The 1980s: Hollywood and the Rambo-ization of American Youth- Stripes

It may seem odd that the first film I would choose in my look at the Rambo-ization of American youth in the 1980s would be the comedy spoof "Stripes." For those who have never seen this 1981 comedy classic, it stars Bill Murray as the bumbling John Winger who joins the army because he has no other alternatives in life. As soon as he joins, he finds that his antics cause him to fall foul of old time army drill sergeant Sgt. Hulka leading to some hilarious confrontations and mishaps. After comically saving his platoon at basic training graduation, they are all posted to Europe to train with the army's latest combat vehicle, the M150. After Winger and his friend take the vehicle to Germany to spend a romantic weekend with two female MPs, the rest of the platoon, led by the incompetent Captain Stillman, go off to find them and bring them back. The Captain gets lost and they end up in Czechoslovakia and are captured by the Russians. When Murray, his friend and the two ladies discover this, they take the vehicle with all its new weapons and rescue their comrades, which they do and return home as heroes. It is all very comically well done and there are laughs galore throughout the entire film. One of the most famous parts is when Murray responds to a question asked by a general with "That's the fact, Jack!"

Films like "Stripes" prove that Americans have a fantastic sense of humour. Nothing is more funnier than watching watching Bill Murray and pals bumble their way through the film and very comically defeat those nasty Russians. Especially as no one actually gets killed in the film. I have watched this film many times and I still laugh just as loudly as when I saw it for the very first time.

Those of you who have seen "Stripes" maybe asking how a film like this could like this could Rambo-ize youth. The answer is that standing alone, the film doesn't. It's actually quite harmless taken in context. However, many people the world over like to approach things with a bit of humour. Sure, we all laughed through the film and despite what I am writing here will do so should I see it again. The film is quite harmless in a war sense but since the film approaches things with humour, it formed a base for future films when they would become much more serious. What better way to get American youth to think in a more militaristic way than by laughing at the antics of comedy hero Bill Murray while he serves his country and becomes a hero.

Next post: Taps

The 1980s: Hollywood and the Rambo-ization of American Youth

In 1986, when President Reagan was visiting a high school in a town not far from my own, some like minded friends and myself went there to show our disapproval for his policy on Central America. Naturally, the pro- Reagan crowd were highly resentful of our presence there and made their feelings known. Even to the point where one lady told us where we could stick our first amendment rights. There was the one boy, about fifteen or sixteen who called us 'Commies' (original I know) to which I responded with, "It will be you they'll be sending to fight down there." The smart ass replied with, "I wanna go." I mentioned this to one of my fellow protesters who sarcastically, but seriously stated, "Of course he's not going to die, he's Rambo!"

The film "Rambo, First Blood Part II" had been released a year earlier and many Americans, especially males, had taken the character played by Sylvester Stallone to heart. He was America's new hero and everybody wanted to be like him. I have been pondering this over the past thirty years or so and I have come to the conclusion that it wasn't just one film that turned young American boys into wannabe war heroes. In fact, it has been a steady stream of films since the election of Ronald Reagan as president that lead to this.

After nearly three decades of letting this swim around in my brain, I am going to put my theory into words here. I will be looking at the films made in the 1980s and demonstrate that Hollywood played a part in Rambo-izing American youth. I admit that due to many other commitments in my life, I won't be able to post regularly, but will do so whenever I get the chance. Of course, if these posts lead to a lot of response and debate, then I will definitely post more regularly.

Next post: Stripes