Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Journalist Brian Raftery Dissects Vietnam War Films-and America's Love for Them-in His Podcast From The Ringer, Do We Get To Win This Time?'

08/08/2023

Hollywood has long held a fascination with the Vietnam War. From films that were released while the war raged, like John Wayne's The Green Berets, to the popular 1980s hits, like Oliver Stone's Platoon, America's role in the war has been documented-accurately or not-on the big screen for decades.

Growing up in the 1980s, Brian Raftery encountered these combat films left and right, bringing Vietnam to life right before his eyes. Fast-forward to today, and Brian's ready to take a deeper look into these films and how they still resonate today, both culturally and politically.

Photo credit Tom Martin

In his new podcast from The Ringer, Do We Get To Win This Time? How Hollywood Made the Vietnam War, Brian chronicles and dissects some of the most seminal movies that reflect the war. Throughout the eight-episode season, Brian talks with filmmakers, experts, and veterans who discuss what these movies tell us about the most divisive conflict in our country's history and America's perception of it.

For the Record caught up with Brian to learn more.

What made you want to cover the Vietnam War-and how Hollywood approached it-specifically? I didn't grow up under the shadow of Vietnam-I was born after the war-but I did grow up under the shadow of Vietnam movies. When I was a kid, it seemed like every other weekend saw the release of an intense R-rated film about the war, like Platoon and Full Metal Jacket. And even as a preteen, I'd heard of some of the major Vietnam movies of the seventies, like Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter. Vietnam was, strangely, a major part of popular culture back then.

I watched as many of these films as I could-and I devoured the countless Vietnam-related TV shows, books, and even comic books that arrived in the eighties and early nineties. And I wasn't alone: These were huge movies, especially for Gen-Xers. We were being inundated with stories about a war we hadn't witnessed-and that we barely understood.

For the podcast, I wanted to learn as much as I could about the making of these films, because, frankly, we don't get many like 'em anymore: These are epic, highly ambitious combat films, all of them made before the CGI era, and the stories behind these productions are amazing. But I was also interested in how Hollywood's depiction of Vietnam changed over the years, and how it reflected how America felt about a very controversial and disturbing war. This was a war that deeply divided the country, and sometimes one of the best ways to understand a moment in time is to look at the movies it inspired.

Why do you think Hollywood's fascination with the Vietnam War was different from other major historical events? Vietnam wasn't like World War II. That conflict, as horrific as it was, had a definite ending-and a victorious one, at least for America. As a result, some of the movies Hollywood made about World War II in the forties and fifties were celebratory and deeply jingoistic. Not that I mind-I love a good rah-rah moment as much as anyone-but these were movies made at a time of peak national pride, and they could be a bit bloodless, literally and figuratively.

By contrast, Hollywood had no idea what to do with Vietnam at first. This was a divisive war-and the big studios don't do divisive. So they spent years avoiding it, until the late seventies, when it became clear that some veterans were struggling to deal with the aftermath of the war, resulting in movies like Coming Home and The Deer Hunter. By the eighties, there was even greater recognition of what America's vets had gone through. That helps explain how a movie like Platoon can become such a phenomenon. Don't get me wrong-it's a great film, no matter when you see it! But Platoon happened to come at the exact moment that millions of Americans-young and old-were trying to understand what had happened in Vietnam.

As a result, Platoon kicked off a wave of Vietnam films, one that would peak in the late eighties. I can't even count how many Vietnam films were made during that time. But after the Vietnam wave ended in the nineties, moviegoers would soon lose their interest in war altogether: The conflicts of the last few decades-most notably Iraq and Afghanistan-haven't produced anywhere near as many films as Vietnam did. It was the last war Hollywood re-created in a major way.

How do you think these films shaped the view Americans had of the war? I can only speak for myself-and a lot of the people I knew!-but I think movies like Coming Home and Born on the Fourth of July had a huge impact on how young people in the eighties and the nineties perceived Vietnam vets. How could you not have empathy for what they'd gone through, during and after the war, after seeing the struggle depicted in those films?

And I think ground-level movies like Platoon and Hamburger Hill really opened young Americans' eyes to the horrors of combat. Those movies didn't make fighting look glamorous in any way. They were gory and terrifying and heartbreaking; they were horror movies, in their own way. I think they made moviegoers understand what happened to those who'd gone to Vietnam.

What movie did you find particularly compelling and knew it had to be covered for the podcast? We have entire episodes dedicated to both Platoon and Apocalypse Now, which are probably the two best-known Vietnam films ever made. There's no way you can ignore Platoon-it brought the war to vivid life for millions of moviegoers, and it kicked off an entire movement of Vietnam films. And Apocalypse Now might be the most over-the-top movie production in history: An Oscar-winning superstar director goes into the jungle with millions of dollars and some of the biggest stars of the world . . . and winds up in a swirl of chaos, egos, and explosions. How can yo
LINK: https://newsroom.spotify.com/2023-08-08/journalist-brian-raftery-disse...
See more stories from spotify

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

17/09/2026

Prime Video Embarks on Fifth Exclusive Season of Thursday Night Football With Innovation, Experience in Tow

Lions vs. Bills will also be the first regular-season game at new Highmark Stadi...

17/09/2026

Teradek Launches Bolt 7 with Integrated 900MHz Data Pipeline

Teradek has announced Bolt 7, a wireless video and data system that adds an integrated 900MHz radio to the Bolt's zero-delay video pipeline. The 900MHz chan...

17/09/2026

DAZN Announces Three Executive Appointments

DAZN has announced three appointments to its executive leadership team, all reporting to CEO Shay Segev effective immediately. Patrick Delany has been appointe...

17/09/2026

Monumental Sports and Entertainment Announces Leadership Changes

Monumental Sports and Entertainment (MSE) has announced a leadership restructuring. Zach Leonsis has been named President and Vice Chairman, a newly created pos...

17/09/2026

CP Communications and Red House Streaming Named 2026 Best of Florida Winners

CP Communications has been named Best of Florida for Audio-Visual Services, and its subsidiary Red House Streaming has been named Best Movie and Recording Studi...

17/09/2026

Scripps Sports and ION to Broadcast Shriners Childrens East-West Bowl

Scripps Sports and ION have announced a broadcast partnership for the Shriners Children's East-West Bowl, the nation's oldest college all-star football ...

17/09/2026

espnW Announces Full Agenda for 2026 Women + Sports Summit

The 17th annual espnW: Women + Sports Summit, presented by Toyota, will take place October 14-16 at the Ojai Valley Inn in Ojai, California, with virtual attend...

17/09/2026

PAMA and Shure Announce 2026 Mark Brunner Professional Audio Scholarship Recipients

The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated have...

17/09/2026

LNK Group Migrates Five Networks to Grass Valley AMPP

Lithuanian broadcaster LNK Group has completed a migration of playout and media management for its five national television networks - LNK, BTV, TV1, InfoTV, an...

17/09/2026

Net Insight Establishes Pan-Asian Live Media Network for Nimbra 520 Trials

Net Insight has announced a pan-Asian live media network created with its regional partners, giving broadcasters, production companies, and media service provid...

17/09/2026

SVG Students to Watch: Adam Black, University of South Florida

After a high school football injury, the Orlando native found a new path in video production, gaining experience on ESPN college football broadcasts, Tampa Bay ...

17/09/2026

Image-Line & Antares reveal AutoTune Go

Popular DAW gains free pitch-correction tool Image-Line have teamed up with Antares to kit their popular DAW software out with a built-in pitch-correction p...

17/09/2026

Gibson & Baggs unveil HiFi DNA pickup

Promises unprecedented realism, dynamic nuance and clarity Gibson have teamed up with acoustic pickup experts Baggs, creating a next-generation' pickup...

17/09/2026

VSL introduce Synchron Cimbalom & World Percussion II

Two new libraries join percussion line-up VSL (Vienna Symphonic Library) have just launched two new libraries that bring some intriguing new instruments int...

17/09/2026

Arturia update the MiniFreak

Hardware & plug-in versions gain new features Arturia have just released a free update that brings some significant new features to their MiniFreak synthesi...

17/09/2026

Respected journalist Catalina Flrez to succeed Anton Enus as SBS World News presenter

Respected journalist Catalina Fl rez to succeed Anton Enus as SBS World News pre...

17/09/2026

Call for Applications: South African Producers to Attend the Berlinale Co-Production Market Visitors Programme 2027

The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), in partnership with the Nation...

17/09/2026

5 Reasons to Join Calrec at IBC

Calrec brings leading audio solutions and long-term business value to IBC 2026 We're looking forward to meeting up with you all on 11-14th September in Amst...

17/09/2026

Nielsen Accelerates Streaming Data Delivery with Enhancements to Streaming Content Ratings

Streaming Content Ratings (SCR) Data Shifts to Daily Delivery Cadence, Mirroring...

17/09/2026

The Gauge: Poland | August 2026

August brought further stabilization in total TV viewing time. Poles spent an average of 3 hours and 31 minutes a day watching video content on TV glass-just 2 ...

17/09/2026

Warner Bros. Discovery reclaims top spot in Nielsen's August All Screens Video Landscape Report

Post-sports seasonal shift redistributes viewership across Poland, while streami...

17/09/2026

TVC and Globecast Join Hands to Unveil The Matrix - A Ne...

Television Content Analytics Pte Ltd (TVC), a Singapore-based deep-tech company specialising in sports technology, artificial intelligence and live broadcast in...

17/09/2026

Rise Broadcast Reveals 2026 Awards Shortlist

Rise WIB, the global advocacy group championing gender diversity and career progression across the media technology industry, today announced the shortlist for ...

17/09/2026

CAPITOL BROADCASTING COMPANY AND THE CAROLINA HURRICANES EXTEND CONTENT PARTNERSHIP

RALEIGH, N.C. - Capitol Broadcasting Company (CBC) and Hurricanes Holdings annou...

17/09/2026

LNK Group Moves Five National Networks to Grass Valley AM...

Lithuanian broadcaster deploys Playout X and Framelight X across five networks, combining on-premises software-defined playout with cloud-based disaster recover...

17/09/2026

Introducing Adobe Photoshop Elements & Premiere Elements 2027

Introducing Adobe Photoshop Elements & Premiere Elements 2027 Brie Clayton September 17, 2026 0 Comments New tools make it easier than ever to enhance y...

17/09/2026

Scripps Research professor Li Ye named finalist for Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists

LA JOLLA, CA-While the brain orchestrates metabolic processes in the body, it al...

17/09/2026

The Neighbours Effect: Gen Z Brings Back Big Hair, Double Denim and 80s soap style

The Neighbours Effect: Gen Z Brings Back Big Hair, Double Denim and 80s soap sty...

17/09/2026

Official trailer released for Sky Original WAR

The bold, new legal drama starring Dominic West and Sienna Miller launches on Sky and NOW on 2nd OctThursday 17 September 2026 Official trailer released for Sk...

17/09/2026

AI safety needs more than rules. It needs evidence

Every week we read headlines about new threats from AI. From taking over jobs to disrupting critical infrastructure, spreading misinformation or even destroying...

17/09/2026

Arqiva selected by SANZAAR to deliver global distribution of 2026 international rugby programme

Arqiva selected by SANZAAR to deliver global distribution of 2026 international ...

17/09/2026

Widow\u2019s Bay triumphs as most decorated freshman comedy in Emmy history - PRESS RELEASE - Posted on 15 September 2026

CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA This evening at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, Apple TV...

17/09/2026

Cute Critters Come to the Cloud: Aniimo' Launches on GeForce NOW

A new creature-catching adventure is ready to stream from the cloud this week. Pawprint Studio's Aniimo arrives on GeForce NOW at launch, inviting gamers to...

17/09/2026

RT Statement: 2027 Eurovision Song Contest

RT Statement: RT is today confirming that its position regarding participation in the Eurovision Song Contest remains unchanged. RT will not participate in...

16/09/2026

Grass Valley to be Awarded 2026 Technology & Engineering Emmy for Web-Based Frame-Accurate Remote Monitoring

Grass Valley has been recognized with a 2026 Technology & Engineering Emmy Award...

16/09/2026

SVG Cloud & Content Workflows Summit 2026: All Sessions Now Available To Watch on SVG PLAY

Sports-media leaders explore how cloud, AI, and virtualization are transforming ...

16/09/2026

A Summer Catch: How the Women's Pro Baseball League Built a Broadcast Plan From ScratchIn Just Six Months

With a full crew on site in Springfield, deep access to players, and a growing d...

16/09/2026

The History of Concrete Contains More Surprises Than You Can Possibly Imagine

John Wilson attends The History of Concrete premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Yarrow Theatre on January 22, 2026, in Park City, Utah. (Ph...

16/09/2026

Wavea release Flite V2

Powerful soft synth receives free update Wavea have just launched a new and improved version of their feature-packed soft synth, kitting it out with over 20...

16/09/2026

Modartt launch Airteq

Physical-modelling experts launch pipe-based instrument Modartt are well known for their impressive Pianoteq and Organteq offerings, and now, they've pu...

16/09/2026

FL Studio & Antares launch AutoTune Go

Popular DAW gains free pitch-correction tool Image-Line have teamed up with Antares to kit their popular DAW software out with a built-in pitch-correction p...

16/09/2026

Microwave Factory and Rohde & Schwarz enable automated SAR measurements with CMX500 support in MATEOS

Microwave Factory and Rohde & Schwarz enable automated SAR measurements with CMX...

16/09/2026

Rohde & Schwarz launches new security scanner for large events at Security Expo 2026

Rohde & Schwarz launches new security scanner for large events at Security Expo ...

16/09/2026

Grass Valley Recognized with 2026 Technology and Enginee...

Grass Valley honored alongside industry leaders for the development of web-based, frame-accurate remote monitoring systems for distributed broadcast production ...

16/09/2026

Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Harvard Law School Alumni Event

Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Harvard Law School Alumni Event Brie Clayton September 16, 2026 0 Comments URSA Broadcast G2 and Pocket Cinema Camer...

16/09/2026

Nielsen Marketing Cloud Launches Data-Enrichment Capabilities

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...