The 1980s were a decade of unfettered capitalist excess in the United States. There was a time when Gordon Gecko's mantra, "greed is a good thing," was the status quo. A former Hollywood actor, Ronald Reagan, was its president. The failure in Vietnam and the Jimmy Carter administration caused many white conservative Americans to want a conservative foreigner for president. Actors like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme continued to appear on the big screen with Rambo, The Terminator, Missing In Action and Bloodsport. This was a time when Vietnamese revisionist fantasies were popular, such as the aforementioned Rambo and Missing in Action films. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayJohn Rambo was the hero of the 80s under Reagan. “Reaganomics” destroyed many lives while the upper class strengthened its offshore accounts. His administration has been tough on crime and drugs, which have disproportionately affected minority populations. The religious right's emphasis on "family values" has demonized the LGBTQ population and women's health care rights. The administration ignored the AIDS crisis which led to the deaths of many people, to quote David Wojnarowicz: "If I die of AIDS, forget the funeral, just lay my body on the steps of the FDA." » As Susan Jeffords points out, Reagan's policy was to control the body rather than help it. Americans who supported Reagan thought he was the epitome of masculinity and strength, while they thought Carter was a weak leader. The failed assassination attempt and the invasion of Grenada contributed to this image of masculinity. What better genre of film than action film portrays Reagan's 80s fantasies. There are countless 80s action films that could be dissected, two examples are George's fascist vigilante police action thriller P. Cosmatos in 1986, Cobra with Sylvester Stallone and the satirical science fiction film by Paul Verhoeven in 1987. fi masterpiece Robocop which takes up the ideals of Reaganism in the action cinema of the 80s. In 1986 is released Cobra, a Dirty Harry-style vigilante crime film, brought to audiences thanks to Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus of The Cannon Group with a screenplay written by Sylvester Stallone and directed by George Cosmatos, although Stallone himself actually directed the film . The film follows Stallone as Lt. Marion Cobretti as he goes on a solo mission to take down a murderous cult led by "The Night Slasher." The film was a critical failure but did very well at the box office. The tale of the vigilante cop going against orders was indicative of the Reagan-era action film. The film was mainly in line with Reagan's crime policy, using alarmist rhetoric. The film's opening narration sounds like the kind of fear-mongering speech Rudy Giuliani would say to garner support for his "Broken Windows" policy. “In the United States, there is a burglary every 11 seconds, an armed robbery every 65 seconds, a violent crime every 25 seconds, a murder every 24 minutes, and 250 rapes per day. “Cobra plays like a fascist fantasy with no regard for Miranda rights and a whole lot of police brutality. The scene in which the audience is introduced to Cobretti shows him gunning down a man who has taken hostages at a grocery store. In the wake of Rambo II, the.