You might or might not be amused that your observation that this writing of yours is in fact still relevant. Apparently, you and Heather Cox Richardson have both been thinking about Red Dawn's significance of late.
It's one of those movies that if you take it seriously, you'll throw a brick at your television (or the theater screen, depending).
If you take it as the glorification of "poet-warrior" machismo that John Milius worships like a Wehraboo with a crush on militarism, and asthma so bad PUTIN's Army wouldn't accept him (a lot like Milius himself)? It's a glorious exercise in testosterone-fueled masculinity so incredible and absurd that my former wife could feel hair growing on her chest while watching it!
It's right up there (down there?) with QUEEN OF THE DAMNED, STREETS OF FIRE, and GREASE 2 as a movie you know is utter garbage, but you just keep watching it over and over...because like Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice watching THE EXORCIST, "It—Just—GETS——FUNNIER!!!!"
But, yeah—stay away from anybody who takes RED DAWN at all seriously.
Wow. Now I’m going to have to watch that again. I haven’t seen it since it was released in ‘84. Good cast, if I recall, including a young Patrick Swayze.
I am one of those odd ducks who is a progressive and a retired Army officer. I saw this movie whilst I was actively in the Reserve in a unit which would have been slated to deploy to Europe for a Russian invasion of FRG and I saw the bravery and tenacity of Americans fighting back in response to the invasion of the home land.. I saw not the glorification of guns (I am opposed to the private ownership of weapons other than hunting rifles --before I was married, I owned rifles and as long as I was in the Army owned my own personally owned .45 cal automatric that stayed in a gun safe except for when I needed it for military use)--when I retired I gave it tl a fellow office3r in my unit---and in fact while I was chairman of my village's I spearheaded the preparation of a verfy restrictive gun contrrol ordinance which wMAJOR US ARMY-Retired
You might or might not be amused that your observation that this writing of yours is in fact still relevant. Apparently, you and Heather Cox Richardson have both been thinking about Red Dawn's significance of late.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-8-2026
That was one of the 80s movies I missed when I was a teenager in the 80s. You’ve convinced me to give it a look. Happy Friday.
It was a Brat Pack movie written by John Birchers. It's perfect.
It's one of those movies that if you take it seriously, you'll throw a brick at your television (or the theater screen, depending).
If you take it as the glorification of "poet-warrior" machismo that John Milius worships like a Wehraboo with a crush on militarism, and asthma so bad PUTIN's Army wouldn't accept him (a lot like Milius himself)? It's a glorious exercise in testosterone-fueled masculinity so incredible and absurd that my former wife could feel hair growing on her chest while watching it!
It's right up there (down there?) with QUEEN OF THE DAMNED, STREETS OF FIRE, and GREASE 2 as a movie you know is utter garbage, but you just keep watching it over and over...because like Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice watching THE EXORCIST, "It—Just—GETS——FUNNIER!!!!"
But, yeah—stay away from anybody who takes RED DAWN at all seriously.
The timing on this is fantastic - just watched the movie for the first time last night. And yeah. Spot on.
Wow. Great minds think alike. Sherman Alexie posted a poem about utopia today.
Wow. Now I’m going to have to watch that again. I haven’t seen it since it was released in ‘84. Good cast, if I recall, including a young Patrick Swayze.
I am one of those odd ducks who is a progressive and a retired Army officer. I saw this movie whilst I was actively in the Reserve in a unit which would have been slated to deploy to Europe for a Russian invasion of FRG and I saw the bravery and tenacity of Americans fighting back in response to the invasion of the home land.. I saw not the glorification of guns (I am opposed to the private ownership of weapons other than hunting rifles --before I was married, I owned rifles and as long as I was in the Army owned my own personally owned .45 cal automatric that stayed in a gun safe except for when I needed it for military use)--when I retired I gave it tl a fellow office3r in my unit---and in fact while I was chairman of my village's I spearheaded the preparation of a verfy restrictive gun contrrol ordinance which wMAJOR US ARMY-Retired
"Bella has lost the moral low ground."
I lost the flow when I hit that statement.
ah well; they can’t all be gems…
I’m curious to know what Kerouac bit James Baldwin was referring to…
It was some Kerouac discuwwion of race…
Well I’ve read my fair share of Kerouac and for Baldwin to have called him out, it must’ve been “thin” indeed