In the discipline of films and their effects on opinions and thought, little information exists on how war films, specifically Vietnam War films, may affect a person. Exploring this, responses from participants aged 17 to 19 were collected in order to examine the effect on youth. Participants were first asked to complete a pretest regarding their opinions on the worth, value, moral, and ethical nature of the war and the US’s involvement. After this, participants watched a brief, eight to ten minute clip from one of three films: Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, or Good Morning, Vietnam. Immediately afterwards, a post-test identical to the pretest, except for an additional open-ended question, was given. Comparing the responses from the pretest and post-test, a clear pattern emerged. After viewing the clip, participants' responses generally changed; however, the average change in response differed greatly when comparing the results from the more pessimistic Platoon and Full Metal Jacket and the comedy Good Morning, Vietnam. For instance, the results from Full Metal Jacket and Platoon showed a greatly negative reaction to the films, while the results from Good Morning, Vietnam skewed more positively. Additionally, it was found that gender and age had little to no effect on the data, but there was a clear pattern when comparing the data between different self-reported knowledge levels. 

Keywords: Vietnam War, Vietnam War Movies, War Movie, Historical Fiction, Propaganda, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Good Morning, Vietnam