Popular Culture Review Vol. 8, No. 2, August 1997 | Page 71

B o m o n tt^ ^ 67 transformation is clear when he tells a reporter, "Just lately I've felt like I'm home."^^ Kovic successfully reaffirms his belief in moralism by confronting his role in the deaths of innocent people and by participating in anti-war protests. His actions call attention to a key element of moralism: that the government's responsibility should be to act with benevolence and fairness. Role of the Audience The final element of the social value model emphasizes the audience members who observe the value transformation. Audience responses to this value shift may range from an intensified awareness to active participation.^^ Intensified awareness stems from the recognition that the current value system is unable to fulfill their needs. At the other end of the continuum is active participation, which occurs when a film spurs the audience to react to the events on screen. It is important to note that the complexity of films such as Born on the Fourth of July do not lend themselves to a simplistic either/or reaction from audiences. A careful examination of potential viewers illustrates the diversity of public opinion and subsequent reaction to the film's subject matter. Americans experienced a wide range of emotions toward both the war and the soldiers who fought in it. The depiction of soldiers ranged from the social misfits found in Taxi Driver and the highly trained ex-combat soldier in Rambo, to the emotionally devastated Vietnam veterans portrayed in Born on the Fourth of July and Coming Home. Linda Dittmar and Gene Michaud conclude that: "unlike the fairly stable filmic characterizations of veterans that followed World War II, the image. of the soldier returning from Vietnam has swung back and forth as American film attempted to negotiate the ideological shifts of the times."®® The ambivalence toward Vietnam veterans created by film characters is consistent with the emotions created by moralistic values. Americans may have felt guilty, perhaps even threatened, by the rage of anti-war veterans. Opponents of the war, identified as "doves," may have viewed the film as a vindication of their opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Their opposition to the war was, in part, based on the philosophy that U.S. military involvement was not the solution to the Vietnam conflict. They may have experienced a