The Green Berets

Green Berets was John Wayne-film produced in 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, and it was meant to project a strong "anti-communist" message and to improve the image of the US-Vietnamese allies. John Wayne, the film's star actor and director, stated that main purpose of the film was to "sell the war to the American public". The way it achieved this was to portray the Americans as heroes fighting in difficult circumstances ("They had to be the toughest fighting force on earth - and the men who led them had to be just a little bit tougher!"), and it demonized the Vietnamese enemy. The war was transformed into a "good vs. evil" conflict which simplified its appreciation for the majority of the Americans. The film contains no references to the history of the war, the reasons for it, or the long-time American meddling in the area. The film is just a series of battles against a brutal and elusive enemy. In essence, the film appealed to the valor, patriotism, and other crass motives, and it certainly didn’t appeal to the intellect of the audience.

The film appeared three months after the height of the Tet Offensive, when the Vietnamese guerrillas attacked American forces everywhere in South Vietnam. This offensive was key to the change in American's perception of the war and what it really was about. After years of "light at the end of the tunnel", "victory is in sight", "increasing [enemy] body counts", it became clear to most Americans that Vietnamese hated the Americans and would fight with determination. Enter John Wayne's film... The film certainly was not well received, and when it was finally released most Americans already opposed the war.

Key Personnel

Directors

• Ray Kellogg
• John Wayne

Writers

• James Lee Barrett
• Kenneth B. Facey (US Army Col.)
• Robin Moore (wrote the novel on which the film was based)

Producer

• Michael Wayne