Tumbledown (1988) Movie: Historical Context and Cold War Comparisons

This essay analyzes the 1988 movie "Tumbledown" in relation to historical events, particularly the Cold War. The paper begins by introducing the Cold War and its key players, the United States and the Soviet Union, emphasizing the hostility and arms race that characterized the period. The essay then delves into the movie's content, highlighting the hostility between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands as a parallel to the Cold War's tensions. It explores how the movie reflects the neglect of soldiers after conflicts, drawing parallels to the experiences of veterans after World War II and during the Cold War. The analysis compares the movie's depiction of war and its aftermath with historical accounts, noting similarities in hostility and soldier abandonment. However, the essay also points out discrepancies, such as the movie's depiction of a physical war compared to the non-physical nature of the Cold War. The essay concludes by summarizing the various ways in which the movie aligns with and diverges from historical events, providing a comprehensive overview of the Cold War era and the movie's portrayal of it.

Tumbledown Movie and Historical Literature
Student’s Name
Title of the Course
Instructor’s Name
Date

Introduction
The cold war followed shortly after the second world war1. The cold war was
characterized by hostility between various superpowers and their allies. Most notable players
in the cold war were the United States of America and the Soviet Union. These countries
started investing in ammunition. Nuclear weapons took the centre stage of the cold war2. The
resulting hostility almost triggered a third world war but a physical war never occurred3. This
paper will analyse the Tumbler 1988 movie and how it related to the historical occurrences.
In addition, the paper will also focus on ways in which the events of the movie do not relate
to historical events.
Content of the Movie and Historical Literature
The Tumbledown movie illustrates how hostility can fuel a war. Although hostility is
not usually communicated by the word of mouth, it can be seen and felt through how people/
countries behave. There are clear ways in which hostility is seen in the Tumbledown movie.
This hostility mimics the kind of hostility that characterized the cold war. The hostility is the
case of Tumbledown movie was between Argentina and the United Kingdom4. The two
countries have had some hostility between them concerning the Falkland Islands. Both
countries claimed ownership of the Islands. At some point the hostility reached a great point
and the Argentina sent its army to take control of the Islands without the knowledge of the
United Kingdom. Soon after, the United Kingdom sent troops to the Island which led to war.
1. Berger, Daniel, William, Nathan and Shanker, Replication data for: Commercial
Imperialism, 21.
2. Beschloss, Michael, and Strobe, At the highest levels: The inside story of the end of
the Cold War, 70
3. Cortright, David. Economic sanctions, 28
4. Tumbledown 1988 Movie

At the end of the war, the United Kingdom regained the control of the Islands. There are
many ways in which the hostility depicted in the movie rhymes with the kind of hostility seen
during the cold war. Although the cold war did not generate into a physical war, it led to
economic and political wars that have greatly influenced countries of the world, especially
the superpowers5. The following paragraph explains the kind of hostility depicted during the
cold war.
After the second world war, the countries involved in the war had to start dealing
with their depressed economies6. The war had made the countries spend a lot of time and
resources. It is important to note that the United States and the Soviet Union had been allies
during the second world war. However, things greatly changed after the second world war.
There arose great hostility between these two countries. Hostility was one of the major
characteristics of the cold war. The hostility arose from resentment in both of these countries.
The Soviet Union was not happy that the United States had delayed so much in entering the
second world war. This delay had led to dying of tens of millions of citizens of the Soviet
Union7. The Soviet Union therefore blamed the United States for the great loss that they went
through during the war8. The Unitebd States on the other hand was not happy about the
communist policies that were being implemented in the Soviet Union9. The US was also
unhappy about the expansion measures that the Soviet Union was carrying out in Europe. The
5. Cumings, The Good Occupation, 1075.
6. Dalby, Creating the second Cold War, 35.
7. Hamby, Sovereign Soldiers, 271.
8. Holm, Hans-Henrik. Whose world order, 17
9. Legvold, Return to cold war, 42.

US saw these expansion measures as way of Soviet Union trying to get control of the world.
Each of these countries had its allies. Had a war arisen from this hostility, it could have been
a great one10. In the light of these historical occurrences, it is true to conclude that the cold
war exhibited hostility that is analogous to that seen in the Tumbledown movie.
The Tumbledown movie plays a great role in showing how soldiers who actively
involved in war were neglected by the government. After the second world war, most of the
soldiers who were involved in the war were abandoned by the government. The following
paragraphs will provide some historical events of the cold war and provide examples of the
same from the Tumbler movie. First, some historical events will be given. During the cold
war, the super powers (United States and the Soviet Union) and their allies were involved in
some form great attempts to remain at the top. These countries left no stone unturned to
ensure that they became super powers. In the midst of these attempts, the soldiers who were
involved in the second world war were forgotten. It is important to note that these soldiers
had been instrumental in helping the US and the Soviet Union win the second world war. It is
also worth noting that some of them came back home with gunshot wounds or some form
physical disability. However, they were soon forgotten as the two countries and their allies
became actively involved in a bid to remain powerful and mighty. Therefore, most of these
soldiers were never compensated in any way despite having done a great job at the war. The
following paragraph will illustrate from the movie how soldiers were neglected.
The Tumbler movie revolves around Robert Lawrence, a soldier who was actively
involved in the war between Argentina and the United Kingdom. While in the line of his
duty, Lawrence was shot by a sniper from the Argentina army. After being shot, Lawrence
10. Westad, The Cold War, 42

becomes partially paralysed and has to invent new ways of fighting. Lawrence loved his job
(soldiering) a lot. He is therefore greatly saddened by the fact that he cannot continue doing
his job normally now that he has a physical disability11. One would expect the United
Kingdom would compensate Lawrence for his exemplary work in the army. As it turns out
however, Lawrence is not remembered by the government. The experience of Lawrence
depicts that of many soldiers who never received any form of compensation from their
governments after being actively involved in the second world war. Therefore, the cold war
marks a time when soldiers who were abandoned as the countries focused on becoming more
powerful. The abandonment is evident both in historical accounts and in the 1988
Tumbledown movie.
There are also some ways in which the occurrences in the movie do not seem to relate
to historical literature. For instance, the cold war never resulted in a physical war. Although
countries (the United States and the Soviet Union) and their allies invested in modern
weapons, the cold war did not result to a physical war. There were fears that the cold war
may give rise to a third world war but that never happened. Therefore, although there were
great hostilities between the United States and the Soviet Union, this hostility did not result in
a physical war. This situation may help explain why the amassing of nuclear weapons and
other activities by these countries were just regarded to as the cold war. Occurrences in the
movie depict a different picture however. The hostility between Argentina and the United
Kingdom led to a physical war. The war is the one in which Robert Lawrence was shot.
11. Tumbledown 1988 Movie

Conclusion
There are several ways in which the Tumbledown 1988 movie illustrates some of the
historical events of the cold war. For instance, there was great hostility between different
countries during the cold war. Most notable, is the hostility between the United States and the
Soviet Union. Similarly, the movie illustrates great hostility between Argentina and the
United Kingdom. Another way in which the movie related to historical events is on the issue
of soldiers. During the cold war, soldiers were neglected. Similarly, the movie shows how
Lawrence, a soldier was neglected. There are also some ways in which the events of the
movie are not concurrent with historical events. For instance, the hostility in cold war did not
lead to a physical war while there was one in the movie.

References
Berger, Daniel, William Easterly, Nathan Nunn, and Shanker Satyanath. "Replication data
for: Commercial Imperialism? Political Influence and Trade during the Cold War."
(2019).
Beschloss, Michael, and Strobe Talbott. At the highest levels: The inside story of the end of
the Cold War. Open Road Media, 2016.
Cortright, David. Economic sanctions: panacea or peacebuilding in a post-cold war world?
Routledge, 2018.
Cumings, Bruce. "The Good Occupation: American Soldiers and the Hazards of Peace."
(2018): 1075-1076.
Dalby, Simon. Creating the second Cold War: The discourse of politics. Bloomsbury
Publishing, 2016.
Hamby, Alonzo. "Sovereign Soldiers: How the US Military Transformed the Global
Economy after World War II." (2019): 270-272.
Holm, Hans-Henrik. Whose world order? Uneven globalization and the end of the Cold War.
Routledge, 2019.
Legvold, Robert. Return to cold war. John Wiley & Sons, 2016.
"Tumbledown 1988 Movie". 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku3ahX-RLls
Westad, Odd Arne. The Cold War: a world history. Basic Books, 2017.