The brutal churn of state-sanctioned violence beyond America’s borders inevitably takes its toll on the people who make up the armed forces. The original Top Gun can be read as comrades coping with intense, dangerous pressure through fierce competition, though it would require overlooking how it is chiefly a (albeit very fun!) piece of American military jingoism. However, even it acknowledges that service is not without sacrifice and that some will inevitably be put in harm’s way for the sake of protecting a nation’s interests.
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