Counterculture spirit & Anti-war Sentiments
The 1970s was a time filled with counterculturalism, anti-war movements and the establishment of the new left. Some notable anti-war films produced created during that time are, The Deer Hunter, Coming Home, Hearts and Minds, The War at Home, The Anderson Platoon and the F.T.A.
One area in which anti-war sentiments are brought forward is the treatment of Vietnam War veterans in films. Unlike, the World War II films, veterans of the Vietnam War were not portrayed as decorated war heroes.
“ In many ‘coming home’ films returning Vietnam veterans were seen as dysfunctional and as a threat, not only to the "American dream," but rather to the venerable American ideology that soldiers ''win wars" and return home to glory.”
-- Michael James Nooren
For example, the the films Coming Home and the Deer Hunter depict the negative consequences of war by showcasing the physical and mental disabilities suffered by the veterans. Moreover, the films do not crown the veterans as war heroes. Coming Home does a great job in depicting post war trauma and is emotionally moving.
“Apocalypse Now might be categorized as both a pro war move and an antiwar movie in that the film’s cinematic and political ambiguity both conceals and reveals a national ambivalence toward the Vietnam War.”
--Frank P. Tomasulo