English A2

Notions

The Iron Curtain

A political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union after World War II to seal off itself and its dependent eastern and central European allies from open contact with the West and other non-communist areas. It was popularised by Winston Churchill in 1946 in his speech.

The blockade loosened after Stalin’s death 1953, but in 1961 the Berlin wall harshened it again. The soviets even jammed the west’s radio waves. The curtain was largely destroyed in 1990 when the soviet union broke up.

The function of the curtain was to act as a buffer between the Soviets and the west since they feared another invasion like operation Barbarossa by the Nazis.

The formation of the Berlin wall heightened west’s fears of Soviet aggression so they formed a defensive military alliance called nato, with the basis that an attack on one of the allied countries would mean an attack on all of them. The Soviets retaliated with the Warsaw pact, also a military alliance.

The Truman Doctrine, policy of containment, arms race

With the Truman Doctrine, President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces. The Truman Doctrine effectively reoriented US foreign policy, away from its usual stance of withdrawal from regional conflicts not directly involving the United States, to one of possible intervention in faraway conflicts.

It started when in 1947 Britain announced that they will not support military or economic aid to Greece in its fight against communism. Truman urged Congress to send aid to Greece and also turkey because they were also fighting communism. Other factors also played a role in enforcing the doctrine like the soviets rejecting the Baruch plan for international control over nuclear energy and weapons in June 1946 and Soviet attempts to pressure the Iranian Government into granting them oil concessions.

McCarthy era

Senator Joseph McCarthy was a senator who, with the House Committee on Un-American Activities led a witch hunt for communist sympathizers during the cold war. McCarthy took advantage of the nation’s wave of fanatic terror against communism, and emerged on February 9, 1950, claiming he had a list of 205 people in the State Department who were known members of the American Communist Party. The American public went crazy with the thought of communists living within the United States and roared for the investigation of the underground agitators. McCarthy was considered one of the least qualified and corrupt politicians in history. He basically went on a manhunt and the accused had 2 choices. Either to give out other names as Russian spies to go free or to stay silent and deny, which would mean losing friends and jobs. The witch hunt accused many prominent figures such as Oppenheimer and Einstein. The era came to an end when McCarthy went too far by investigating the military, at which point the president, Eisenhower understood that he must be stopped. The army fired back with critical accusations about abusing congressional privileges. The public soon turned on McCarthy along with critics and the media. the nation grew to realize that McCarthy was “evil and unmatched in malice.” He lost his position as chairman on the operations of the Senate and all his power in the media. He died 3 years later because of drinking. This era was allowed to happen because of the fear of communism.

Korean War

The Korean War lasted from 1950 to 1953. The Korean War was actually called a police action by the United States since the war was not officially declared by Congress. In 1949 the Chinese communists won their civil war against the Chinese nationalists. They began to support armed communist conflicts near their borders as they considered the United States and all of its allies to be a threat to their security and political views. After World War II, North Korea was under Soviet rule and South Korea was under the rule of the US. Tensions grew between the two territories. On the 25th of June, 1950, North Korea, with Chinese help, invaded South Korea. Initially, the attack was powerful enough to drive back the unprepared forces of South Korea. In time, though, the US was able to repel the North Korean forces by employing air, naval and amphibian counter-attacks. Along with UN forces, the US marched onto North Korean territory where they were met with an army organized by China. The US forces were then pushed back onto South Korean territory. The US, however, was able to, once again, gain some more ground and fought its way to the 38th parallel. Here a front line was established. The two sides fought and were not able to gain an advantage over each other. An armistice was negotiated over and a demilitarized zone was established. This demilitarized zone serves as a border region for the two nations of North Korea and South Korea to this day.

Role of J. F.  Kennedy

He was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until he was assassinated in November 1963. He started the Peace Corps and gave NASA the job of getting to the Moon.

Bay of Pigs and the Cuba crisis

US paratroopers descended upon a region on the coastline of Cuba called the Bay of Pigs. They were there to interfere with Fidel Castro’s rise to power (because he was communist and was organizing an uprising) but the attack failed and the American soldiers were imprisoned in Cuban prisons. The USSR saw how Cuba was being harassed and to deter Cuba from further harassment they put missiles there (because Fidel Castro was communist-minded, which the USSR supported). The US opposed that since they considered missiles 90 miles away from US soil to be a slight safety hazard. So a (this is the closest the two sides ever got to have a direct conflict during the Cold War) negotiation was held between US and USSR and they agreed that all the missiles would be disassembled and returned to USSR and in return the US would get rid of their ballistic presence in Italy and Turkey (which the public didn’t know about, but was a threat to the USSR). The Bay of Pigs was largely lead by Minister McNamara.

Space Race

The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US), for supremacy in spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the missile-based nuclear arms race between the two nations that occurred following World War II, enabled by captured German rocket technology and personnel. The technological superiority required for such supremacy was seen as necessary for national security, and symbolic of ideological superiority. The Space Race spawned pioneering efforts to launch artificial satellites, unmanned space probes of the Moon, Venus, and Mars, and human spaceflight in low Earth orbit and to the Moon.

The competition began on August 2, 1955, when the Soviet Union responded to the US announcement four days earlier of intent to launch artificial satellites for the International Geophysical Year, by declaring they would also launch a satellite “in the near future”. The Soviet Union beat the US to this, with October 4, 1957, orbiting of Sputnik 1, and later beat the US to the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, 1961. The race peaked with July 20, 1969, US landing of the first humans on the Moon with Apollo 11. The USSR tried but failed manned lunar missions, and eventually cancelled them and concentrated on Earth orbital space stations.

A period of détente followed with the April 1972 agreement on a co-operative Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, resulting in the July 1975 rendezvous in Earth orbit of a US astronaut crew with a Soviet cosmonaut crew. The end of the Space Race is harder to pinpoint than its beginning, but it was over by the December 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, after which true spaceflight cooperation between the US and Russia began.

The Space Race has left a legacy of Earth communications and weather satellites, and continuing human space presence on the International Space Station. It has also sparked increases in spending on education and research and development, which led to beneficial spin-off technologies.

Vietnam War (causes, outcome and consequences)

At the time, Vietnam was a French colony. However, a communist rebellion started to emerge in the country and it repelled the French from Vietnam territory. The US, fearing communism’s rising control in the region, aids France’s effort to reclaim the region. However, the communist side is able to claim control over the conflict. A treaty between France and Vietnam is established: there is to be a northern (communist) region of Vietnam and a southern (western alignment) region of Vietnam. In 1964, missiles are fired at a US ship in the Gulf of Tonkin by Vietnam. President Lyndon Johnson got Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which stated that military force could be used in Vietnam – initially only limited to bombings. At home, US citizens were mixed on the topic of the Vietnam war. Some believed that it did not make sense to be expanding US lives and fighting for a foreign cause. Eventually, the war was lost by the US The loss was obviously a detriment to the image of the US’s government, both at home and abroad. President Lyndon Johnson did not even rerun for president due to the controversy over the Vietnam War.

Richard Nixon and the Watergate Affair

Watergate was a major political scandal that occurred in the United States in the 1970s, following a break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. and President Richard Nixon’s administration’s attempted cover-up of its involvement. When the conspiracy was discovered and investigated by the US Congress, the Nixon administration’s resistance to its probes led to a constitutional crisis.

The term Watergate has come to encompass an array of clandestine and often illegal activities undertaken by members of the Nixon administration. Those activities included such “dirty tricks” as bugging the offices of political opponents and people of whom Nixon or his officials were suspicious. Nixon and his close aides ordered harassment of activist groups and political figures, using the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The role of Henry Kissinger

An American diplomat and political scientist (national security advisor). Most of all, Henry Kissinger appeared throughout the global media as a genius, villain, and consummate manipulator who wielded power at the most important points in recent history. Henry Kissinger was Richard Nixon’s key foreign policy adviser. He was influential in negotiating the Paris Peace Accords which ended American involvement in the Vietnam War. Still to this day a very controversial figure in politics.

Counterculture, Summer of Love and Woodstock

Counterculture is a subculture whose values and norms of behaviour differ substantially from those of mainstream society, often in opposition to mainstream cultural mores. Rebellion against the establishment appeared in many forms in the United States during the 1960s. Caught up in the rising frustration circling around America’s increased involvement in Vietnam, the racial unrest in many urban areas, and the pressure to conform, a growing number of the younger generation rejected the American way of life. The resulting movement termed the counterculture, embraced an alternative lifestyle characterized by long hair, brightly coloured clothes, communal living, free sex, and rampant drug use. Summer of Love is a phrase given to the summer of 1967 to try to describe the feeling of being in San Francisco that summer when the so-called “hippie movement” came to full fruition. Woodstock was a festival in 1969 August with over 400 000 participants.

Visual

For my visual this time I chose this propaganda poster from during the Vietnam War. Amongst the actual war, propaganda wars were taking place. During the era, politics played a huge role in society, especially the fight with communism. A lot of people felt extremely strongly of their political beliefs and thus propaganda emerged. Also, America’s participation in the Vietnam War was very controversial. With a lot of people believing that America shouldn’t have taken part in the war at all. These people with strong opinions created the propaganda and now we can look back and see the dissatisfaction with the political situation at the time. I believe propaganda is a very powerful tool in society because it gets around very fast and gets the point through very well. And for that reason played a big role in that era.

Review

I believe the aim of this movie wasn’t to show the Vietnam War but instead the psychological side of becoming a marine. So I don’t think this should be called a war movie but instead a psychological one. For this reason, a lot of people misunderstand the movie and feel like it is missing something but actually, the film is a true masterpiece.
In the film industry, Kubrick is well respected and received praise again for this piece. And I believe rightfully so. His ability to make the viewer think about the movie and it’s true meaning for days is incredible.

“The opening passages of “Full Metal Jacket” promise much more than the film finally is able to deliver.”

(https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/full-metal-jacket-1987)

In agreement with this critic, I did enjoy the first half of the movie more than the second one. It was more interesting to watch but I believe those were his intentions. Hartman was creating killing machines to go to Vietnam. The ultimate goal was to remove all individuality from the men. Ironically his best work, Pyle, who at first seemed completely incompetent, ended up being the perfect killing machine and the cause of his own death. Joker however never completely lost his individuality, we get this from the peace sign he wears on his uniform while having “Born to kill” written on his helmet. But towards the ending when he kills the sniper, I do think he lost the last piece of himself. In the ending scene, we can see all the men walking while singing, this scene indicates that the men have now all become true killing machines and lost what made them human.
When talking about historical accuracy, I would say this movie is pretty accurate. The soldiers were trained very harshly and some did literally lose their minds. But if someone was as incompetent and clearly mentally unwell, they probably would’ve been sent home. Also, the movie made the war seem like on-going combat but in reality, there was very little actual man-on-man fighting and a lot more just waiting and spying.

“I’ve come to appreciate Full Metal Jacket more and more since I first saw it in 1987.”

(https://www.rottentomatoes.com/critic/jeffrey-m-anderson/movies)

I agree with this viewer’s opinion that the more you watch this movie, the more you’ll come to appreciate it. And probably with every watch, you’ll discover more and more little details you didn’t notice before.
To summarise, I would say that historically this movie is quite accurate maybe with a few details that were a bit different in reality. But as an art piece, it is very well made and truly touches the viewer.

Movie review

I found “Full Metal Jacket” to be the best movie I watched during our movie course. I found the acting to be superb and found the attention to detail in the move to be amazing. The movie was interesting all throughout the movie and I never felt bored. One of the reasons I like this movie so much is my interest in war and weaponry, so am I the only one who enjoyed this movie or do the critics agree.

One review I found goes as follows “An electrifying opening segment that could stand alone as one of Kubrick’s great films, except it’s only about 45 minutes long.” While I agree that the first part of the movie is brilliant I dont think the second part of the movie was a lot worse. The second part of the movie gave a good overview of how the soldiers felt in Vietnam and what they did. And all this was historically accurate.

A positive review I found said “It may seem too spare, too clinical, its moments of war even too familiar for some. But, aiming for minds as well as hearts, Kubrick hits his target squarely.” I find that this review represents my ideas perfectly. I felt this movie touched me and I felt a connection with the carters of the movie, especially Pyle.

All in all I movie was truly a masterpiece. Most critics find that the first part of the movie, on Parris island, was better than the second part of the movie however a majority of the reviews are still positive and with an audience score of 94 percent (on Rotten tomatoes) it is obvious that people other than me also found this movie to be great.

The last but not least movie we watched in our English class was “Full Metal Jacket”. The movie took place during the Vietnam War (1955-1975) and the second part of the movie showed us the Marines fighting in the war. This photo was taken in 1970 and in this image you can see a Lance Corporal U.S. soldier carrying an elderly Vietnamese lady to safety. The woman looks a bit scared and is holding her conical hat. The soldier is looking in front of him to see where he is stepping and on his face I think you can see a bit of a gloriful grin since he saved the lady. Not all soldiers were just “killing machines” as in contradiction to some beliefs that the U.S. soldiers were just ruthlessly killing.

Iron curtain

The Iron Curtain is the name for the “barrier” that separated the communist and non-communist territories. It was “set” by the Soviet Union after World War II to separate itself and its dependent Eastern and Central European allies from any contact in the west and any other non-communist areas. The “barrier” was recognized as the Iron Curtain by Winston Churchill in a speech at Fulton, Missouri on March 5th 1946.Winston Churchill condemns the Soviet Union’s policies in Europe and declares, “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.”

Truman doctrine

With the Truman Doctrine, President Harry S. Truman established on March 12th 1947, that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces.

Policy of containment

Containment was a foreign policy strategy followed by the United States during the Cold War. First laid out by George F. Kennan in 1947, the policy stated that communism needed to be contained and isolated, or else it would spread to neighboring countries. American foreign policy advisors believed that once one country fell to communism, each surrounding country would fall as well, like a row of dominoes. This view was known as the domino theory.

Arms race

The destruction of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by American atomic weapons in August 1945 began an arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. This lasted until the signing of the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty of November 1990.

McCarthy era

The McCarthy Era was marked by dramatic accusations that communists had infiltrated the highest levels of American society as part of a global conspiracy. The period took its name from a Wisconsin senator, Joseph McCarthy, who created a frenzy in the press in February 1950 with his claim that hundreds of communists were spread throughout the State Department and other sectors of the Truman administration.McCarthy did not create the widespread fear of communism in America at the time. But he was responsible for creating a pervasive atmosphere of suspicion which had dangerous consequences. Anyone’s loyalty could be questioned, and many Americans were unfairly placed in the position of having to prove they were not communist sympathizers.

• Korean War

At the end of the Second World War, Korea – which had formerly been occupied by the Japanese – was divided along the 38th Parallel. This was an internal border between North and South Korea based on a circle of latitude.The North soon fell under the influence of the Soviet Union whilst the South relied on the support of the Americans. The Korean People’s Army (KPA) was established in North Korea in February 1948, from Korean communist guerrillas who had previously served with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, but were ‘advised’ by Soviet personnel. On 25 June 1950 the KPA invaded South Korea and rapidly advanced southwards trapping South Korean and American troops in a small perimeter around the port of Pusan. The United Nations, with the United States (us, gb, australia, canada, india, nz, south africa) as the principal participant, joined the war on the side of the South Koreans, and the People’s Republic of China came to North Korea’s aid.

Role of J. F. Kennedy

35th president, As president, Kennedy confronted mounting Cold War tensions in Cuba, Vietnam and elsewhere. He also led a renewed drive for public service and eventually provided federal support for the growing civil rights movement. Navy and marine corps medal for his service during ww2.

Bay of Pigs and the Cuban crisis

In early 1961 President John F. Kennedy concluded that Fidel Castro was a Soviet client working to subvert Latin America. After much debate in his administration Kennedy authorized a clandestine invasion of Cuba by a brigade of Cuban exiles. The origins of the Cuban Missile Crisis lie in the failed Bay of Pigs on the 17th April 1961 invasion, during which US-supported Cuban exiles hoping to foment an uprising against Castro were overpowered by the Cuban armed forces. After the invasion, Castro turned to the Soviets for protection against future US aggression.

In October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba. President Kennedy did not want the Soviet Union and Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles. He met in secret with his advisors for several days to discuss the problem.

Space Race

Soon after World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union became locked in a global conflict pitting democracy against communism. Space became a critical theater in this Cold War, as each side competed to best the other’s achievements in what became known as the Space Race. Sputnik – (1st artificial sattelite) sometimes called Sputnik 1 – went into space on Oct. 4, 1957. The achievement sent a shockwave through the American public, who had felt a sense of technological superiority amid a post-war economic boom. Sputnik 2- Laika- muttnik. Yuri Gagarin.

Vietnam War (causes, outcome and consequences)

Causes

Vietnam had been under French rule since the 19th century. During ww2 Japanise forces invaded Vietnam. To fight off both Japanese and the French, political leader Ho Chi Minh formed the Viet Minh, League for the Vietnam Independence. After World War Two Ho Chi Minh captured Hanoi in 1945 and declared Vietnam independent. The French tried to take control again, but this was unpopular with the people. They were defeated by the Vietminh at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.

The Domino Theory

This was the belief that if one country fell to communism, it was likely that the neighbouring one would also fall – similar to a row of dominoes falling over. This had happened in Eastern Europe after 1945. China had become communist in 1949 and communists were in control of North Vietnam.

Outcome

Objectively, North Vietnam – the communists – who achieved their goals of reuniting and gaining independence for the whole Vietnam won the war whereas South Vietnam under the U.S. support lost the war.

Consequences

It led Congress to replace the military draft with an all-volunteer force and the country to reduce the voting age to 18. It also inspired Congress to attack the “imperial” presidency through the War Powers Act, restricting a president’s ability to send American forces into combat without explicit Congressional approval. The Vietnam War severely damaged the U.S. economy. Unwilling to raise taxes to pay for the war, President Johnson unleashed a cycle of inflation.The war also weakened U.S. military morale and undermined, for a time, the U.S. commitment to internationalism. Poisoooooooned their crops and life

Richard Nixon and the Watergate Affair

Watergate was a major political scandal that occurred in the United States in the 1970s, following a break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. and President Richard Nixon’s administration’s attempted cover-up of its involvement. When the conspiracy was discovered and investigated by the US Congress, the Nixon administration’s resistance to its probes led to a constitutional crisis. The term Watergate has come to encompass an array of clandestine and often illegal activities undertaken by members of the Nixon administration. Those activities included such “dirty tricks” as bugging the offices of political opponents and people of whom Nixon or his officials were suspicious.

• The role of Henry Kissinger

Henry Alfred Kissinger was the 56th Secretary of State of the United States. After leaving government service, he founded Kissinger Associates, an international consulting firm, of which he is chairman. On January 27, 1973, Kissinger and his North Vietnamese negotiating partner, Le Duc Tho, finally signed a ceasefire agreement to end direct American involvement in the conflict. Both men were honored with the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize, although Duc declined, leaving Kissinger the sole recipient of the award.

Counterculture

A counterculture developed in the United States in the late 1960s, lasting from approximately 1964 to 1972, and coinciding with America’s involvement in Vietnam. Counterculture youth rejected the cultural standards of their parents, especially with respect to racial segregation, the Vietnam War, sexual mores, women’s rights, and materialism, poverty.

Summer of Love

In the summer of 1967, tens of thousands of young supporters of the counterculture flocked to the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. Virtually taking over the neighborhood, these so-called ‘hippies’ brought vibrant colors and personalities to the city, filling it with music, drugs and free love in what would go down in history as the Summer of Love.

Woodstock

It was a music festival held between August 15–18, 1969, which attracted an audience of more than 400,000. Billed as “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music”, it was held at Max Yasgur’s 600-acre dairy farm near White Lake in Bethel, New York, 70 km southwest of Woodstock.

Full Metal Jacket depicts the Vietnam war from the perspective of soldiers. This film is divided into two distinctive parts. The first part takes place in a Marine boot camp on Parris Island, South Carolina, where soldiers are ruthlessly drilled. The movie then moves to Vietnam. As one of the main characters Joker is a correspondent for the military newspaper, many interviews are conducted with soldiers who reveal American beliefs at the time. The movie finishes with an especially tense sequence with a showdown between the American soldiers and a North Vietnamese sniper.

Firstly, this movie is historically accurate with only minor faults here and there.

“Full Metal Jacket is an extremely historically accurate movie. The boot camp segment was so accurate that it could have happened in real life. The Vietnam segment was also very accurately portrayed.”

Even though the characters were fictional, the accuracy makes you think that the movie was even you can say a documentary or in this new social media era, a vlog. As we talked in our class, for some people the movi was too “bloody” or just harsh. However the movimakers actually did a great job showing how terrible the situation was. For example, the interviews as seen in the movie happened in real life, the views expressed by the soldiers, the combats and prostitution were all correctly depicted and it seemed as if the soldiers themselves did not really know what they were actually fighting for, for them it was mostly just to win.

On the other hand, the physical abuse was apparently underplayed in the boot camp.

“The movie underplays the physical abuse.”

I, personally wouldn’t want to have seen any more physical abuse in the movie because if I would have been the one screamed at, I would have just cried. The Sergeant was not nice to the soon-to-be-Marine. However it seemed to me that he did that because he cared. He did not want the Marines to die in battle.

All in all, for me it was quite surprising that this war movie did not disturb me as much as all the other war movies do. Therefore, I would recommend watching this movie. It really does show you how it was years ago in the Marine Corp and the Vietnam War.

Notions

The Iron Curtain

A political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union after World War II to seal off itself and its dependent eastern and central European allies from open contact with the West and other non communist areas. It was popularised  by winston Churchill in 1946 in his speech.

The blockade loosened after stalin’s death 1953, but in 1961 the berlin wall harshened it again.The soviets even jammed the west’s radio waves.the curtain was largely destroyed in 1990 when the soviet union broke up.  

The function of the curtain was to act as a buffer between the soviets and the west, since they feared another invasion like operation barbarossa by the nazis.

The formation of the Berlin wall heightened west’s fears of soviet aggression so they formed a defensive military alliance called nato, with the basis that an attack on one of the allied countries would mean an attack on all of them. The soviets retaliated with the warsaw pact, also a military alliance.

The Truman Doctrine, policy of containment, arms race

With the Truman Doctrine, President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces. The Truman Doctrine effectively reoriented US foreign policy, away from its usual stance of withdrawal from regional conflicts not directly involving the United States, to one of possible intervention in far away conflicts.

It started when, in 1947 britain announced that they will not support military or economic aid to greece in its fight against communism. Truman urged congress to send aid to greece and also turkey because they were also fighting communism. Other factors also played a role in enforcing the doctrine like the soviets rejecting the Baruch plan for international control over nuclear energy and weapons in June 1946 and soviet attempts to pressure the Iranian Government into granting them oil concessions.

McCarthy era

Senator Joseph McCarthy was a senator who, with the House Committee on Un-American Activities led a witch hunt for communist sympathizers during the cold war. McCarthy took advantage of the nation’s wave of fanatic terror against communism, and emerged on February 9, 1950, claiming he had a list of 205 people in the State Department who were known members of the American Communist Party. The American public went crazy with the thought of communists living within the United States, and roared for the investigation of the underground agitators. McCarthy was considered one of the least qualified and corrupt politicians in history. He basically went on a manhunt and the accused had 2 choices. Either to give out other names as russian spies to go free or to stay silent and deny, which would mean losing friends and jobs. The witch hunt accused many prominent figures such as oppenheimer and einstein. The era came to an end when mccarthy went too far by investigating the military, at which point the president, eisenhower understood that he must be stopped. The army fired back with critical accusations about abusing congressional privileges. The public soon turned on mccarthy along with critics and the media. the nation grew to realize that McCarthy was “evil and unmatched in malice.” He lost his position as chairman on the operations of the senate, and all his power in the media. He died 3 years later because of drinking.This era was allowed to happen because of the fear of communism.

Korean War

The Korean War lasted from 1950 to 1953. The Korean War was actually called a police action by the United States since war was not officially declared by the Congress. In 1949 the Chinese communists won their civil war against the Chinese nationalists. They began to support armed communist conflicts near their borders as they considered the United States and all of its allies to be a threat to their security and political views. After World War II, North Korea was under Soviet rule and South Korea was under the rule of the US. Tensions grew between the two territories. On the 25th of June, 1950, North Korea, with Chinese help, invaded South Korea. Initially, the attack was powerful enough to drive back the unprepared forces of South Korea. In time, though, the US was able to repel the North Korean forces by employing air, naval and amphibian counter-attacks. Along with UN forces, the US marched onto North Korean territory where they were met with an army organized by China. The US forces were then pushed back onto South Korean territory. The US, however, was able to, once again, gain some more ground and fought its way to the 38th parallel. Here a front line was established. The two sides fought and were not able to gain any advantage over each other. An armistice was negotiated over and a demilitarized zone was established. This demilitarized zone serves as a border region for the two nations of North Korea and South Korea to this day.

Role of J. F.  Kennedy

He was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until he was assassinated in November 1963. He started the Peace Corps and gave NASA the job of getting to the Moon.

Bay of Pigs and the Cuba crisis

US paratroopers descended upon a region on the coastline of Cuba called the Bay of Pigs. They were there to interfere with Fidel Castro’s rise to power (because he was communist and was organizing an uprising) but the attack failed and the American soldiers were imprisoned in Cuban prisons. The USSR saw how Cuba was being harassed and to deter Cuba from further harassment they put missiles there (because Fidel Castro was communist-minded, which the USSR supported). The US opposed  that, since they considered missiles 90 miles away from US soil to be a slight safety hazard. So a (this is the closest the two sides ever got to having a direct conflict during the Cold War) negotiation was held between US and USSR and they agreed that all the missiles would be disassembled and returned to USSR and in return the US would get rid of their ballistic presence in Italy and Turkey (which the public didn’t know about, but was a threat to the USSR). The Bay of Pigs was largely lead by Minister McNamara

Space Race

The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US), for supremacy in spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the missile-based nuclear arms race between the two nations that occurred following World War II, enabled by captured German rocket technology and personnel. The technological superiority required for such supremacy was seen as necessary for national security, and symbolic of ideological superiority. The Space Race spawned pioneering efforts to launch artificial satellites, unmanned space probes of the Moon, Venus, and Mars, and human spaceflight in low Earth orbit and to the Moon.

The competition began on August 2, 1955, when the Soviet Union responded to the US announcement four days earlier of intent to launch artificial satellites for the International Geophysical Year, by declaring they would also launch a satellite “in the near future”. The Soviet Union beat the US to this, with the October 4, 1957 orbiting of Sputnik 1, and later beat the US to the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, 1961. The race peaked with the July 20, 1969 US landing of the first humans on the Moon with Apollo 11. The USSR tried but failed manned lunar missions, and eventually cancelled them and concentrated on Earth orbital space stations.

A period of détente followed with the April 1972 agreement on a co-operative Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, resulting in the July 1975 rendezvous in Earth orbit of a US astronaut crew with a Soviet cosmonaut crew. The end of the Space Race is harder to pinpoint than its beginning, but it was over by the December, 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, after which true spaceflight cooperation between the US and Russia began.

The Space Race has left a legacy of Earth communications and weather satellites, and continuing human space presence on the International Space Station. It has also sparked increases in spending on education and research and development, which led to beneficial spin-off technologies.

Vietnam War (causes, outcome and consequences)

At the time, Vietnam was a French colony. However, a communist rebellion started to emerge in the country and it repelled the French from Vietnam territory. The US, fearing communism’s rising control in the region, aids France’s effort to reclaim the region. However, the communist side is able to claim control over the conflict. A treaty between France and Vietnam is established: there is to be a northern (communist) region of Vietnam and a southern (western alignment) region of Vietnam. In 1964, missiles are fired at a US ship in the Gulf of Tonkin by Vietnam. President Lyndon Johnson got congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which stated that military force could be used in Vietnam – initially only limited to bombings. At home, US citizens were mixed on the topic of the Vietnam war. Some believed that it did not make sense to be expending US lives and fighting for a foreign cause. Eventually the war was lost by the US The loss was obviously a detriment to the image of the US’s government, both at home and abroad. President Lyndon Johnson did not even rerun for president due to the controversy over the Vietnam War.

Richard Nixon and the Watergate Affair

Watergate was a major political scandal that occurred in the United States in the 1970s, following a break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. and President Richard Nixon’s administration’s attempted cover-up of its involvement. When the conspiracy was discovered and investigated by the US Congress, the Nixon administration’s resistance to its probes led to a constitutional crisis.

The term Watergate has come to encompass an array of clandestine and often illegal activities undertaken by members of the Nixon administration. Those activities included such “dirty tricks” as bugging the offices of political opponents and people of whom Nixon or his officials were suspicious. Nixon and his close aides ordered harassment of activist groups and political figures, using the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The role of Henry Kissinger

An American diplomat and political scientist (national security advisor). Most of all, Henry Kissinger appeared throughout the global media as a genius, villain, and consummate manipulator who wielded power at the most important points in recent history. Henry Kissinger was Richard Nixon’s key foreign policy adviser. He was influential in negotiating the Paris Peace Accords which ended American involvement in the Vietnam War. Still to this day a very controversial figure in politics.

Counterculture, Summer of Love and Woodstock

Counterculture is a subculture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, often in opposition to mainstream cultural mores. Rebellion against the establishment appeared in many forms in the United States during the 1960s. Caught up in the rising frustration circling around America’s increased involvement in Vietnam, the racial unrest in many urban areas, and the pressure to conform, a growing number of the younger generation rejected the American way of life. The resulting movement, termed the counterculture, embraced an alternative lifestyle characterized by long hair, brightly colored clothes, communal living, free sex, and rampant drug use. Summer of Love is a phrase given to the summer of 1967 to try to describe the feeling of being in San Francisco that summer, when the so-called “hippie movement” came to full fruition

Visual piece

The M41 “Walker Bulldog” was a light tank used produced between 1951-1954, but used long after that. The reason I chose this picture for my visual piece is because these tanks were heavy used in Vietnam war and can be seen several times during the movie. These tanks were of great benefit to the infantry as the tanks could stop rifle rounds and could be used as mobile cover.

Movie discussion

Q – Do you think America’s involvement in Vietnam was justified?

A – I think it was. Although this is a relatively controversial topic I think that in order to stop the spread of communism America had a genuine reason to fight in Vietnam.

Q – Can you name some of the weapons used in the Vietnam war.

A – M14 rifle, M16 rifle, M41 “Walker bulldog” light tank, M60 MG, H-34 helicopter (US), AK-47 (VC)

Q – Where does the title of the movie come from?

A – It refers to the full metal jacket bullets used by the soldiers. Also, one of the most memorable scenes, where Pyle goes crazy, he answers to Jokers question (are those live rounds) with : “7.62 mm full metal jacket”

Q – What was the name of the island the marines trained on?

A – Parris Island

Q – What does sergeant Hartman mean when he said “The more you hate me the more you will learn”, do you agree with this?

A – He means by this that if they can take the harshness of Hartman they will be able to handle Vietnam. I agree with him, that most of the time this works, but as we saw from the movie it can drive a person insane

Q – Why didn’t Joker change his mind after being asked “Do you believe in the virgin Mary”, what followed this.

A – Because he believed that he would be punished more if he changed his mind, he was promoted to squad leader by Hartman who said “You got guts and that will do for now”

Q – Why did Joker hit Pyle during the blanket party?

A – He hit him because, even though he didn’t want to, the others would have likely done the same to him if he had stood up for Pyle.

Q – How did the blanket party change Pyle?

A – He became very focused, but also this drove him insane.

Q – Why didn’t Pyle shoot Joker?

A – Because Joker showed at least some form of compassion to him, helping him when he was in need

Q – Why do the locals hate American soldiers?

A – They feel like they are the reason the war is in Vietnam. As 8 ball said “they’d rather be alive than free”. As well as this many Vietnamese civilians were killed during the war.

Q – Define the “Thousand yard stare”.

A – It’s a stare that a marine gets when “he’s been in the shit for too long”. In other words this is a stare that a soldier gets when he has seen unforgettable things in war.

Q – What do you think about the man in the chopper killing vietnamese civilians, why do you think he did this.

A – I think he had been driven crazy by the war and saw every vietnamese person as a target/enemy

Q – What does Joker mean by “Duality of man”.

A – He means that every human has a good and a bad side. His peace symbol representing the good side and the text on his helmet “Born to kill” representing the evil side.

Q – How did the first squad leader (Touchdown) die?

A – He was killed by shrapnel from a nearby explosion.

Q – How did Rafterman feel after getting his first kills

A – He felt proud and boastful, this is evident in the interview after the battle.

Q – Do you think Cowboy was fit to be a squad leader?

A – Though he did make bad decisions I think he still was fit to be a squad leader. He just made some bad calls.

Q – Do you think Animal Mother was better fit to be a squad leader.

A – I think not, he was too unmoral

Q – How did Joker killing the girl sniper change him?

A – I think it showed him what war is really like. Killing another person, especially a child showed him that war is truly hell. After that kill I don’t think he made many more jokes.

Q – Would you have volunteered to serve in the Vietnam war (if you had been a US citizen at that time), why?

A – Yes, because it would be my duty to defend by country, in this case against the spread of communism

The fifth movie we watched in our English class was “The Help”. and this photo was taken during the March on Washington in 1963. In the movie we could see a clip of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have a Dream” , which took place at the massive protest march in support of the civil rights movements. On the photo you can see white and black people standing together and holding hands and protesting for equal rights.

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(Despite having these questions here, in the lesson we didn’t ask them all and had to improvise at times because we did not have much time to go over everything in detail and we adapted ourselves to the nature of the discussion.)

At the beginning of the movie, what does the following scene tell us (about the mindset of African-Americans): Aibileen is asked: “Did you know that you’d become a maid?”, Aib answered, “Yes because my mama was a maid, my grandma was a house-slave”? (even though dreamed of being something else)tt

How does Aib’s quote: “God minds no colour when he decides to let tornado loose,” describe her worldview?

A: It gives the feeling that she believes everyone is equal in front of god and this might be one of the reasons throughout the movie she endures the discrimination. Maids put great emphasis on religion; God knows the value of each person and despite the discrimination by whites, His judgement will be righteous if you have lived your life to the best of your capabilities (morally, physically) which inspires them to live correctly.

Let’s discuss the scene where the new maid, after Minny, in Hilly’s house asks to lend money for his boys to be able to go to college, Hilly refuses and responds: “As a Christian, I’m doing you a favour, god does not give charity to those who are well and able, u have to come up with that money on your own.” – Even though being miserly goes rather against the Christian values, what does her interpretation of it say about fulfilling Christianity’s purpose?

A: Christianity was created largely to prevent people from acting immorally, she is using it in a completely adverse way. Does this mean Christianity’s values might be described/propagated too vaguely if people are able to bend the 10 commands this way?-> and what’s the impact of religion on Southern white people? A: Big impact, always has been. Found justification from religion to profit from economic development.   

What do you think Hilly meant in the scene where she does not want to use the bathroom she thinks Aib had used and when Skeeter tries to make fun of the situation, Hilly says: “You shouldn’t joke about the coloured situation, I do whatever it takes to protect our children.” ->Describe the irony here.

A: the women made very little effort to even deal with their children and it was all done by black maids.

What made these  “housewives” be racist, why are they ‘blind’ and unable to see the injustice?

Social norms. Parents.

Why do the children turn out racist when they actually loved their maids in their childhood

Parents are their mentors, they don’t know any other way to be.

What were some of the things that black people/the maids were not allowed to do, compared to whites, that were shown in the movie? Why?

A: Use the same toilet, eat at the same table, talk to them informally, talk back, be interviewed, use the same books as a white person at school, ride on the bus at the same part. The white people thought of them as dirty and for that reason didn’t want to use the same items. They also felt superior and thought they could act however they want and have power over these people.

What details did you notice that the filmmakers had given to African-Americans’ everyday lives?

A: They had to ride a separate bus to white families. They were not allowed to talk to white people. They had work on top of work. Constantly disrespected.

Same question about wealthy white women.

Gender role differences? What were the strengths and limitations of being a woman

To elaborate on the subject, why was Stuart (skeeter’s bf) so upset with Skeeter?

A: probably cos of the book cos he was a racist.-> “U a selfish woman Skeeter,” – What does this tell us about his intelligence/ability to see the bigger picture,  elucidate us the irony.

What role does a man play in each family->how do the women react to those roles; are they satisfied, furious etc?

A: In most families, the man is the one earning the money, the white women seem to be pretty satisfied with sitting around the house all day and hosting parties. In Minny’s case, the man is abusive and dictating. It makes her angry and scared but she’s dependent on him, so she can’t leave. Skeeter, on the other hand, doesn’t really want to get married and is very independent, speaks bluntly what’s in her mind.

Aibileen kept repeating to the child she took care of “You is kind, you is smart, you is important”, why do you think was it so accentuated/ why was it so pronounced in the movie?

A: She probably wanted the child to grow up kind and not be racist like the women at that time, also she knew that her own mother wasn’t giving her any love but Aibileen loved all those children like her own. It might have been so pronounced to show that despite the rudeness of the white women and how much they hated them, the maids still cared for the children like their own and loved them.

“The Help” a moving story about the 1960s black experience in the deep South. It follows the lives of two black maids, Aibileen and Minny, and a young white woman, Skeeter, who is determined to get the help’s stories out. The movie takes place in 1963, Jackson, Mississippi and it’s based on Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 novel of the same name.

Firstly, many people feel offended by the fact that this movie gained so much poplarity.

“It is drawing fire from significant corners who are criticizing the glowing brush strokes with which the era is painted.”

I think I can agree with this, because was definitely fun to watch and didn’t leave almost any negative feelings.

“I was drawn into the characters and quite moved, even though all the while I was aware it was a feel-good fable, a story that deals with pain but doesn’t care to be that painful.”

However, to be honest, movies that are supposed to make you feel bad or think about the inequality (in this case black people vs. white people) have to be a little harsh and more straightforward, so that it would be unpleasent to watch even. This leaves a mark for everyone (like in “Glory” when one of the colored soldiers was whipped).

“The movie’s most powerful moment comes at the end, through the tears of a child, and it italicizes the pain of change. The Help is never better than in its closing moments.”

So, the movie made the whole situation too good and some people felt that the movie itself was racist.

Secondly, I would like to say that I really enjoyed watching “The Help” and its rather good historical accuracy. I also realized that while watching the movie, you don’t exactly have to focus on memorising the history, because for me they just stand out and I remember them. For example that the colored people were supposed to use different toilettes or that they had to sit on one side of the bus. However if the main goal for watching the movie is to learn aboout the history and the Civil Rights Era, I suppose the movie is not the perfect match, becuse it also focuses on making the whole situation fun to watch, whilst the maids themselves were not exactly enjoying their life situation at the time.

In conclusion, the movie was rather accurate but not harsh enough. I would definitely recommend watching it, if you want to have a nice movie night. It shows how things were in the past, yet you do not get bored at all at the same time.

NOTIONS

Iron Curtain

Iron Curtain was the name of the non-physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas after World War II until 1991 (when the Soviet Union collapsed and the Cold War ended, although some speculate that it’s still going on). One area was the west which consisted of NATO members and militarily neutral countries. The other area was the east which consisted of Warsaw Pact countries, so the whole east was controlled by the Soviet Union. Although the term “iron curtain” became popular when Churchill used it in his speech on 5 March 1946, Nazi German Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels had already used the term in reference to the Soviet Union. The term hints at the efforts by the Soviet Union to isolate themselves from the rest of the world.

Truman doctrine, the policy of containment, the arms race

Truman doctrine was an American foreign policy to counter the threat of Soviet geopolitical expansion. The policy was announced to Congress by President Harry S. Truman on 12 March 1947 and further developed on 12 July 1948 when there appeared threats in Greece (a leftist revolt funded by Yugoslavia against an internationally recognised royalist government backed by the British) and Turkey (Soviets wanted to use the Turkish Straits). Many have considered Truman’s speech to the Congress an official declaration of the Cold War.

The policy of containment was also a strategic foreign policy pursued by the United States. Its goal was to contain the geopolitical influence of the Soviet Union. This meant to prevent the spread of communism. The policy was the response to the Soviet policy of spreading communism in Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The ideas to create such a policy were born already before the war had ended. The Americans had become frustrated and suspicious of the Soviets (because of the betrayal which featured a not so great relationship between the two big superpowers as, for example, the Soviets were opposed to the creation of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund which left the Americans surprised and shocked). The policy was once again enforced by Harry S. Truman.

The arms race was a build-up of arms between the US and the USSR after World War II. During the 1940s, the Americans weren’t in a hurry to rearm themselves, though the threat of Soviets had already begun. The USA increased its nuclear and conventional arms during the Korean War, to which the Soviets responded only partially. But during the 1960s, the USSR made the biggest peacetime build-up of arms in history. In contrast, the USA at this time decided to be more disengaged from the race… but only until 1979 when their last American arms spurt of the Cold War made Soviet military leaders nervous and thus willing to accept Gorbachev’s policies in hopes of raising the technological level of Soviet society. One of the most remarkable and dangerous events during the arms race was the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 which featured a stand-off between Khrushchev and Kennedy.

McCarthy era

Joseph Raymond McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican US Senator from 1947 until his death in 1957 but he became publicly visible at the beginning of 1950 when he started alleging that numerous Communists and Soviet spies had infiltrated the US federal government, universities, film industry and elsewhere. McCarthy had a list of 205 people, mainly from the American Communist Party. Ultimately, his smear tactics were condemned by the US Senate. The word “McCarthyism” was soon applied to similar anti-communist activities but now means the reckless public accusations on the character or patriotism of political opponents. McCarthy era was, therefore, an era of fear of communist spies in the government.

Korean War

The Korean War was a war between North-Korea (who was backed by the Soviet Union and China) and South-Korea (who was backed by the United Nations which meant 15 nations fighting under the flag of the UN but especially the US). The war took place from June 1950 to July 1953. The war began when North-Korea invaded South-Korea in series of clashes along the border. In the end, the invasion was repelled and an armistice was signed. The agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone, handed North-Korea the city of Kaesong but also took away 3900 km2 worth of land. However, they never signed any peace treaty which means that the two Koreas are still practically at war which has evolved into a frozen conflict. Only later in 2018 the two leaders of Korea met and agreed to work towards formally ending the Korean War.

Role of J. F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was one of the most successful presidents of the United States. He served as the 35th President from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. He served in the height of the Cold War and the majority of his presidency dealt with managing relations with the Soviet Union. He increased the number of military advisers in South-Vietnam. In April 1961, he ordered a failed joint-CIA attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. This was known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion. He though rejected Operation Northwoods which would’ve organised a fake attack on American soil to justify the Cuban attempt. He played a huge role in solving the Cuban Missile Crisis which would’ve almost escalated into a full nuclear war. John F. Kennedy was also a supporter of the civil rights movement and after his death, many of his proposals were enacted by the Congress, for example, the Civil Rights Act. Kennedy was killed in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald.

Bay of Pigs and the Cuba crisis

The Bay of Pigs invasion was a military invasion undertaken by the CIA-supported brigade 2506 which consisted of 1400 soldiers who were mainly of Cubans who had fled to the USA from Castro’s regime but also some US military personnel. The invasion lasted 3 days: from 17 April to 20 April 1961. The goal was to overthrow the increasingly communist government of Fidel Castro. The invaders were defeated by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces under the direct command of Fidel Castro.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a crisis which featured a 13-day political and military stand-off between the superpowers of the US and the USSR. The crisis emerged when the Soviets planted their missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles away from the US shores. On 22 October 1962, JFK made a TV announcement notifying the public of the existence of the missiles. He also announced that he decided to enforce a naval blockade around Cuba. The world was on the brink of a nuclear war. The solution of the Cuban Missile Crisis was a result of many diplomatic negotiations. Finally, the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for the US promise to not attack Cuba and to remove their missiles from Turkey.

Space Race

The Space Race refers to the competition between the US and the USSR to prove the superiority of their technology in spaceflight capability. The race was needed for national security and ideological reasons. The Space Race featured the launch of many artificial satellites, human spaceflight to the Moon and uncrewed robotic spacecraft to the Moon, Venus and Mars. It’s hard to say who won. The Soviets achieved the first successful launch of a satellite and were the first ones to have the first human (Yuri Gagarin) in earth orbit but the Americans were the first ones to land on Moon with Apollo 11 in July 1969. It’s also hard to determine when did the Space Race end. One theory is that it ended in 1972 when there was an agreement in a cooperative Apollo-Soyuz test project which led to a flight in 1975 in earth orbit of a US astronaut crew with a Soviet cosmonaut crew. The Race was most definitely over by 1991 when spaceflight cooperation between the US and Russia began to flourish.

Vietnam War (causes, outcome and consequences)

At the start, Vietnam was a French colony, a pro-communist rebellion emerged and the US aided the French resistance against the rebellion. Eventually, a peace treaty was signed which divided Vietnam into North-Vietnam (pro-communist) and South-Vietnam (pro-western).

In 1965, torpedos were shot at a US ship which was in the Gulf of Tonkin. This was answered with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which was passed in Congress and which allowed the usage of US military force in Vietnam. The war began (initially only by bombing) and the public opinion was mixed as many thought that there’s no point in sending any American soldiers to die in Vietnam.

The US lost the war. Lyndon B. Johnson never became a president again as he didn’t run for the second term. The US reputation and superiority were undermined, the Americans were embarrassed, the American superiority was diminished.

But the consequences were the roughest for the Vietnamese: Vietnam was united to be a communist country, an estimated 2 million Vietnamese were killed, while 3 million were wounded and another 12 million became refugees, warfare had demolished the country’s infrastructure and economy, and reconstruction proceeded slowly.

Richard Nixon and the Watergate Affair

Richard Nixon was the 37th President of the United States. He was in office from 20 January 1969 to 9 August 1974. Nixon’s popularity had its ups and downs but he received a positive response for achievements like the 1972 visit to China, ending the Vietnam war and the 1973 meeting with Brezhnev. The new diplomatic relations with China really improved the US economy. These relations are still a big part of US economy nowadays. Nixon wanted to be a peacemaker and thus started the period of loosening tensions between the Soviet Union and the USA. He was then quite unanimously elected also for the second term.

Richard Nixon was also the first (and to this day the last) president to ever resign. He was forced to resign because of the Watergate Affair. The Watergate Affair was a major political scandal which featured a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex. The involvement of the five thieves was traced down to Nixon’s administration. The point of the break-in was to discover possibly harmful information about the political opponents of Nixon during the presidential elections where Nixon was elected for the second term. The administration did their best to cover up any involvement but they ultimately failed. Nixon was forced to resign.

The role of Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger (born in 1923, currently 96 years old) is still one of the biggest influencers in foreign policy. He has been extremely talented in his field. An American political scientist, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant. He served as National Security Advisor under Richard Nixon and as Secretary of State under Gerald Ford (Nixon’s successor). Kissinger has also received a Nobel Peace Prize (under controversial circumstances as two members of the Peace Prize committee resigned in protest). He also played a giant role in loosening tensions between the USSR and the US and also opening diplomatic and economic relations with the People’s Republic of China. In the end, Kissinger remains to be also quite controversial as he has been named a war criminal by journalists, political activists, and human rights lawyers.

Counterculture, Summer of Love and Woodstock

A counterculture is a subculture whose members do everything in the exact another way as everyone else does. Their values and norms are vastly different from the mainstream ones. It’s usually associated with the hippie subculture (they became the largest subcultural group in the United States) and punk subculture of the 1970s and 1980s.

The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon which occurred in 1967 in Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco. There was an estimated number of 100 000 participants. This was a hippie gathering. Although hippies also gathered in many other places in the US, Canada and Europe, San Francisco was at that time the most publicized location for hippie subculture.

Woodstock was a rock-music festival in 1969 in New York. There was an estimated number of 400 000 participants. The event was advertised as “3 days of peace & music” which eventually led to a 4-day-event. The event was held on farmland and there were 32 acts in total. The festival is widely regarded as a pivotal moment in popular music history, as well as the definitive nexus for the larger counterculture generation.

VISUAL

This was the song that was played during the end credits of “Full Metal Jacket”. It instantly caught my ear. I actually read that the director Stanley Kubrick had never heard the Rolling Stones before filming and that he finally got around to listening to the legendary rockers when researching the top 100 Billboard hits from 1962 through 1968, and chose “Paint It Black” for the end credits. But why choose it as my visual? Well, I think the answer lies in the lyrics. I totally imagine this being the “world of shit” mentioned at the end of the film (I’m sorry for the vulgarity). I imagine this being the world of Joker and many other soldiers who survived the horrors of the Vietnam War. Anyway, I added the song to my songs list and whenever I hear the song I shall think about the world of the veterans of the Vietnam War.

ESSAY

The Runner-Up

“Full Metal Jacket” is a 1987 American film, featuring Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey and Vincent D’Onofrio. The length of the film is 1 hour and 56 minutes. The film has received an Oscar (for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium) and a Golden Globe (for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture by R. Lee Ermey). “Full Metal Jacket” is about “a pragmatic US Marine who observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue”. (IMDb)

The wide public opinion of the viewers has been largely positive. Based on 600 000 user reviews, IMDb has given “Full Metal Jacket” 8.3 out of 10 (IMDb). Based on 19 critic reviews, metacritic.com has given the film a score of 76 out of 100 (metacritic.com). Based on 78 critic reviews, Rotten Tomatoes has given the film a score of 91% and based on 300 000 user reviews, the site has given “Full Metal Jacket” a score of 94% (Rotten Tomatoes). So, we can say that the regular viewer feedback has been abnormally high compared to other films. “Full Metal Jacket” has also been very popular. The film’s opening weekend saw it making 2 million US dollars. As of 1998, the film had grossed 120 million dollars worldwide.

The feedback from the critics has not been that generous. One of the most iconic late film critics, Roger Ebert, has said: “This is a strangely shapeless film from the man whose work usually imposes a ferociously consistent vision on his material.” Ebert recognises that “the movie has great moments” but otherwise “Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket” is more like a book of short stories than a novel.” (Ebert, 1987) An anonymous critic said that the film was “a massive artistic misfire.” (THR, 2017) All the critics agree that the dedication to detail and quality is absolutely magnificent but the content of the film was unfortunately lacklustre. For example, Ebert felt it was too scattershot to achieve its aims.

The historical accuracy has been deemed to be quite good. Anthony Swofford wrote that he was seduced by the film. He actually went to the Marines Corps and admitted that the training was extremely similar. (Swofford, 2018) The drill sergeant (R. Lee Ermey who also got a Golden Globe for his role) in the film was an actual drill instructor during the Vietnam War. Swofford wrote that they received the same insults and phrases as depicted in the film.

In the end, the opinion is mixed as always. Viewers have welcomed the film with open arms but the critics have not been that generous. They have praised the dedication on quality and detail but reprimanded for the content. The film has received quite a few rewards and a lot of money. Ultimately, the film continues to be an all-time classic and a runner-up in depicting the Vietnam War.

Visual representation of the era:

Rationale:

I chose this song for the representation because here Chris de Burgh sings about the Cold War. It’s about how you cannot trust anyone and how you are afraid to open yourself up because there are spies everywhere who could use the information against you. KGB for USSR and CIA for the U.S. He makes fun of the Iron Curtain and describes the countries behind it as lifeless and cold. The Cold War is a defining aspect of the second half of the 20th century time period which is why this song is closely related to the era. The Iron Curtain made the people inside often feel isolated and perhaps lonely, a mood that is also apparent in this song. Chris de Burgh was from a democratic country and his derogatory attitude towards Russia in the song shows us what the West thought of the Soviet Union.

Critical response to the movie “Full Metal Jacket”

It is a film that takes place during the Vietnam War. Nevertheless, it does not concentrate on the war itself, but rather on the impact it has on marines. It delves into their behaviour and mental health when they are forced out of their comfort zone and put into extreme conditions. What is fascinating about this movie is that it has been made in an unordinary way. At first glance it looks like two separate films are put together. This aspect contributes to the varying opinions on the quality of the product.

“Modine is a good actor, but he is something of a cipher here. We don’t know enough about him to care deeply for him, but he’s the moral center of the film. “ (1)

I totally agree with this criticism. It is vital to know the main character well enough to be able to sympathize with him. We need to know about his background so that we would better understand what he thinks throughout the movie. His motives, thoughts and principles. In the case of “Full Metal Jacket” this becomes especially important during the scenes where Joker says largely controversial things. For example, when he, among other things, declares: “I wanted to be the first kid on my block to get a confirmed kill.” This raises question of what he means by that. Has he suddenly become so cruel and inhumane? Even when during the fist half of the movie, he was portrayed as very gentle and kind. Or was he instead being sarcastic with that statement and indicating to the duality of man? Judging by his (supposed) knowledge about human nature and tendency to make jokes, he might have wished to ridicule the mindset of the majority of soldiers in the war. The marines’ who were actually thinking that slaughtering innocents was great. The ones’ whose darker side (Yin) had prevailed. For instance, the man in the helicopter shooting farmers. It feels like it could have been Joker’s way of indicating to the numbness of war and the stupidity which encourages pointless killing of human beings. If we had deeper insight to his past, we’d have a better understanding of his intelligence and we could know for sure what was Joker meaning with that sentence. Notwithstanding, now we can never know for a fact whether he was being sarcastic or had the events in boot camp really made him a barbarian. This is an example of how more information about the main character’s personality helps us comprehend the movie better.

“Joker ends the film a killer, but the conflict still exists: his kill is as humane as it is vengeful. “ (2)

I disagree that there was a conflict of that sort. Joker’s kill was completely humane as it was the most he could do for the suffering girl in that situation. Despite the sniper killing two of Joker’s close friends, he felt sorry for the girl because he knew that there wasn’t a choice for her and that he would have behaved the same way when put in a similar position. The sniper either put up a fight as long as she could and try to survive, or surrendered with the probable risk of being killed. Thus, by analysing the situation, Joker understood girl’s behaviour and his compassion made him want to help her. The same compassion or kindness that had made him help Pyle in boot camp at the beginning of the movie. Although he would have wanted to save and remedy her, he knew his fellow marines would never agree to do that because they saw the girl as a murderer of their friends. So all he had left to do for the girl was to end her horrifying torment quickly and shoot her dead. This is why the hesitation about killing her was not concerning the aforementioned conflict, but rather just the fact that he would shoot an armless little girl. Something that was, despite everything, still definitely hard for him to do.

To conclude, “Full Metal Jacket” has been criticised and praised by critics and audience, but it is worth watching because it gives an idea of how people might act in extreme circumstances and how war changes people.

Sources used:

1. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/full-metal-jacket
2. https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/full-metal-jacket/

Notions:

VI FILM: FULL METAL JACKET

Topics:

Iron Curtain:

A ‘bulwark’ by Soviet Union to block Western culture in the borderstates with West. Emerged after WW2. Stalin did it because he didn’t trust the West. Already during Civil War, the West had chosen an opposite side to Red Army. After Truman’s doctrine, Stalin was afraid that the people under Soviet influence would accept that, thus the curtain. Term became widely known after Winston Churchill used it in his speech (in MISSOURI:o!). Curtain reached to air as well when trying to block signals from RFE, who were trying to provide listeners behind the wall, uncensored news. When Stalin’s death opened the curtains a little, the Berlin Wall in 1961, srengthened it once again. Iron Curatin ceased to exist after the fall of Soviet Union.  

Truman doctrine, policy of containment, arms race:

Truman doctrine/policy of containment: In 1947 president H.S. Truman announced it would help any nation wishing to overthrow communism in its country to prevent communism from spreading=containment. 13billion given to Europe to help it rebuild itself. Important to show the world the U.S does not return to its prior WWs isolationism. USA wanted capitalism to thrive because of it being one and thus depending on the global market and others buying your goods. In communism countries, people can buy less. Policy of containment was changed with Eisenhower because he saw it being too passive. Arms race: 2 sides fighting to enhance its weaponary further from each other. Increasing the quantity and quality of weapons.

McCarthy era:

or Second Red Scare from 1940s to 1950s. Policy that started already during Truman’s First Red Scare when people were scared with communism ruining democracy etc. Every insitution, individual or state politician who turned out to be colluding with Soviets were guilty and they were started being searched very carefully. Left-Wing organisations, labour unions, universities, overall different minorities fell under extreme surveillance. It obtained the public approval through media and films such as  “Duck and Cover”. FBI was playing a substantial part in this. They often appointed who was to rise to the position of power and who was to be overthrown.

Korean War:

1950-1953. In 1950, 75k soldiers from North Korean People’s Army attacked the South-Korea. First military action during the Cold War. North Korea was communist country and supported by Soviets, south by Americans. 5mil casualties in total. Korea’s area formerly belonged to Japan, after WW2, it was divded between USSR and USA. Northern and Southern part of Korea had already been having skirmishes before the war. USA had to join the war to keep communism from spreading. Fighting took place during a particularly hot summer, water the Allies’ soldiers dran was polluted. Thus, their protectionism strategy was failing them and they decided to become agressive. This drove Koreans back to North boundaries which alarmed China who denied the Americans to advance further. Truman’s general wanted to proceed nevertheless, Truman did not let it happen and instead started negotiations for peace. Negotiations lasted for 2 years and concluded so that South gained a little more territory and prisoners were freed and were let to stay wherever they wished to. Demilitarized zone was created next to the border of the 2 countries.

Role of J.F Kennedy:

A president of the USA 1961-1963. Kennedy conducted changes to American politics by setting a norm of long drawn-out election campaigns, raised the influence of television in campaigns.  He is mostly an admired president. Modern day criticism towards him argues that he put the whole world into danger just to show his worth. At first, people were incredulous that he wouldn’t be fit for the job. His inexperience made people worry. At the beginning of his term, he also tried to overthrow Fidel Castro but failed miserably. However, he managed to solve the Cuban Crisis without evoking a global nuclear war, promoted African colonies gaining independence and was for the idea of equal rights for all races. The Cuban Crisis was so close to realeasing disaster, but thanks to Kennedy’s diplomatic skills, it was avoided. Kennedy wanted to also end the Vietnam war, but died before being able to fulfill that wish. He was assassinated.

Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Crisis:

Cuba was a communist country with Fidel Castro leading it. Cuba was so close to USA geographically that they wanted to eliminate communism from their doorstep. A secret attempt to invade Cuba failed to 2 days after landing in Bay of Pigs in Cuba. Kennedy took responsibility for the failure. After that, Soviets did not want the communnistic Cuba to disappear so they sent their missiles to be secretely set up in Cuba. This activity was discovered during the U.S’s surveillance flight. Kennedy alarmed the whole nation of the threat and gathered advisers to agree on what to do. When some favoured invading Cuba and destroying the regime there, Kennedy chose to negotiate. He managed to settle with Khrushchev by affirming not to invade Cuba and removing its missiles from Turkey.

The Space race:

Space race was USA’s and USSR’s chance to prove its economical, technological, political superiority in Cold War. Soviets managed to send the first satellite to space called Sputnik. Such a surprise for USA made it particularly urgent to keep up with the race because sending items to space gives the possibility to also launch a nuclear warhead there. In 1958 Eisenhower created NASA which grew rampantly over the next years. Meanwhile, in 1961 Soviets beat NASA once again by sending the first person, Yuri Gagarin, to space. Kennedy, however, announced then that they would be on Moon before the next decade. USA succeded as in 1961, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin Collins landed on the surface of Moon. Whole process was broadcast in television. In 1975, Apollo-Soyuz were the spaceships orbiring Earth where astronauts from Soviet Union and America greeted eachother with handshake in space. This represented the improving relations between the two.

Vietnam War (causes, outcome, consequences):

1955-1975. Similarly to Korean War, South was again supported by the U.S and the North by Soviet Union.( Vietnam used to be a French colony, after WW2 communism supporters formed DRV, while French tried to regain control by supporting buffs of the West. The first indochina war concluded with territory divded between south and north. The Vietnam War takes place because of north refused to have the referendum. )

2million Vietnamese dead. 12mil as refugees. Military actions had demolished country’s infrastructure, economy. 7.5mil tons of USA’s bombs made much of the farmland impossible to cultivate to this day (unexploded bombs). In 1976, Vietnam unified as Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Relations and trading with USA vanished and returned in 1990s. As the side which Americans supporte lost, it blew away the myth of USA’s invincibility. Soldiers returning from the war were greeted with reviledness by both sides of the divided nation; one side critisized the fact that they had killed innocent civilians and the other the fact that they didn’t win the war. Vietnam calls itself communist to this day despite having accepted many capitalistic ideas.

Richard Nixon and the Watergate Affair:

Nixon was the first president to resign. He did it to avoid the charges of impeachment. Everything started with info leaking to New York Times about States’ real intentions in Vietnam War. After that 5 men broke into the psychiatrist of the man who had leaked Pentagon papers info. Another incident occured a little later when 5 men broke into Watergate house, they were arrested and later found to have connection with president Nixon. The president denied it but as the indictments were too apparent he stepped down.

The role of Henry Kissinger:

He was a secretary of state and influenced America’s foreign policy. He has been granted a Nobel Peace prize for his efforts in negotiating the end of Vietnam War. His actions also managed to make relations between Soviet Union and America better. Henry Kissinger also organized first meetings between the U.S and communistic China.

Counterculture, Summer of Love and Woodstock:

The contempt towards government’s decisions resulted in counterculture aka hippies in the 1960s. Their lifestyle was more loose and were fundamentally against materialistic society. The 1967 summer was declared to be the summer of love. Movement was successful, people gathered to poetry readings, concerts. One of the most famous musical concerts was Woodstock in 1969. Instead of the estimated 50k, arrived 500k of people. This led to deprivation of resources and difficult conditions for everyone involved. Nevertheless, people were able to enjoy artists like Janice JOPLIN and promote love, peace.