1970s Movies

The movies we watched in class definitely seem to represent the 1970s in one way or another. Jaws is an all around great movie and one of my personal favorites. The movie reveals that people at the time wanted a little horror, but also wanted to be able to rally behind a hero. The main characters in the film are perfect characters to root for, and the mayor and the shark are the perfect characters to dislike. People at the time definitely wanted to be able to root for a hero, which is also seen in Star Wars. Star Wars creates Luke Skywalker is the ultimate underdog, which makes him a great character to rally behind. The theme of one powerful being trying to rule over an entire galaxy almost parallels Americans' fear of Communism. The Cold War and fear of the USSR was present in the minds of most, and the Vietnam War only served to trigger the fear of a Communist revolution all over the world. Finally, a movie like Apocalypse Now plays up the lingering impacts of Vietnam. This movie came out pretty quickly after the war ended. Vietnam was still fresh in the minds of Americans. The movie was received well, though, so the country must have liked the inside look the film provided, even if it did criticize the war.