James just owned this thread. thanks mate

It is a stereotype that Americans aren't geographically smart. Yes, you will meet many Americans who will not know exactly where Vietnam is. But you will also meet many Americans who do know.

If you go looking for Americans that don't know geography, of course you will find them and think "Oh silly Americans!" We naturally look for examples that strengthen our belief in a stereotype and disregard those that weaken it.

For example, when I see an African guy getting arrested for drug smuggling in Nana, I want to jump up and say "aha! I knew it! all smugglers!" But I am disregarding the 20 other Africans I saw that day that weren't being arrested.

But if you change your mindset and go looking for Americans that do know geography then you will end up thinking "These Americans are smart!"

But the bottom line is what James says, if we became the most powerful country with shitty geography skills...then who the hel_l cares.

By the way OP, yes Brits outnumber Americans here by a large margin but you should watch the anti-american sentiment....we do have lots of guns

Don't sweat the brits mate, like previous wars, they will come running to you to bail them out (shhh about the falklands) kidding.

Vietnam occupied Cambodia from 1979 until the late 1980s, so it's not really as big a goof as you first thought. Their occupation was not complete in that they fought an ongoing war with the Khmer Rouge during that period, but they were the main occupants at that time. Not sure if they would be flying their flag at the border, but it's not unlikely to have that depicted in a movie considering the occupation. Movies often fuzz reality, and I think that would be the case here, rather than an outright blatant error, considering the occupation. The film you watched came out in 1988, so there you go. Possibly accurate, possibly fuzzing of the lines, at least about the flag. However, the film possibly never mentioned they were traveling through Cambodia to get to Thailand, so that would be inaccurate, as Vietnam occupied it, but of course it wasn't their country. Anyway, Hollywood often ignores details like this if they feel it isn't pertinent. Particularly a mindless movie such as this.

Geographical errors - interesting but not crucial.

If I bothered to watch the film and discovered that Chuck and the rest of the US troops had "liberated" Vietnam or "won" the war, then I would have a problem.

It would be lile watching a German movie showing victories in Europe 1939 to 1941, it tends to miss some of the important and relevant details.

Revisionism is a blight on history