Good Morning Vietnam Film Analysis

From 1945 – 1989, America and Russia were locked into the “Cold War.” (Cold War) This wasn’t like a normal war were two countries directly pitted their military strengths against each other. Instead, the Cold War was fought with politics, fear, spies, and proxy wars. This was extremely scary for the American public, creating national hatred for communism and any countries affected by it. Vietnam was one of these countries, having been divided into a southern, democratic half and a northern, communist half after World War II. Thus, when in 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson called the country to send troops in to protect the southern part, the public reacted positively. The country was still hurting after the death of President Kennedy and most people thought that if communism was not contained it …show more content…
(A+E Networks) The Movies “Good Morning Vietnam” and “Deer Hunter” display what many people thought of the war: a classic good guys vs. bad guys situation, where America would swoop in and save Vietnam from the evil communists. This idealist picture of the war is then shattered in the films when the main characters see that the conflict wasn’t as black and white as it seemed.

The Movie “Good Morning Vietnam” centers on the Army radio host Adrian Conquer. The DJ is wildly popular with the soldiers, but runs into trouble with his superiors for making fun of political figures and playing rock music. He clearly sees the American troops as heroes who he tries to invigorate with comedy while the communists he considers evil, especially after he witnesses a terrorist bombing. Very early on in the movie, he falls in love with a Vietnamese girl and, even though she rejects his initial advances, goes to great lengths to win her admiration. Conquer knows that they have cultural differences, but keeps perusing her. All the Vietnamese people he knows, from the Bar Owner to the English school class, love him, so has