628
PARTISAN REVIEW
th ey gave way
to
g rim and ho ll ow Ko rean stori es. T h e milit a ry still
lav ish ed its coopera ti on , but th e o ld simpl e fa ith just wasn ' t thert'; th e
serpent o f ambi guity h ad enterecl th c garden o f g lln g- h o innocen ce.
By the time o f Vi etn am th a t measure o f stra in had grown int o a
mo rass o f doubt. Still, wh at's surpri sing is n o t th a t Ho ll ywood di d no t
" face up " to the wa r-how o ften h as it faced up to an ything ser io us
and d iffi cult ?-but th at it didn ' t do mo re to try a nd sell it. Ap a rt from
Jo hn Wayn e's version o f
Th e G reen Berets
( 1968), whi ch h ad a lmost
eno ugh Pent agon h elp to ma ke it a n o ffi cia l p rocluction, th e mood of
n ati on al agita ti on was defl ec ted ont o o th er times and settin gs, such as
Mexi co (in films like
Th e W ild Bunch ,
1969 ), Korea (in
M *A*S*H ,
1970 ), domes ti c crime, o r the o ld standby, Wo rl d War II (in George
C.
Scott 's compl ex, ambiva lent po rtraya l in
Patl on, 1970).
If
Ho ll ywood averted its eyes from So uth eas t Asia it was n o t fo r
want o f interes t o r ideas. As Juli an Smith spell s it o ut in hi s a ptl y tit led
book
L ook ing Away: H o ll ywood an d V iet nam
( 1975), "T he wa r
p roba bl y inspired a hi gh er percentage o f a bo rt ed p rojects th a n an y
o ther issu e confrontin g Ho ll ywood." Smith a lso points out th a t
bes ides
Th e Green Berets
there h ave been severa l dozl'l1 film s dea lin g
marg in a ll y with the war. Man y are cheap exp lo ita ti on fli cks center ing
on Vi etn am veteran s, th e wa lkin g wo unded, who arc trea ted as powder
kegs o f la tent p sych os is and vi o len ce. Th ese
mCll
ra rel y sh ow an y
ph ys ica l injuri es -tha t mi ght prove depress in g -but th eir psychi c
scars a re used to j usti fy vas t expl os ion s of gore and ca rn age. Sm ith
describes thi s as " th e g row in g po pul arit y o f the Vi etvet as a g imm ick
for p ass ing o ff vio len ce as socia l commenta ry."
Meanwhil e, back in rea l life, thou sands o f ma imed men home
from the wa r h ad dropped out o f the na ti on a l consciousn ess; evcryone
was tired o f Vi etn am , ready
to
p ut it out o f mind. All th a t's been
writt en by a nd a bo ut the Vi etn am return ees emph as izes th e lack of
welcome, the poor job p rosp ects, th e degree o f di sloca ti o n and
di saffection
(No Victory Parades,
on e book is ca ll ed ). Th e vets are
livin g reminders o f an u gl y and unpopul a r wa r, where even bravery
and acts o f courage los t the h a lo o f h ero ism. Yet suddenl y th e movi e
industry is belling large sums th at th e Vi etn am ta boo ca n be lifted . Fi ve
yea rs a ft er the withdrawal o f Ameri can fo rces, three yea rs a ft er th e fall
of Sa igon , at least h a lf a dozen majo r films will be rel eased thi s year,
including Fran cis Fo rd Coppo la 's lon g-awa ited , ill -fa ted
Apocalypse
N ow
(l oosel y based on Conrad 's
H eart of Darkn f'ss).
Th e kind o f
res istan ce they may en counter I sen sed in m yself-a twin ge o f ho rro r a t
the in vitati on to see some of these films a nd examine wh a t th ey h a ve
to
