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I found myself watching Red Dawn a few nights ago. It was spurred on from a Risk (facebook version) game I was playing with some of my buddies. I remember seeing it when it initially came out in 1984 (I guess they didn’t care it was PG-13 when I bought my ticket since I wasn’t even 11 at that time) and I remember thinking of it as a cool war flick that took place in my home state. I had seen it a few times on cable since then and slowly began to see the incredible level of late-era Cold War propaganda throughout the film. Upon watching it a few nights ago, I was struck once again by what I saw.

Before going any further, it must be noted that this it is really not a good film. There are plot holes and common-sense holes that one could drive a Soviet-era tank through (such as how the Soviets could keep up a supply chain from Siberia through the Aleutians and Alaska and down through Canada) and the acting is rather suspect. In some ways, its like the Breakfast Club with guns in that its chock-full of classic 80s actors - Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, Jennifer Grey, C. Thomas Howell, and Powers Booth. It would have been great to have Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall make a few cameos. Anyway…

Back to the propaganda concept. Let’s see…what’s present in the film…

• Immigration Concerns - They note that the way the Cubans initially infiltrated the US was through sneaking over the border posing as workers coming into the US and built up their forces until it was ready to strike.
• Gun Control / Right to Bear Arms - The people who are lifted up as the heroes in the film are the ones who owned guns (and lots of them). The Soviets actually use the lists of people who own guns as the key to who they should round up first. Implication that background checks, etc are a bad thing?
• Macho Old West American Machismo - Again, the heroes are the ones who are depicted as living off the land, not showing any emotion or feelings, etc. Put Clint Eastwood in there and you have a pretty good idea of what’s in the film
• Depiction of the Soviets / Cubans - The Soviets in the film are portrayed at various times as bumbling idiots, rapists, thieves, and unable to fend off a small group of high school students. Two scenes in particular stand out here - one time where a group of three soldiers are ambushed in the mountains as they are bumbling about taking pictures of themselves and another where a group is taken out after they try to catch Jennifer Grey, presumably for more than just taking her to a re-education camp. Speaking of those camps…
• Re-Education Camps - Those who are rounded up by the Americans (mostly men it seemed) were taken to re-education camps where they were shown (seemingly round the clock) films that told of the wasteland that is America and the power and superiority of the Soviet way of life.

Timing wise, this film came out the summer of Reagan’s re-election campaign in 1984 as the Cold War rhetoric was in high-gear at the time.

Twenty-four years later, it is very easy to watch this film and see what a propaganda machine it really was. Of course, films have always been used for this purpose - from Birth of a Nation to Triumph of the Will and up to today. I wonder what we will think 24 years from now about films and television coming out today. Will we watch films like The Siege, The Kingdom, 300, and several seasons of 24 (to name a few) and think similar things?

Anyway, if you find it on some night, check the film out. Its worth a viewing, not necessarily for the quality of the film, but the not-so-subtle messages contained throughout.
(image credit: Cracked.com)