Iraq War...coming to a computer near you!

Sara Mercuro
Mod 2 Due October 9, 2006


Current Event
Iraq War Online

Today, in the United States, horror films are among the most attended movies in the country. Many people find it thrilling to be scared, and sickened by blood and gore. That is why it is not to surprising to read that videos of the war in Iraq are being posted on sites such as youtube.com and Google. These sites are working to remove the videos; because they do not want the same reaction to war that was received in Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, people were beginning to use televisions in their everyday life, especially as a source of news. Since the television was so popular, the media felt it was a good idea to air footage of Vietnam on the news. The effort to get Americans to sympathize with the war failed, viewing the violence actually hardened the U.S. citizens against it. It turned America away from the war, and in doing so, the U.S. rejected the bravery shown by the troops fighting in Vietnam. That is part of the reason why Vietnam veterans are never viewed as heroic; they are more commonly portrayed as violent flashback victims who cannot let go of the war. It is because of the horrible reaction from the footage of Vietnam that we cannot allow war to be publicly accessed, as if it were just any old horror movie. War will become something to be watched with popcorn and drinks, rather than the tragedy it is.