I was a teenager during the eighties and grew up during the final days of the Cold War. The threat of another war in Europe was very real and the fear of a nuclear confrontation was always present. John Milius’s Red Dawn therefore had quite a profound impact upon the viewing public at the time. It certainly was not the first movie to tackle the concept of an invasion or to explore the role of the guerilla. However, what it succeeded in doing was depicting the idea in a contemporary way that the audience could relate to. The iconic image of Russian troops outside McDonalds encapsulated the films mood entirely.