The author names this cultural phenomenon the New War, and it has been manifested in movies and novels in which the new American hero combats mortal enemies, in warrior magazines, and in rising citizen purchases of military weapons in the U.S. The New War culture is more paramilitary than military; the new hero is portrayed as fighting alone or with a small, elite group of fellow warriors. The separation of warrior from the State-sanctioned occupations of policeman or soldier makes the warrior role an ideal identity for all men. The author discusses this paramilitary culture in the context of post-Vietnam America and changes in the status quo of white males as a result of the feminist and civil rights movements.