Effects of The Green Berets and Platoon on American Public Opinion
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America's involvement in Vietnam started in 1950 and did not conclude until 1975. During this quarter-century, American public opinion regarding the ongoing war drastically changed. "The Green Berets" was released in 1967 and offers a noticeably different interpretation of the war than "Platoon," a film that was released in 1986. Both of these interpretations accurately represent the overall belief of American public opinion during their respective time periods.
In "The Green Berets," the reporter character revealed his ignorance by stating that he was unsure where Vietnam was located on a map. He also displayed tentativeness towards America's involvement in Vietnam. While the reporter was expressing his concerns, the United States military was flaunting their modern, powerful weapons to the public. This scene in the film perfectly represents America's belief of the time they were slightly reluctant to send their military to Vietnam, but at the same time believed that they could easily conquer the overseas communist threat. This was the general belief from the start of America's involvement in Vietnam; however, it slowly changed throughout the 1960's.
In the beginning of the 1960's, John F...