Delta Force Is a 1986

¶ … Delta Force is a 1986 film about the events that occur after an American airplane is hijacked by terrorists. It could not and would not be made today, given that the worst-case scenario envisioned by the filmmakers has already been overtaken by real life events. The film does not focus on the possibility of terrorists destroying the world, but more on the possibility of terrorism to destroy the lives of individual Americans. It has a 'beat the clock' pacing, as the renegade, elite squad of commandos known as the Delta Force races to save the lives of the potential victims. The audience is encouraged to identify with the hijacked Americans, not worry about the possibility of the destruction of major national landmarks. This is not to say that the film does not show violence, such as when an American serviceman is beaten to death by terrorists and but that "The Delta Force" shows an image of terrorism that clearly belongs to 'another era' of history.

However, one resonance with contemporary American culture is the way that the culture and belief system of the terrorists and their victims are portrayed. The perpetrators and their cause seem entirely alien. The terrorists are faceless members of another society threatening a fairly generic plane of Americans. Other than the fact that some of the passengers are Jews, little character distinction occurs to arouse the viewer's sympathy for the passengers as individuals, other than the fact that the hostages have been hijacked by evil people. The victims are objects to be rescued, more than personalities. The terrorists are vague in their goals, and seem more like generic Islamic militants who dislike everything relating to America and Israel, and nothing else. The objective of the attack, other than publicity, of their feat seems unclear. Even whether they are socialist or Islamic seems unimportant to the filmmakers, as if all of the anti-America enemies of the Cold War era were grouped together by the screenwriter. The terrorists announce that they are against "American imperialists, Zionists, terrorists, and all other anti-socialist atrocities" as if being 'for' Iran also means that a terrorist is 'for' Moscow.

The unspoken implication is that 'we' the American viewers do not need to know what the terrorists stand for, only that they are bloodthirsty and want to kill 'us.' The terrorists are angry, anti-Semitic, and fearful in their quasi-military, quasi-Islamic gear, and no positive examples of Muslims really counter these images. The lack of the validity of their cause as well as their methods is underlined by a press conference, where they force a pilot to speak with a gun to his head. They are 'cowboys,' their methods are unjustified -- in contrast to the lawless attitude of Major Scott McCoy, played by Chuck Norris. Given the evil nature of these enemies of America, only individuals who play fast and loose with the rules can save the day -- the American Delta Force.

Without violating the law and international decorum, Americans cannot be saved, the film suggests, through the attitude of the rescuing Delta Force. McCoy punches terrorists first and asks questions later, rides a motorcycle into a terrorist hide-out to blow it up with explosives, and by taking a stand as his own man, rather than working with people, he shows his greatest strength. America's need to stand alone in the world is also underlined by the film -- although sympathetic allies like Greece and Israel provide support, only American troops can save American lives. Rather than work with other nations, Americans must obey a law of their own. American individualism is the only way to protect Americans against foreign threats of violence -- and America must react violently, in kind. 'Good' allies help America, and seek American assistance, and bad ones are weak. This individualistic, black-and-white attitude harkens back to American Westerns as well as the rhetoric of American politicians about the nation's place in the world. Except for Israel, the other foreigners are ineffectual -- the German stewardess becomes hysterical, although guilt-ridden when having to 'turn over' Jewish passengers to the terrorists, and the Lebanese agree to allow the terrorists to land on their territory after being pressured to do so, despite initially saying they will support the Americans.