It should be painfully obvious by now that using the Middle East conflict as a backdrop for films is not a money maker at the box office. If producers think that an ongoing conflict will bring them a base of moviegoers who want to see war on the big screen, they should think again. Matt Damon’s Green Zone is unfolding as box office disaster, coming in sixth in the crucial Friday box office sweepstakes, even being beaten out by the teen comedy, She’s Out of my League.
History students will remind you that Hollywood steered clear from the Vietnam War for the better part of a decade before delving into perhaps the most distasteful conflict in our nation’s history. Popular thought in the 1970’s was that a nation in the throes of conflict does not want to see more of that conflict on screen while it is ongoing or fresh in our memories.
The Vietnam War and the Middle East conflict share similar aspects, they are both controversial and polarizing. World War II, on the other hand, was made to order for good versus evil moviemaking. Nazi Germany was such a caricature of evil as to be on par with a DC Comic Book villain. Our country and its allies were united in the effort to defeat this evil and films pertaining to World War II flourished in the 1940’s, 1950’s and beyond (see list).
By stark contrast, films broaching the Vietnam War were sparse and late in coming. The first significant films on the Vietnam War came in 1978 with Coming Home and The Deer Hunter and then Apocalypse Now in 1979. Even then, the volume and success of Vietnam War films was limited. Platoon came along in 1986, followed by Full Metal Jacket in 1987 and Born on the Fourth July in 1989.
Ask someone, “What is the number one film on Iraq?”, and the first word is likely to be, “Uh …” The Hurt Locker, basking in pre-Oscar buzz and then winning the Oscar for Best Picture, has just been able to cover its $15 million dollar price tag. The message couldn’t be clearer. Hollywood, unless you have a unique story, we don’t want to be reminded that we are embroiled in a bitter conflict in the Mid East.
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