Throughout the early part of the 1980s the action genre reigned supreme over the American box office. Actors like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger lead this testosterone fueled cinematic explosion with its aggressive right-wing stance. Then, towards the end of that decade the reels were changed. The action hero no longer resembled ‘He-Man’, and started to show a softer more human side. Towards the end of the eighties the action hero was allowed to cry.
There are a number of factors that propelled enthusiasm for these types of films. After the seventies drew to a close America was politically and socially reeling. It was feeling the wounds of a failed war in Indo-China, and many Vietnam veterans were still trying to reintegrate into normal life. In 1980 the nation’s military was further embarrassed by a failed hostage rescue attempt in Iran. To some countries this would not be an issue, but since the Second World War the United States has closely identified itself by its military prowess. The country’s psyche needed some comfort, and Hollywood was ready to provide the blanket.
In 1982 Sylvester Stallone hit the cinema screens as ‘John Rambo’ in the film First Blood. Carrying the emotional scars of Vietnam, this one man army faces a whole town’s prejudiced police force and National Guard, and emerges victorious. The country may have felt emotionally emasculated by recent events but onscreen one American with a red bandanna could still make a difference.
However, Stallone wasn’t the only one on a rampage. In Commando (1985) Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a retired marine who has to hunt down his daughter’s kidnappers. The film culminates in a violent bloody climax as he kills a mansion full of terrorists. However, it isn’t just violence that these two films have in common. Both Commando and First Blood have a strong theme of disrespect for the military chain of command. It is almost as if the lone soldier is victorious despite the officers, not because of them. While this attitude is certainly not new (it can be traced back to the First World War and probably further) it is certainly a reaction to decisions made during Vietnam, and the way that the returning heroes were treated.
The general outlook of the population during this period appears to have been selfish, materialistic and uncaring. Politicians no longer seemed to care about the causes of crime, just its elimination. This right-wing political viewpoint easily infused itself with the action genre. This is clearly demonstrated by the film Cobra (1986), directed by George P. Cosmotas and again starring Sylvester Stallone. Stallone plays a cop who is only used as a last resort, which naturally results with him killing the perpetrator. In one scene (that sums up the beliefs of the time) a man is threatening to kill everybody by blowing up a supermarket. Stallone replies;”Go ahead. I don’t shop here anyway”, and then kills him.
In the late eighties a transformation occurred. Bruce Willis appeared as John McClane in the film Die Hard (1988). His character was not a hero with a cartoon like physique, or a man that carried the emotional baggage of a previous war. He was a lowly New York detective, which in the words of its tagline, “was in the wrong place at the wrong time”. In the film McClane is visiting his estranged wife at her office Christmas party. While alone in the bathroom terrorists hijack the newly completed skyscraper and hold the occupants hostage. McClane then spends the rest of the film trying to thwart their plans and avoiding capture.
Unlike the previous action characters McClane appears human. He has a failing marriage, and while he is a Police Officer, there is more of a ‘blue collar’ realism about his character. His first concern is to get his wife out of the building, failing that he tries to call for help. Unlike previous action heroes McClane doesn’t believe he can handle the situation alone. Unfortunately for this protagonist the FBI team that eventually arrives is incompetent, but does highlight one important evolution of the genre. As the two agents swoop over the city streets in helicopters. One whoops with joy and yells; “Just like fucking Saigon hey slick?” His colleague retorts; “I was in Junior High dickhead” (Die Hard). In this action film there is no room for the ghost of Vietnam.
Halfway through the film a pivotal scene occurs. It is not just important for the plot progression of the story, but it is also an indicator that the action genre has matured. McClane is bloodied and sitting in a restroom talking on a radio to a street cop called ‘Al’. Al has become his guardian angel, his link to the outside world. While pulling shards of glass out of his bloodied feet he asks Al to tell his family that he loves them. As McClane speaks he begins to cry. These are not tears of pain, but tears of a man who realizes he might not be able to survive through this ordeal. This is a hero that is aware of his limitations and is not afraid to voice them. The previous superhuman, bulletproof, fighting machine of Stallone and his peers has now been replaced by a man that not only questions his actions, but doubts them too.
In the final scene McClane is battered and bruised, but alive. He hugs his wife and it seems that their marriage has been repaired by surviving their ordeal. Yet, the film doesn’t finish here as a sub plot needs to be resolved. One of the ‘dead’ terrorists resurrected by anger and revenge tries to gun McClane down. The terrorist is in turn killed, not by McClane, but by Al. This fulfills two purposes. It allows Al to become a ‘man’ again, but also underscores the new role for the hero. Willis’s character does not attempt to stop the angry gunman, but instinctively shields his wife from any harm. The family comes first, not the individual’s need for revenge.
As time moved further from Vietnam and politics shifted further to the left this ‘humanizing’ of the action hero continued with films headlined by actors like Will Smith and Keanu Reeves. However, more recently the USA has found itself floundering in wars, financial depression, and a rising popularity of right wing attitudes. Thus, once more we see the action genre embracing the hard edged values of the eighties. Already, Stallone has returned with a further installment of the Rambo series, and this summer sees the resurgence of 80s favorite Conan the Barbarian. It seems that the USA has needs of that emotional blanket once more.
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