Chapter 9, option 2

Women pose a variety of threats to men in war films. The appearance of women on screen introduces an emotional element that is often realized in terms of the man's essential weakness. In my experience, every time I see a soldier in a platoon talk about a woman or show other men in the platoon a picture of a wife or girlfriend, they are always killed before the end of the film. The psyche of the male soldier must be reshaped to repress the feminine elements in order to transform him into a ruthless, unemotional, fighting machine. In every war film, masculinity is put in crisis. The toughness of the hero becomes an issue crucial to both his survival and that of his fellow soldiers. The explicit challenge to the manhood of new recruits is designed to force them to become that which is considered weak or feminine in their nature to become hardened marines- that is, to become men.