Top Gun: Maverick
The first Top Gun was released in 1986- a time of American patriotism. It was a financial success and established Tom Cruise as one of the biggest stars in the world. Since 1986, U.S. patriotism has been decreasing as the country has become highly secularized. So the question remains, why do we need a film that promotes these actions? The answer is that Tom Cruise loves his all-American life and wants to remind the world that being American is awesome. Everything about this movie is American. The cast is American, with no actors or actresses born outside the U.S., and features a man in the film American Made. The title is American —it uses the word "Gun," which represents what America is in every way. Even the release date is American- Friday, May 27 (Memorial Day Weekend and American summertime). Furthermore, although Top Gun: Maverick has positive themes such as the importance of teamwork and letting go of the past, the film is overflowing with cynical messages, which include glorifying war violence, praising the American military, and overall displaying America in a favorable light.
First off, the film glorifies war violence by having the characters consistently praising the military and displaying the military as being super awesome. An example of this is when Maverick and Roster are flying across the ocean, trying not to be shot down by enemy forces. The film uses this scene to make the audience think that Maverick and Roster's deaths are bad. However, Hangman comes in and kills two pilots who were trying to kill Maverick and Roster; it’s presented as a heroic moment by use of the music. So this scene demonstrates that the film thinks the U.S killing other countries' people is good.
Secondly, the film praises the American military by portraying it in a highly positive light. The film never condemns the U.S’s actions of destroying mountains in the bombing run, murdering enemy pilots who were just doing their job, like Maverick and Roster, and never once displays that war is bad. This movie portrays war as fun, making it seem like flying and shooting down bad guys is just a video game. There is no nuance to the war between the U.S and the enemy country. Films can have maximalist war but also have nuance in their war themes, as seen in Apocalypse Now, for example.
Thirdly, the film displays America in a favorable light. There are numerous scenes with subtle, passive-aggressive details that praise America more. One example of this is during the beach scene, most of the characters are shirtless, yet the overweight mission control person and the skinny fighter pilot are wearing shirts. This contributes to the American idea of not accepting all body types. Moreover, during the "Great Balls of Fire", the characters drink beer, play pool, and wear military uniforms. All of these are famous American bar icons, further contributing to the film's American ideas.
In conclusion, Top Gun: Maverick is a cynical movie, although it has a few positive aspects, such as the aerial sequences, that encourage patriotism and war violence.
