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