European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 30, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Entertainment amp m Usi shapes popular culture by Stephen Braun los Angeles times \ Ong after the War machines Are stilled and. Killing grounds revert to tourist haunts some of the most enduring images and sounds of the persian Gulf conflict May Well linger in the debris of popular culture. By the Start of the Aerial assault on Iraq two weeks ago Many of America s organs of pop culture already were geared for War. For six months iraqi president Saddam Hussein has been vilified by Novelty songs on the radio and effigies burned at shopping centers and crushed a sports truck rallies. Disc jockeys have led blood Bank drives and yellow ribbon campaigns. Before the first 2,000-Pound bomb was even dropped on Baghdadi a Hollywood studio finished filming its own version of operation desert shield a r a a a vivid fragments of War songs movie Battle scenes and and slogans have shaped american attitudes toward War from the revolution Forward. A j a the first world War s legacy included Over there.,. The first modern propaganda Campaign and the Brief a renaming of the German sounding Quot hamburger Quot As Quot Salisbury . A a. A. A a the second world War honed popular culture into a propaganda weapon injected phrases like Quot Victory gardens and Quot blackouts Quot into the dictionary and spawned an entire genre of War . A a the Vietnam War the first Rock in Roll conflict is still fought 25 years later in stage prop Rice paddies on film. Arid television its big chill Era songs pricking at baby a Boom memories. A a. The imprint that the persian Gulf War leaves on contemporary culture will Likely depend As it has in wars past on the conflict s duration and the depth of its / popular support. What promises to be different this time social critics say is the ability of taste makers to respond almost instantly to Subtle changes in the Public psyche. Quot the Impact of technology is the new card that Hasni to. Been played yet Quot culture critic Christopher Lasch said. Quot it will heighten the air of unreality and keep Pace with every. Shift in our a the first week of fighting radio and television moved quickly to tailor the tone and Content of programming to fit americans dawning awareness of the Gravity of War. Radio. Personalities who had ridiculed iraqis in Rock parodies like Wholl Stop Hussein suddenly muted their broadcasts. A planned instalment of abcs new under cover spy a drama which had featured Gull Story line the. , was scuttled a a a Quot a a a a a a a television has shot gunned a round of Guif Era words into Public usage achieving in a week what the Vietnam War took a decade to accomplish. Military speak like Quot Chat Quot Quot Softie and Quot collateral damage Quot Are fast. Becoming this generations versions o count Quot. Quot frag Quot and Quot Friendly a a a a a. Quot its not like it was in Vietnam where the War just. A a a sneaked up on us Quot said Indianapolis disc jockey Tom a. Griswold. His own Quot Bob and Tom Quot morning radio show. A grew Quot a Shade More serious Quot after took the listener pulse phone surveys and music request hours. A As the fighting continues entertainment. Programmers and pop culture entrepreneurs May have to put these hair trigger capabilities to Good use As they. Confront thorny questions about How far they should go in doing the government s bidding and exploiting the. A a. Public s preoccupation with a. A Quot a True wartime culture like we had in world War ii will take a while to develop Quot said Lasch author of the culture of narcissism Quot but i think our society s increased. Awareness of How the Media and government works will make it harder for it to grow unconsciously the Way it did. In world War a v a a How Many of the country s taste makers have backed the War Effort. Others have taken what Griswold v Calls the Quot Bland route Quot hesitant to act until the War plays Quot a itself out further. A / a today s War fever May be the next decade s folklore. Told and retold through pop culture s prism the heroics of soldiers and the Heartbreak of those left behind have taken on the burnished Mantle of mythology. The a a revolution produced Yankee Doodle Dandy and deified George Washington. The War of 1812 gave the country its. National Anthem and made a cult figure of . The civil War brought the Battle hymn of the Republic and the Stark enduring photographs of Matthew Brady. A v a a a Quot a a ?v contemporary cultures embrace of the Gulf War May. Quo find its closest echoes in world War ii. At least in the Early Days. In the week after Pearl Harbor was bombed tunesmith were already churning out anti japanese. Ditties a we re going to fight a fellow who is yellow and you re a sap or. Jap a that went far beyond the mild racism that has cropped up in the wildest of the current Hussein parodies. V a full realized wartime culture grew from those first strains of jingoism. Its songs a Praise the lord and pass the ammunition the remember Pearl Harbor match a / were steeped in martial Lingo its desert Victory Bataan were made strictly to boost morale the. Radio film and recording industries marched in lock step behind thew Relfort v a a in wartime the various outlets of popular culture. Behaved almost entirely As it they were creatures of their governments Quot critic Paul Fussell wrote in Warf me an account of that wars social behaviour. A. Some contemporary critics warn that unblinking Public support for the War will again make cheerleaders of the nations popular culture organs. One example filed is the Stampede by hundreds of television stations to donate More than 2,000 hours of taped programs to the armed forces radio and television service to be played Tor u s. Troops. A a a a a ,. Radio stations like Indianapolis of by Hove worked directly with the government to develop special broadcasts to boost morale among troops and Hometown relatives. Celebrities including the cast of knots Landing have filmed emotional tributes to military personnel a recalling the Home fro Froles played during world War ii. By Hollywood stars like Carole Lombard and actor Gable. A defenders insist these Are sincere gestures of support for those f lighting in the Gulf and not. Necessarily Lor the War itself. Quot they came to us we did no to go to them Quot said air Force col. Richard Fuller who oversees the armed forces network s use of donated j programs and tributes. V a caution or outright support for the War Amon entertainment executives and artists May explain Why Antiwar voices have been virtually absent from the notions pop culture outlets. A a artists opposed to the Vietnam War took to the. Airwaves in the late 1960s As disillusioned youths took to the streets in protest. Yet despite in recent weeks by a Well organized though shrunken peace movement few Antiwar voices have emerged. The most daring stance so far has been taken by songwriter Randy Newman i love la. Short Peop a in his cynical lines in the Sand Sung As if by the government s architects of War Quot we old men will guide you though we won t be there beside you to wish you a group of Young musicians have also joined to record an updated version of John Lennon s Vintage Anthem give peace a Chance played regularly since its premiere on mtg the Rock video network. A but even that song is cautiously described by Elliot. Mintz. A spokesman for Lennon a estate As Quot not an anti. War song or a protest song. Its just a pro peace army Blue is one of ten popular paperback titles now on Sale and discounted 10% from cover Price for the month of february. And you la find a new and exciting selection of top 10 paperbacks available each and every month at a stars and stripes Bookstore near you. Our top 10 paperbacks for february Are x 1. Army Blue Only $5.35 2. Bright Star a Only $4.45 3. The captive Only $5.35 4. Fierce Eden Only $4.45 5. The Stark truth Only $4.45 6. 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