villains who destroy but have no character. If there is no background or psychological action, if the audience is not required to reflect on the villain's motives, strategy and feelings, then the villain is only a one-sided, boring bad guy in a film ... made with regard to profit, which often means sacrificing quality. Each of these films can be viewed as a product of its environment: the U.S. - Soviet relations in the Cold War, the Vietnam War,...

• Word Count: 2309
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School