CONTAGION OF MEMORY INRETROSPECTION OF DAVIDMORRELLS FIRST BLOOD AND HOLLYWOODS INCEPTION OF RAMBO

The end of the Second World War marked a period of relative peace, albeit the emergence of new world players, rekindled feuds that later shaped the contemporary sociopolitical discourse questioning the repercussions of war, the recuperating violated body and jingoism-infused demarcations. David Morrells novel First Blood marks the emergence of Rambo- a homebound, shell-shocked veteran. In pitching him against Madisons sheriff, Morell juxtaposes subjectivity against authority and corporeality against institutionalized identity. The novel ponders over myriad questions, excavating answers from domains of myopic political vision and a quest to revise and rewrite history. By focusing on memory this research project aims to highlight not just the horrors of a conflict that marred the body- be it the use of Agent Orange or the returning zombie like alienated soldiers body but also how memory becomes redacted. Analyzing the Hollywood cultural industry in the novels adaptation and glorification, this research project shall also delve into the politics of myriad endings, critiquing the various predicaments and fetishes such archival nationalist understanding of trauma creates.