Hollywood has been in the military propaganda business since World War II. Throughout a movie career spanning more than for decades, Sean Penn has starred in his share of entries in that canon, beginning with his first credited role in 1981's "Taps."
When he participated in that production and others earlier in his career, it's doubtful that he considered that work as part of selling the American story of righteous might and the cost of heroism. But "Taps" and other titles in Penn's filmography, like 1998's "The Thin Red Line," are military stories attuned to the overall political tenor of their time.
