Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 4-23-2015 12:00 AM Green Berets and Gay Deceivers: The New Left, The Vietnam Draft and American Masculinity Anna L. Zuschlag The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Robert MacDougall The University of Western Ontario Joint Supervisor Dr. Joseph Wlodarz The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in History A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Anna L. Zuschlag 2015 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the American Film Studies Commons, American Popular Culture Commons, Cultural History Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, History of Gender Commons, Nonfiction Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons, Public History Commons, Social History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Zuschlag, Anna L., "Green Berets and Gay Deceivers: The New Left, The Vietnam Draft and American Masculinity" (2015). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 2809. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/2809 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GREEN BERETS AND GAY DECEIVERS: THE NEW LEFT, THE VIETNAM DRAFT AND AMERICAN MASCULINITY (Thesis Format: Monograph) by Anna L. Zuschlag Graduate Program in History A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Anna L. Zuschlag 2015 Abstract When masculinity is predicated on violence and military service is a man’s civic duty, then draft resistance becomes a doubly radical act. Men who refuse to take up arms for their nation threaten, at least potentially, both its political and gender order. This dissertation explores American masculinity during and after the Vietnam War, by analyzing cultural representations of, and responses to, the U.S. Selective Service System. At a time when mainstream Hollywood would not touch the Vietnam War, a generation of independent filmmakers, artists and agitators produced a number of remarkable films and documents dealing with the war, the draft and the meaning of masculinity. How did draft resisters, draft avoiders and men in the New Left generally understand and practice their own manhood? How was their masculinity perceived? And how did masculinity shape the New Left generally? Historians have hardly ignored the men of the New Left, but their maleness has rarely been the axis of exploration. Examining the masculinity of the male New Left, and understanding masculinity as a historically-constituted process and performance, reveals the inadequacy of the traditional declension narrative used to describe the history of the New Left. The New Left never made an ill-advised turn from “hard” issues of politics and war to “soft” issues of identity and gender. Instead, the New Left was always deeply preoccupied with questions of culture, sexuality and identity. One of its first projects was an attempt to rethink and redefine American masculinity. Pushing back against the gender order of the early Cold War, the male New Left opened space for new masculinities. Yet many of those willing to explore new masculine terrain were not able to renounce violence as a male prerogative or divest themselves of the male privilege secured by that ii violence. By the 1980s, many members of the male New Left had rejected and recanted their own efforts to expand the meaning of American masculinity. These recanters colluded with more conservative writers to legitimate the public regeneration of a heteronormative, pro-war masculinity, the very definition of American manhood that the New Left had once challenged. This helped to mark all radical politics, particularly those of draft resistance, as unmanly for decades to come. Keywords: Cold War, Vietnam War, masculinity, manhood, sexuality, gender, violence, film, New Left, counterculture, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Norman Mailer, Todd Gitlin, draft resistance, draft resisters, draft avoidance, draft avoiders, Selective Service System, the draft, Vietnam veterans, John Wayne, Cary Grant, Alan Alda, Jack Nicholson, The Green Berets, Greetings, The Gay Deceivers, Summertree, Drive, He Said, Alice’s Restaurant, Explosion, Jenny, Coming Home, Big Wednesday, Platoon, 84 Charlie MoPic iii Acknowledgments The best way out is always through. —Robert Frost Spending my childhood less than half an hour from the Canada–U.S. border meant that I grew up exposed to a lot of American media. I soaked it up like a sponge. I can recall hearing about “Vietnam” in those formative years, and thinking it must have been important since it inspired so much music and so many movies. My interest in history, film and the Vietnam War grew from there. I watched films such as Platoon and The Deer Hunter, and wanted to know more. I listened intently when my parents talked about friends who were “draft dodgers,” and wanted to know more. Whenever my studies allowed it, I worked on topics related to the Vietnam War. While researching those projects, I came across brief mentions of fiction films featuring the Vietnam-era Selective Service System, but there was a dearth in analysis. While I had seen the classic Vietnam War films numerous times, these “draft films” were mysterious, intriguing entities. I wanted to know more. The decision to start a Ph.D. was not an easy one; the decision to write my dissertation on the Vietnam War and the “draft films” was. Many people have assisted in the completion of this project. First, I would like to express sincere gratitude to my supervisors, Dr. Robert MacDougall and Dr. Joseph Wlodarz, both of whom joined me on this voyage when it was already underway. Dr. MacDougall’s generosity of spirit, mind and time helped me to see that this project was worthwhile. His faith in my abilities as an academic and my capacity to complete this journey was unfailing, even in the toughest of times. I am deeply grateful for his patience, enthusiasm and mentorship. Dr. Wlodarz’s keen interest and perfectly-timed words of encouragement kept me motivated and gave me invaluable insight when it seemed as iv though my “history” and “film” worlds were on a collision course. I would also like to thank the thesis examination board: Dr. Tim Blackmore, Dr. Monda Halpern, Dr. Andrew Hunt and Dr. Aldona Sendzikas. Their discerning comments and thought-provoking questions added new dimensions to my understanding of this project’s subject area. This was a journey of more than a thousand steps, and I could not have taken a single one of them without my family and friends. My family rallied around me when it seemed all was lost. They showed me what true support, encouragement and love is. My father, who introduced me to the cinema as a child, was always willing to talk things out, for hours if necessary. He read multiple versions of this dissertation—all with eagerness. His steadfast support, sage counsel and red pen were invaluable. My mother is a quiet force of nature. Her strength gave me strength when it felt as though I had nothing left to give. Both my parents listened when I needed to be heard. My brother provided humour, hugs and lunch breaks—all getting me through some tough days. I am so grateful to have my sister by my side. She helped me see the light on many things, not the least being the one at the end of the tunnel. My aunt gave me pep talks and sent positive thoughts, even from a continent away. Kelly, Stacey, Steph and Christine became my personal cheerleading squad. They all have broad shoulders and were sounding boards when I needed them most. I would also like to thank Nadia, who kept the spark alive; and especially Liz, who showed me that it wasn’t that I couldn’t do it. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote “there are no second acts,” which has been interpreted to mean there are no second chances. His words invoke a bitterness that would be easy to embrace after long, arduous journeys such as this one. I write this not in bitterness, but in gratitude for the journey, the discoveries along the way and for the uncharted territory that waits ahead. v Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………...……ii Acknowledgments..............................................................................................................iv Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………..…vi Introduction: Beat the Draft and Be a Man……………………………………...............1 Chapter One: Cold War Masculinities: Lace Hankies and Gray Worsted Suits………..30 Chapter Two: New Left Masculinities: Influences, Opportunities and Barricades……..80 Chapter Three: The Draft on Film: Sissies, Sickos and Psychopaths…………………164 Chapter Four: The New Left’s New Man: Digging Holes and Mending Fences…..…226 Conclusion: No Guts, No Glory, No Voice…………………………………….………288 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………...……306 Curriculum Vitae…………………………………………………….………………..331 vi 1 Introduction Beat the Draft and Be a Man A brawny Special Forces colonel and a young Vietnamese boy stand at the edge of the South China Sea. Weeping, Hamchunk (Craig Jue) wonders what will happen to him now that Sergeant Petersen (Jim Hutton), his American protector, has died in battle. Colonel Kirby (John Wayne) gently places “Peter-san’s” green beret on Hamchunk’s head. Kirby says solemnly, “You let me worry about that, Green Beret. You’re what this is all about.” Kirby takes the child by the hand. The two walk down the beach, as the sun sets slowly—in the east. So ends The Green Berets (Ray Kellogg and John Wayne, 1968), the only combat film to be produced during the Vietnam War, with a continuity gaffe that has become Hollywood legend.