Dialectical disorientation in Vietnam War films
Subversion of the mythology of war
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9237642 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Karen Rasmussen (0000-0002-6354-2232, California State University), Sharon D Downey (California State University) |
| Year | 1991 |
| Volume | 77 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 176-195 |
| Publication date | 1991-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Quarterly Journal of Speech (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0033-5630 • E-ISSN: 1479-5779 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00335639109383951 |
| OpenAlex | W1979193781 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 25 |
“Dialectical disorientation” is a rhetorical form that creates uncertainty and ambiguity through confrontation between two competitive but complementary orientations. This essay examines its dynamics in four films addressing the war in Vietnam: The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now, Platoon, and Full Metal Jacket. We argue that the works subvert traditional American war mythology. The films present the war as destructive rather than regenerative and purposeless rather than meaningful. This divisive scene creates a context in which principles governing behavior in war—militarism and moralism—become inoperative. The essay first details the development of disorientation in the films and then examines the rhetorical and social implications of the analysis
Aesthetics · Ambiguity · Art · Context (archaeology) · Dialectic · Epistemology · Linguistics · Literature · Militarism · Mythology · Political science · Rhetoric · Rhetorical question · Sociology · Subversion · Vietnam War · History · Law · Literature, Film, and Journalism Analysis · Philosophy · Philosophy, History, and Historiography · Rhetoric and Communication Studies
Wounds Not Easily Healed
Communication and Community
La deshumanización del soldado en el género bélico. La crisis del combatiente en las películas sobre la Guerra de Irak
China Beach and American Mythology of War
Did America view “from a distance” from a distance
Darth Vader Made Me Do It! Anakin Skywalker’s Avoidance of Responsibility and the Gray Areas of Hegemonic Masculinity in the Star Wars Universe
Buscando para nuestra latinidad
Put on a happy face
Interpreting and Reinterpreting the Political Significance of Popular Media
Regeneration through violence
A Grammar of Motives
Images of savagery in American justifications for war
All the Words we Cannot Say a Critical Commentary on the Deer Hunter
Ceremonies of Survival
The New Vietnam Films
Coming Home a Hero
Dreams and Genocide
The Destiny of the Warrior
Conversion of America's consciousness
Reaffirmation and subversion of the American dream
A motive view of communication
The deer hunter”
America's tragic metaphor
Changing Images of the Warrior Hero in America
Public Policy, Community Constraints, and the Distribution of Medical Resources
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,26 |
| Citation span | 1992 - 2020 (29) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |