"Until the early 1960s, most American perceived the nation's armend services as an all-conquering and infallible force that could protect the United States from any threat and project the national interest to any corner of the world. Conveyed in history books, popular literature, and the mass media, this image received its highest expression in the military's overwhelming success in World War II" (Suid 2002, Preface xi).

"Dueing the 1950s, the military retained its aura of invincibility, spearheaded by its growing fleet of aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, and SAC bombers" (Suid 2002, Preface xi).

"During the 1960s, however, the nation's perception of its armed forces underwent a profound transformation. As the World War II victories receded from memory and 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis threatened the American people with nuclear holocaust, disenchantment with things military began to develop. The escalation of the Vietnam war and the rise of the antiwar movement after 1965 accelerated the criticism of the armed forces in the print and visual media" (Suid 2002, Preface xi).

"[...] Hollywood films have [...] created the image of combat as exciting, as a place to prove masculinity, as a place to challenge death in a socially acceptable manner. As a result, until the late 1960s, American war movies always ended in victory, with our soldiers, sailors, Marines, and fliers running faster than their enemies. These screen victories reinforced the image of the American military as all-conquering, all-powerful, always right. In a real sense, then, Hollywood war films helped justify war and the use of violence to achieve national goals" (Suid 2002, 5).

"Pete Hammill, in commenting on the connection between violence and sex, observed that while reporting on the war in Vietnam, he saw a sexual-like "euphoria" on soldiers' faces as they came out of combat. Planes, bombs, guns, the destruction they cause, they very elements that filmmakers believe show the evil of war ultimately provide the attraction that makes war films so popular" (Suid 2002, 6).

Note: ---> offer alternative to the viewers' dull lives??
----> then given the opportunity to live this exciting life?!

"The rite of passage of a young man to maturity through his experiences in the military has become a stereotype at the heart of most movies about the armed forces" (Suid 2002, 22).

"In the 1920s and 1930s, "recognizing the value of Navy film movies for recruiting as well as for informing the American people about its activities, the Navy worked diligently to create a positive screen image" (Suid 2002, 42).