Review of Red Dawn (1984) by John M — 23 Apr 2008

The year is 1984...

Reganomics is in full swing...The Soviets have mirrored the U.S's boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics by foregoing competition in Los Angeles....22 Americans are freed from Cuba, thanks to Jesse Jackson's visits with Fidel Castro...Although "Glasnost" continues between Reagan and Gorbachev...the Red phone continues to be a focal point in the buildup of nuclear weapons between the two Superpowers...so the question lingers...If this country were to be invaded would untrained civilians who the majority of would not have any idea about military tactics have enough fiber to grab their firearms and engage in guerrilla warfare against enemy forces that have been trained in the art of combat? The recent War against Terrorism in the aftermath of 9/11 re-raises the question...and though the storytelling in this movie is a bit cheesy by today's standards...it is well worth a look towards many issues that face us as a society today...the place of teenagers remains stereotyped as beneath adults...but this movie goes on to tell the story of a small group of smalltown valued teens can overcome an army....not the most believable story...yet it helps those of their age watching to better understand what it takes to become an adult...patience, sacrifice, and love and family values! Something that, In my opinion, has been dwindling in the past two decades of the buildup of information technology, cell phones...and advanced partying!