Political Geography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Political Geography - Essay Example Perhaps the ultimate male adolescent fantasy about protecting the homeland from this era is presented for consumption in a movie titled â€Å"Red Dawn†. In short, the Commies (Russians and Cubans) invade America. A band of brave high school kids escape the clutches of the evil Reds and become freedom fighters somewhere in the Midwest. The expected roles of men and women are displayed perfectly in the film. Some freedom fighters evolve into bloodthirsty rebels while others maintain as much dignity as freedom fighters can maintain. The role of the only two women in the film is to give the men (boys?) something to protect while their subjection to sexual assault by the bad guys is subtly alluded to. The low point of the movie for the freedom fighters comes when they are no longer able to protect the women or themselves. The homeland appears lost, and it would be saving for the legends that spread far and wide about the brave exploits of this band of brothers. The women die, but this only serves to highlight the temporary weaknesses of the boys. Their real strength in saving the nation is in the manly ideals they instilled in others (who would hopefully do a better job protecting their women!). Though a bit tongue-in-cheek, this B-movie really does show a key interaction between gender politics and national politics during the cold war. Men desired women to do what they had always done during times of war. They wanted the home-fires burning while they went off to war. And for men, war meant combat and after that, opportunity for adulation and heightened levels of power. For women, the gender politics encouraged them to do much the same as they had during war time. The gender politics of the cold war dictated women sacrifice personal ambition for the good of the Nation stay home and pine away for their fighting men. Men were to sacrifice their lives for the good of the nation. One sacrifice was rewarded and the other was not.