Symbolism In The Film First Blood

The film First Blood is first film in a series about John Rambo, a discharged green beret who struggles to assimilate into society and by failing to do so causes mass chaos. The film’s director is Ted Kotcheff, a director who got his start in England directing a film in 1957. Kotcheff has received praise for his role in increasing the film industry in Canada, Rotten Tomatoes states that Kotcheff should receive credit for, “all but single-handedly turned that country's film industry around”. Kotcheff can be viewed as being a very successful director as he has directed films such as Fun with Dick and Jane as well as Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?. From examining the types of films that Kotcheff has directed, one can conclude he is a …show more content…
One instance of symbolism is the success of Rambo in the forest against a much better armed and advanced enemy. This is symbolic because Rambo represents the Vietcong and the sheriff and the National Guard represent the American military. The sheriff and National guard have a feeling of great confidence that it would only be a “matter of time” before they caught Rambo, due to their sheer technological and weapons advantage. However, Rambo can stop their attempts to capture or murder him, very similarly to the way that the Vietcong was able to withstand the attacks of the United States military. Another thing that is symbolic in the film of an American issue in the war is the character of Teasle. The character represents the American stubbornness to learn from their mistakes in the war. Instead of changing his plan and listening the experienced colonel, the sheriff decides to continue to make the same mistakes in dealing with Rambo. This is symbolic of the American effort in Vietnam, where instead of changing strategy and tactics, they opted to just increase the supplies and personnel in the current strategy. There were several instances of symbolism in the