Re: RARA-AVIS: Ah! Back on topic! or Sgt. Rock, P.I.

Mark Sullivan (ANONYMEINC@webtv.net)
Sat, 26 Dec 1998 13:53:22 -0500 (EST) There do seem to be many vets among private eyes, but I agree with Kevin
that there is a big difference between the attitudes of veteran PIs pre-
and post-Vietnam. Given the nature of patriotism and the draft through
the World Wars and even Korea, in which Lew Archer served, any fit male
served. Therefore it would cast aspersions on the PIs manhood if he,
like Frank Sinatra and John Wayne, had not served.

However, to my mind, Archer is the beginning of a change in emphasis.
Archer was clearly disillusioned by his military experience. (To give
it its due, I have read a bit of this attitude in the post-trench First
World Warfare era, and there is probably more there of which I am
unaware.) In the post-Vietnam era, the military experience seems to
serve two purposes. First, it taught the PI the frontier skills he
needs to protect society; second, it feeds straight into his mistrust of
the pllar of that society.

Mark

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