Question about the ending *Warning: Spoiler*
Why is Major Barker's (Burt Lancaster's) dead body stripped naked at the end?
shareAmerican/South Vietnamese were often better appareled/equipped than the North Vietnamese. Therefore the stripping was not to degrade, but simply to utilize this superior outfitting for their own use.
shareI disagree completely. Degradation of the enemy, dead, wounded, or is common among irregular forces. This may be attributable to several sources:
1) Many irregular forces are indigenous people who are still in a tribal culture.
2) Irregular troups are often trained to dehumanize, delegitimize, and emasculate their enemy to make the enemy appear weaker and by contrast make the irregulars feal stronger.
3) Weaker forces often want to instill fear on the part of the enemy forces. Psychological warfare by guerillas.
Captain Dan
Racist crap, as the scandals about the conduct of US and proxy forces in the latest imperial killing sprees demonstrate.
Marlon, Claudia and Dimby the cats 1989-2005, 2007 and 2010.