Media+Today

The American war in Vietnam still has a significant impact on media today. For example, there were many producers in the 2000's that have used the Vietnam war and the time period during as a crutch for their film. See https://tgsthethingstheycarried.wikispaces.com/Movies for more information.

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE For example, Julie Taymore directed the movie across the universe. Though it wasn't directly tied to the Vietnam war and focused in Vietnam and it's soldiers, it still moved many people. The inspiration came from music by The Beatles, the war in Vietnam and it's effects on American youth. Across The Universe focuses on three main characters. Jude, a shipyard worker from liverpool who escaped the war by jumping ship in New Jersey in hopes to find his long lost father who served as an American G.I., Lucy, a college student who's worried about her boyfriend, Daniel, who is headed for service in the Vietnam war.

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FORREST GUMP Another popular movie (adapted from a novel) made in 1994 that had strong ties to the war in Vietnam is Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis. Again, this film wasn't directly focused on the war in Vietnam, but it continued to have a steady grip on the war and its impact in America throughout the film. Forrest Gump is centered around two main characters. Forrest Gump, of course and Jenny. Forrest lives through and even experiances majority of some of the most historic events of the later 20th century. Including the war in Vietnam and it's effects in America. There are many scenes with Forrest in Vietnam with his fellow soldiers, and the effects the war had on the soldiers in the war, during the war. There are also scenes of Forrest after the war, running into his old luitenant, showing the post war effects that soldiers had to deal with. media type="custom" key="17500026" align="center"

WE WERE SOLDIERS A more practical war film, 'We Were Soldiers' Directed by Randall Wallace, takes place on two fronts. Based on a non-fiction novel. The home front and Vietnam. It gives the viewer a real life look on the war in Vietnam and the effects it had on the wives of the soldiers. Starring Mel Gibson as Lieutenant General Hal Moore and Madeleine Stowe and his wife, Julia Moore. Also staring Barry Pepper as the noted Joseph L. Galloway. This is a great movie for those who want a real look at what war was like in Vietnam, because the imagry isn't muted. 'We Were Soldiers' also depicts a topic that wasn't normally thought about, how the war affected the wives and childeren of those fighting in Vietnam during and after the war. media type="custom" key="17536516" align="center"

FULL METAL JACKET Another more Vietnam based war movie was 'Full Metal Jacket'. Directed by the famous Stanley Kurbick, 'Full Metal Jacket' was deemed one of the greatest war films ever made, as well as one of Stanley Kubricks best peices of work. Starring Matthew Modine as Private/Corporal/Sergeant James T. 'Joker' Davis, Vincent D'Onofrio as Private Leonard 'Gomer Pyle' Lawrence, R.L. Ermey as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman and Arliss Howard as Private/Sergeant Robert 'Cowboy' Evans. Full Metal Jacket offers an extremely raw outlook on the war in Vietnam. The plot roates around those four main characters, three of which are new Marine Corps recruits, who meet at Parris Island for basic training.

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PLATOON Platoon is written and Directed by the esteemed Oliver Stone, and is the first film in a trilogy of Vietnam war films. Followed by 'Born on the Fourth of July' and 'Heaven & Earth'. Starring Charlie Sheen as Chris Taylor, Tom Berenger as Sergeant Barnes and Willem Dafoe as Sergeant Elias. 'Platoon' is about a young soldier Chris, and his brutal tour of duty in Vietnam. Chris was a college student who dropped out of school to serve in Vietnam. He serves his time in Vietnam with a very culturaly diverse group of soldiers.

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APOCALYPSE NOW Apocalypse now is an epic Vietnam war film. Directed and produce by Francis Ford Copalla and starring Martin Sheen as Captain Benjamin L. Willard, a veteran officer serving his third year in Vietnam, Marlon Brando as Colonel Walter E. Kurtz as a green barret officer, and Robert Duval as Leiutenant Colonel William 'Bill' Kilgore. 'Apocalypse Now' is about U.S. Army Captain Willard is sent by Colonel Lucas and a General to carry about a mission that supposedly 'doesn't exist'. media type="custom" key="18323960" align="center"

__** NOVELS **__ There Were also a number of current books that used Vietnam and its effects on returning soldiers as a crutch for their plots. OKAY FOR NOW "As a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him. So begins a coming-of-age masterwork full of equal parts comedy and tragedy from Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt. As Doug struggles to be more than the “skinny thug” that his teachers and the police think him to be, he finds an unlikely ally in Lil Spicer—a fiery young lady who “smelled like daisies would smell if they were growing in a big field under a clearing sky after a rain.” In Lil, Doug finds the strength to endure an abusive father, the suspicions of a whole town, and the return of his oldest brother, forever scarred, from Vietnam. Together, they find a safe haven in the local library, inspiration in learning about the plates of John James Audubon’s birds, and a hilarious adventure on a Broadway stage. In this stunning novel, Schmidt expertly weaves multiple themes of loss and recovery in a story teeming with distinctive, unusual characters and invaluable lessons about love, creativity, and survival."

TOO BIG A STORM "Astronauts have taken the very first steps on the moon, yet Brady Callahan feels anything but hopeful. Her brother, an army private, is missing in Vietnam and she's stuck at home in Minnesota, worrying about him and not knowing how to make a difference. Two newcomers in her life will help her find her path, though. There's the outspoken, charismatic Sally, who becomes entangled in a dangerous underground rebellion. Sally challenges Brady's practical nature and pulls her out of her shell enough to act on her attraction toward Mark, a young Vietnam vet who is as quiet and sensible as Sally is brash and risk-seeking. Through these relationships, Brady will find a way to feel at home in the storm of her troubled times&150to feel hopeful and to claim some happiness for herself. An absorbing picture of the complicated Vietnam War era, Too Big a Storm is also a moving portrait of the healing power of family and friends, and of one exceptional young woman's self-discovery."



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