Cultural impact of the Falklands War facts for kids

The cultural impact of the Falklands War was huge in both Britain and Argentina. This war, which happened in 1982, inspired many films, TV shows, songs, books, and even video games. It showed how a big event can affect art and entertainment for years.

One famous moment was when the British newspaper The Sun used the headline "Gotcha" after a ship called the General Belgrano was sunk. This headline became very famous and showed how many people in Britain felt at the time. Writers like Jorge Luis Borges from Argentina also wrote about the war, showing its impact on people's feelings and thoughts.

Arts and Entertainment

The Falklands War inspired many creative works, from movies to music and games.

Films and Television

Many films and TV shows were made about the conflict. Here are some well-known examples:

• In an episode of The Simpsons called Burns' Heir, Krusty the Clown accidentally shows a rerun where he talks about the Falklands War.
• Simon Weston, a British soldier, became famous after he was badly burned during the war. TV documentaries like Simon's War showed his journey to recovery.
• The first Argentine film about the war was Los chicos de la guerra (The Boys of the War), made in 1984.
• The British film The Ploughman's Lunch (1983) explores the media and political world during the war.
• Tumbledown (1988) is a BBC drama about Robert Lawrence, a British officer who became paralysed after being shot during the war. It shows his life after the conflict.
• The 1989 British film Resurrected tells the story of a British soldier who was thought to be dead but reappears alive weeks after the war ended.
• In the film For Queen and Country (1989), Denzel Washington plays a British ex-soldier who struggles to fit back into normal life after fighting in the war.
• An Ungentlemanly Act (1992) is a BBC film that shows what happened when Argentina first took over the islands. It stars Ian Richardson as Governor Rex Hunt.
• The 2005 Argentine film Iluminados por el fuego (Blessed by Fire) is based on a true story from an Argentine soldier who fought in the war. It shows the tough conditions soldiers faced.
• The British film This Is England (2006) is set in 1983 and mentions the Falklands War. The main character, Shaun, is a 12-year-old whose father died in the war.
• The British TV series Ashes to Ashes uses the Falklands War as a background for its second season.
• The 2011 film The Iron Lady shows the life of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and the Falklands War is a big part of it.
• In the Netflix series The Crown, the Falklands War plays a major role in episodes 4 and 5 of the fourth season.
• The 2020 Argentine documentary Good Night Malvinas also focuses on the war.

Games

The war also inspired several computer and board games:

• Computer games like Harrier Attack (1983) and Yomp showed unofficial versions of the fighting.
• The naval strategy game Strike Fleet (1987) has a level set in the Falklands, where you control British ships fighting Argentine submarines.
• Malvinas 2032 is a game where players command Argentine forces to try and retake the Falkland Islands.
• Port Stanley: Battle for the Falklands (1984) is a board game about the land battles.
• Falklands '82 (1986) is another computer game based on the war.

Literature

The Falklands War gave many writers ideas for their books, both fiction and non-fiction.

Fiction

• Jack Higgins' thriller Exocet (1983) uses the famous missile name from the war.
• Pierre Boulle's novel La Baleine des Malouines (1983) is about a blue whale that becomes friends with the British fleet.
• Raymond Briggs' picture book The Tin-Pot Foreign General and the Old Iron Woman (1984) makes fun of the war in a clever way.
• In Stephen King's story The Langoliers (1990), one character, Nick Hopewell, is a veteran from the Falklands War.
• Las Islas (The Islands, 1998) by Carlos Gamerro is a funny story about the war and the Argentine government at the time.
• David Mitchell's novel Black Swan Green (2006) is set in England in 1982 and often mentions the Falklands War.
• Ian McEwan's novel Machines Like Me (2019) imagines a different history where Argentina won the war.

Non-fiction

Many non-fiction books were written about the war. In the UK, The Battle for the Falklands by Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins was an important account. In Argentina, Halcones de Malvinas by Commodore Pablo Carballo shares personal stories from fighter pilots.

Poetry

The Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges wrote a short poem called Juan López y John Ward (1985). It's about two made-up soldiers, one from each side, who died in the Falklands. He once said the war was "a fight between two bald men over a comb," meaning it was a pointless conflict. Many other poems were written about the war by people from both sides.

Music

Many songs were written about the Falklands War, showing different feelings and views:

• "Glad It's All Over" (1984) by Captain Sensible is about the war.
• The Argentine punk band Los Violadores wrote "Comunicado #166," which criticizes the military government and the role of the United States.
• Pink Floyd's album The Final Cut (1983), written by Roger Waters, is very critical of the war and the British government's actions.
• Pop musician Elvis Costello wrote "Shipbuilding" (1983) in response to the war. It talks about how jobs in shipbuilding came at the cost of lives lost in the war.
• Argentine rock musician Charly García recorded "No Bombardeen Buenos Aires" ("Do not bomb Buenos Aires") during the war.
• The punk band Crass was very critical of the war, especially on their album Yes Sir, I Will (1983).
• British heavy metal band Iron Maiden recorded "Como Estais Amigos" (1998) about the Falklands War.
• The song "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" by the New Zealand band Split Enz was banned by the BBC because some thought it criticized the war, even though the band said it wasn't about that.
• The Dire Straits song "Brothers in Arms" is also about the Falklands War.
• Billy Bragg's song "Island of No Return" (1984) is from the point of view of a young soldier in the Falklands.
• In 2021, Argentine pianist Gabriel Lococo and British musician Mark Slater created the album "Temas Unidos," an anti-war album about the Falklands War.

Theatre

• British writer Steven Berkoff wrote a play called Sink the Belgrano! (1986). It's a critical play about the decision to go to war and the sinking of the Argentine ship General Belgrano.

Visual Arts

Linda Kitson was an official war artist who went with British troops during the conflict. She made over 400 drawings of the soldiers' daily lives. Many of these drawings are now in the Imperial War Museum and have been shown to the public.

Football

The war also affected the world of football, especially the rivalry between Argentina and England.

Tottenham Hotspur had two popular Argentine players, Ossie Ardiles and Ricardo Villa. When the war started, Ardiles returned to Argentina. He later came back to play for Tottenham and even won the UEFA Cup with them in 1984. Sadly, Ardiles' cousin, who was a fighter pilot, died in the war.

The war also made the football matches between Argentina and England in the FIFA World Cup even more intense, like in 1986, 1998, and 2002.

Remembering the War

The war is remembered in different ways in Argentina, Britain, and the Falkland Islands.

Holidays

• In Argentina, April 2nd is a public holiday called Día del Veterano de Guerra y los Caídos en Malvinas (Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Falklands Day).
• In Britain, those who died are remembered on Remembrance Sunday.
• In the Falkland Islands, June 14th is Liberation Day, a public holiday celebrating the end of the war and the islands' freedom.

Memorials

There are several memorials to the war:

• In the UK, there's a national memorial called the Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel at Pangbourne College.
• In the Falkland Islands, the most important memorial is the 1982 Liberation Memorial in Stanley, which was opened on June 14, 1984.
• In Buenos Aires, Argentina, a street once called "Calle Inglaterra" (England Street) was renamed "Calle 2 de Abril" (April 2nd Street) after the war started.
• The clock tower in Buenos Aires, which was a gift from the British community, was renamed "Torre Monumental" (Monumental Tower) after the war. The square where it stands was also renamed "Plaza Fuerza Aérea Argentina" (Argentine Air Force Square), and the Monument to the Fallen Soldiers was built there.

Different Names for the War

The war is known by different names depending on where you are:

• It's sometimes called The Falklands/Malvinas War to show that both names for the islands are used.
• Other names include Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis.
• In Spanish-speaking countries, it's usually called Guerra de las Malvinas or Malvinas War.
• Another Spanish name is "Guerra del Atlántico Sur" (War of the South Atlantic). This name shows that some fighting happened in South Georgia and in the deep ocean, not just around the Falkland Islands.