In a dimly lit cinema, the audience silently watched the scene unfold on the screen. As the smoke of the war cleared, the soldiers were so tired that they fell in the mud like abandoned puppets. There was a strong emotion in the hearts of the audience, but it was difficult to determine whether it was admiration, regret or anger.
It is a film about the Vietnam War that deeply explores the brutality of war and the splendor of human nature. However, while such films are emerging one after another, another equally fierce and far-reaching war, the Korean War, has been rarely documented and has almost disappeared from the big screen in the United States. Why do American filmmakers choose to look back at the Vietnam War and avoid the Korean War?
The American public has little awareness of the Korean War
The Korean War, in which between 1950 and 1953 U.S. and United Nations forces intervened in the conflict on the Korean Peninsula in an attempt to prevent the spread of communism, was a direct manifestation of the Cold War confrontation. However, despite the political and military significance of the war itself, it appears in the public memory of the United States, and is conspicuously inadequate compared to the impact and film presentation of World War II and the Vietnam War.
At the time, American media coverage of the Korean War was not as comprehensive and immediate as the Vietnam War that followed. Unlike film journalism and broadcasting, which was widely used during World War II, news coverage of the Korean War relied on relatively slow telegraphs and limited radio broadcasts. Most of these reports have been officially screened to cover only some aspects of the war, rather than a comprehensive picture of the war. In addition, newspaper coverage of the Korean War was often overshadowed by other domestic and foreign events, such as the rise of McCarthyism and the tensions of other international Cold War scenarios.
After the war, although official documents and materials about the Korean War gradually became public, the teaching of this historical event in the education system was still inadequate. In contrast to the extensive teaching of World War II and the profound reflection on the Vietnam War, the Korean War is often briefly mentioned in school history textbooks, often limited to the causes of the war, the main battles, and how they ended. This superficial approach makes it difficult for students to fully understand the complexities of war and its important role in global politics.
In terms of culture and media, the Korean War is rarely discussed in depth in American film and television works. World War II and the Vietnam War have been the subject of numerous films and documentaries due to their rich visual material and wide social impact. In contrast, the Korean War has a small number of film and television productions, not only because of the limited visual material available, but also because of the narrative difficulty of the war itself. The complexity of the war, the high level of international participation, and the ambiguity of the outcome all add to the challenges of creating film and television productions.
As a result of this multifaceted neglect and limitations, the Korean War faded into the memory of the American public. Compared with the widely commemorated heroic narratives of World War II and the social reflections triggered by the Vietnam War, the memory of the Korean War lacks a clear and coherent narrative framework. To a certain extent, this situation has weakened the understanding and evaluation of the historical importance of the war in American society, making it a "forgotten war" in historical education and cultural media.
Moral dilemmas and narrative difficulties in film and television works
The historical context and political complexity of the Korean War have created difficulties for its position in the public narrative. The U.S. intervention was initially intended to support South Korea's resistance to military aggression from North Korea, which was seen in the context of the Cold War as an attempt to curb the spread of communism. However, as the war progressed, especially as the United Nations forces under the command of General MacArthur crossed the 38th parallel and entered North Korean territory with the intention of completely defeating the North Korean regime and reunifying the Korean Peninsula, this act was seen by many in the international community as excessive military action, even aggression.
This change in behavior led to the duality of the role of the United States in the war. On the one hand, the United States is helping South Korea protect its sovereignty and security, and on the other hand, the expansion of its military action appears to be aggressive, which has caused widespread controversy in the international community. When the Chinese People's Volunteers intervened in the war to resist further aggression by UN forces, the situation in the war became more complicated and intense.
In this context, the film and television narrative of the Korean War encountered great challenges. Unlike the widely shared narrative of "just war" in World War II, or the widespread anti-war sentiment in the Vietnam War, the moral and political duality of the Korean War made it difficult for the production team to find a perspective that would resonate with audiences while maintaining historical objectivity. Filmmakers often have to deal with complex international political relations, the brutality of war, and the controversy over U.S. domestic and foreign policy in this genre that is difficult to fully display in a few hours of film.
In addition, there was no clear winner in the Korean War, which ended with an armistice in 1953, and the Korean Peninsula remained divided into two countries, the North and the South. This kind of war, which has no definite ending, makes it difficult for filmmakers to construct a story that fits into a satisfying or traditional narrative structure. Compared to the Allied victory in World War II and the retreat of American troops in the Vietnam War, the end of the Korean War was neither a complete victory nor a definite defeat, which makes the narrative of film and television works even more tricky.
As a result, the Korean War theme is often seen as a riskier option in the production of war films. Producers and directors may be inclined to choose war themes that are more broadly appealing and easier to deal with when considering return on investment and audience acceptance. As a result, despite its historical significance, the Korean War is not as frequent and in-depth in American film and television as it was in World War II or the Vietnam War.
Limitations of technology and media
During the Korean War between 1950 and 1953, U.S. communications technology and media coverage had not yet developed enough to provide immediate and extensive coverage of the war. During this period, although radio and newspapers were relatively mature as the main means of news dissemination, the popularity of television was far from reaching the breadth and influence of the Vietnam War in the late 60s.
During the years of the Korean War, television equipment remained a luxury item in American homes, rather than a common household appliance. According to 1950 statistics, less than 10 percent of American households owned a television set. As a result, the vast majority of Americans rely on the radio and newspapers for news information. Although radio can provide real-time news reporting, its information is still limited to sound and cannot provide a visual and intuitive experience. Although newspapers can provide some picture information, their timeliness and interactivity are far less timely and interactive than television and radio.
Because of the limitations of these media outlets, coverage of the Korean War often failed to convey real-time images and sounds of the battlefield to ordinary Americans as the Vietnam War later did. This indirect way of disseminating information makes the perception of war in the United States rely more on the second-hand interpretation of editors and reporters than on the direct visual experience of watching TV news.
In addition, due to the limitations of communication technology, reports sent back from the Korean battlefield at that time took a long time to process and transmit. War correspondents face the enormous challenge of gathering information in extreme circumstances and sending important news back home through relatively slow lines of communication. This delay has greatly reduced the timeliness of reporting, making it often impossible to update war reports in real time, and weakening the impact of news and its ability to arouse emotional resonance.
By contrast, by the time of the Vietnam War, television had become the standard equipment in more than 90 percent of U.S. homes, a situation that dramatically changed the shape of war reporting. The use of live television and the increasingly sophisticated on-the-spot reporting equipment have enabled the situation on the battlefield in Vietnam to be transmitted directly and in real time to thousands of households. This direct visual impact caused the Vietnam War to trigger widespread public discussion and anti-war sentiment in the United States, and profoundly affected the social psychology and political atmosphere in the United States.
The media technology and social environment during the Korean War, and the resulting differences in reporting methods, led to the very different impressions of the two wars in the minds of the American public. The Korean War made the Korean War seem distant and vague in the memory of many Americans because of its indirect and slow way of transmitting information. The Vietnam War, on the other hand, became a profound cultural and political symbol in American society because of the popularity of television and the technology of real-time reporting, and its impact far exceeded the direct feeling of the Korean War.
Commercial considerations for the Marché du Film
As a high-cost cultural and commercial enterprise, film production involves multiple links from script creation, actor selection, scene construction to post-production, and each step requires huge investment of money and resources. Therefore, directors and producers must carefully evaluate the potential market acceptance and profitability potential when choosing a film theme. This assessment is usually based on the subject's audience, historical impact, and whether it has a mature narrative framework.
World War II and the Vietnam War as film themes have wide recognition and far-reaching historical influence, which makes them highly attractive in the film market. World War II-themed films often show grand historical scenes and deep human explorations, such as "Saving Private Ryan" and "Pearl Harbor", which were not only huge box office successes, but also widely recognized by critics and audiences for their artistic expression. While Vietnam War films such as "Apollo Cripps" and "Full Metal Jacket" delve into the brutality of war and its psychological impact on soldiers, themes that also attracted a lot of attention from audiences and the media.
In contrast, the Korean War as a film subject presented a series of challenges. First, the relatively low visibility of the Korean War in the United States and around the world means that initial audience interest in the subject may not have been as strong as in World War II and the Vietnam War. Second, the narrative structure of the Korean War was more complex and varied than that of World War II and the Vietnam War. The variety of parties involved in the war, and the causes and processes of the conflict related to the international political landscape of the Cold War period, made it more difficult to write the script and present the narrative. Moreover, the Korean War did not have a clear victor or a clear hero, which was an obstacle to constructing a narrative framework that would appeal to the audience.
In the film market, audiences often expect war movies from heroism, sacrifice, and deep insight into human nature, while the Korean War theme may not perform as well as other more well-known wars. As a result, producers and investors may be hesitant to invest in films about the Korean War because of concerns about their lack of commercial appeal.
In addition, the promotion of Korean War films and television works in the international market also faces challenges. Unlike World War II and the Vietnam War, which had a broad international impact, the Korean War mainly involved a relatively limited number of countries, which may have affected the film's promotion and box office performance in the global market.
- Journal of Qingdao University Teachers College,2001,18(4):28-34