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Alfio Leotta, Senior Lecturer, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

When war imitates art: rediscovering Red Dawn, the 1984 movie inspiring Ukrainian fighters

John Milius Wolverines United States MGM Ukraine Russia
Oleg Tolmachev/Twitter

When images from Ukraine of abandoned Russian tanks tagged with the word “Wolverines” circulated in early April, movie buffs got it right away: Ukrainian fighters were consciously referencing the cult 1984 film Red Dawn.

Released at the apex of the Cold War, it chronicles a fictional Soviet invasion of the US, in which a group of teenagers – the Wolverines – mount a guerilla resistance against the might of the Soviet military.

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