Successful propaganda

The one aspect that brings all of the elements of 'Top Gun' together is the glorification of war.

In fact, the movie's theme proved to hit such a chord with general audiences, that the US saw a significant surge in applicants in the opening week of the film.

Wanting to capitalise on the trend, the Navy posted recruitment booths outside of several theatres across the country. The tactic was successful, as officers reported there had been at least a 500 per cent increase in recruits.