Karal Ann Marling

The Sexual Politics of Memory: The Vietnam Women's Memorial Project and “The Wall”

During the 1988 season, there was nothing unusual about seeing the Vietnam War on television. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, Vietnam had appeared during the dinner hour, for the most part, in ninety-second spots showing green foliage and red dust whipped into a vivid frenzy for the camera by the blades of helicopters. But in the waning 1980s, a generation after the fall of Saigon, Vietnam moved into prime time. With vintage rock blaring on the sound track, major stars began to “hump the boonies” in picturesque jungle fatigues. Magnum P.I. , aiming for a more serious dramatic tone in its final seasons, afflicted the titular hero with flashbacks to his POW days. On a nearby Hawaiian set, CBSs Tour of Duty patrol (led by Terence Knox, late of St. Elsewhere , on another network) simulated the look of news footage, circa 1968.