There is a substantial number of films that depict the soldiers of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Infantry Division, also known as the “Screaming Eagles”. This film in particular, Hamburger Hill, focuses on the men of the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment in the 3rd Brigade of the Division, and their time spent training for and experiencing the Battle of Hamburger Hill, or Hill 937. Taking place during the Vietnam War, this film goes into the more personal aspects of the war, such as how people back in the United States felt about the war and its veterans and--notably-- the negative reactions that everyone seemed to have towards servicemen who were simply following their orders. Hamburger Hill also shows the extensive toll that the war
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The film was also produced by Maria Nasatir, who had a son that had served in Vietnam, which was her inspiration for coming up with the movie (Hinston, 1987). With these backgrounds going into the production of the movie, Hamburger Hill seems to have been made for people who are both interested in the war as it applied to the soldiers on the ground, and it even makes light of the severe difficulty of the battles themselves, made even more frustrating by the presence of the media, who do not always depict everything in the correct context. This leads to a negative public opinion on the war and its soldiers, something we even get a personal look at from one soldier in particular. He recalls having gone home after his first tour of duty to hippies throwing bags of animal feces at him, never being treated with anything but adversity and antagonizing from the public, and he had even walked in on his wife having sex with another man, and she felt no remorse towards her actions or him. The only person in his town who had welcomed him back ended up having a child of their own serve in the war. The son did not survive, but instead of sympathy or even indifference, the people of his town sent him death threats and calls praising the death of his son, labelling him a “murderer”. This sent the bartender into a deep depression, which he turned to hard drugs to escape. The …show more content…
It is true that a large amount of soldiers in the Vietnam War were treated unfairly upon their return, and it is possible that some could sway their opinions in a way that could hurt the soldiers themselves. Another one in the film had a girlfriend he intended to marry at the beginning of the film. Partially through, he receives a “Dear John” letter that explains that she no longer wants to talk to him because her college friends had convinced her that it was “immoral” to marry a murderer. The soldier himself doesn’t even make it to the end of the battle, meaning that he had lost both his love and his life to the Vietnam War. Soldiers fighting in wars today do still have to deal with unpredictable combat situations and times when they may be facing a losing effort, and it is true that to some people, the military are not performing the most moral of acts, although the public opinion today is nowhere near as bad as it had been during the Vietnam War, when there were people on the streets demonstrating against the war, the draft, and the
The film was also produced by Maria Nasatir, who had a son that had served in Vietnam, which was her inspiration for coming up with the movie (Hinston, 1987). With these backgrounds going into the production of the movie, Hamburger Hill seems to have been made for people who are both interested in the war as it applied to the soldiers on the ground, and it even makes light of the severe difficulty of the battles themselves, made even more frustrating by the presence of the media, who do not always depict everything in the correct context. This leads to a negative public opinion on the war and its soldiers, something we even get a personal look at from one soldier in particular. He recalls having gone home after his first tour of duty to hippies throwing bags of animal feces at him, never being treated with anything but adversity and antagonizing from the public, and he had even walked in on his wife having sex with another man, and she felt no remorse towards her actions or him. The only person in his town who had welcomed him back ended up having a child of their own serve in the war. The son did not survive, but instead of sympathy or even indifference, the people of his town sent him death threats and calls praising the death of his son, labelling him a “murderer”. This sent the bartender into a deep depression, which he turned to hard drugs to escape. The …show more content…
It is true that a large amount of soldiers in the Vietnam War were treated unfairly upon their return, and it is possible that some could sway their opinions in a way that could hurt the soldiers themselves. Another one in the film had a girlfriend he intended to marry at the beginning of the film. Partially through, he receives a “Dear John” letter that explains that she no longer wants to talk to him because her college friends had convinced her that it was “immoral” to marry a murderer. The soldier himself doesn’t even make it to the end of the battle, meaning that he had lost both his love and his life to the Vietnam War. Soldiers fighting in wars today do still have to deal with unpredictable combat situations and times when they may be facing a losing effort, and it is true that to some people, the military are not performing the most moral of acts, although the public opinion today is nowhere near as bad as it had been during the Vietnam War, when there were people on the streets demonstrating against the war, the draft, and the