Speech Melba |
There’s a popular saw about how when the US entered World War II, it wasn’t just soldiers who were enlisted but also Hollywood. In fact, the American war office had a unit dedicated to reviewing film scripts that could sell the war to its citizens. It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship, which has since gone from strength to strength. Hollywood’s portrayal of the valiant American saving lives around the world is now a staple and quite a unique cultural phenomenon — no other country makes as many movies glorifying itself as the US does.
During WWII, it was easy for Americans to come off as the good guys ranged against the evil Nazis. But even when America’s role was not quite so angelic, as for instance during the infamous Vietnam war, Hollywood did not flinch from its duty — John Wayne’s The Green Berets glorifying US soldiers came four months after the My Lai massacre where they wiped out an entire village.
