A Comparison Of The Vurger Hill And Hamburger Hill

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The Vietnam War and how it has been viewed in history has changed drastically over time. At first, during the early parts of the war the American Public was deceived by the government to think that the Viet Cong were monsters and American troops were there for the greater good and to stop the spread of communism. American Soldiers were portrayed as Heroes fighting for the common good and each was good inside. American technology and weapons were seen as superior to the enemy and the film showed battles where American’s earned victories. However, as the American public began to become aware of what really happened in Vietnam a very different narrative began to take shape. Hamburger Hill represents what America thought of the Vietnam War after …show more content…

American Soldiers in Green Berets are portrayed as heroes who will put country first and are seen of men and honor and integrity. American officers are seen as competent and smart making decisions throughout the film. Hamburger Hill portrays American soldiers are absolutely reckless and underprepared. The film portrayed soldiers going to brothels, being racist towards the Vietnamese and African Americans in their own battalion. Also, Hamburger Hill highlighted the lack of communication and competence of officers in Vietnam by showing friendly fire incidents and sending many soldiers to their death for a hill that will only be abandoned after a few weeks of control. The soldiers portrayed in Hamburger Hill were far from the soldiers in Green Berets. The portrayal of Viet Cong soldiers is one of the starkest differences between the two films. Green Berets shows the Viet Cong being the absolute epitome of evil almost savage-like. The attitude towards Viet Cong is exemplified in a conversation between George Beckworth and Sgt. Petersen before the attack on the camp. “George Beckworth: Later on... you mean after everybody 's dead? Sgt. Petersen: Yes, everybody. Men... women... and children. Everybody.” The film portrays the Viet Cong absolutely …show more content…

The American public learned after the making of The Green Berets that American soldiers committed countless war crimes, and the Vietnamese people didn’t even want us there. In a speech before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry spoke about some of the atrocities that occurred in Vietnam. In this speech Kerry spoke about numerous war crimes committed by veterans when he said, “They told stories that, at times, they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam” This statement occurred in 1971 three years after the filming of Green Berets. The words spoken by John Kerry have no similarity to the soldiers portrayed in Green Berets because the American Public simply didn’t know what was going on in Vietnam. The My Lai massacre was also uncovered after the production of Green Berets as widespread media coverage did not become aware of the massacre until 1969. The American Public believed we were not the aggressor in the war and we were there for the “greater

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