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Oliver stone vietnam war analysis
Movie analysis of Platoon
Movie analysis of Platoon
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Recommended: Oliver stone vietnam war analysis
Platoon is perhaps the most influential example of the Vietnam War. Oliver Stone, director of the film, who served two tours of duty in Vietnam, portrays the war as more of an internal conflict between American soldiers rather than a conflict with the Vietcong militants. The film is narrated by Chris Taylor played by Charlie Sheen who is a new recruit to “the Nam”. He is assigned to a platoon that is stationed somewhere near the border of Cambodia; Cambodia was off limits to any American infantry. Taylor immediately recognizes the division within the platoon and at the center, Sergeant Barnes and Sergeant Elias played by Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe respectively. Sgt. Barnes is a ruthless and revengeful man who Taylor respects early in the film. However, Sgt. Elias displays a compassionate side that was scarce within the platoon. As the film develops, the viewer witnesses the internal conflict between Barnes and Elias that would eventually have a shocking result. As Taylor gains experience in “the Nam”, he realizes that war is not only regulated to fighting the known enemy, the NVA, but also fighting internally.
Sgt. Barnes and Sgt. Elias are the leaders in Taylor’s platoon. Barnes is a ruthless, violent, and revengeful man. He presents himself as an aggressive warmonger who seeks the thrill of killing. Barnes’s agenda in the Nam is to eradicate anyone he suspects to have aid the NVA or anyone who halts his ambitions. To his men, he is the strong headed leader who has a no nonsense attitude when it comes to battle. This attracts certain men in the Platoon. On the other hand, Elias is a caring, thoughtful, and courageous leader who is the archetype of the term war hero. Elias introduces himself to Taylor which is something Bar...
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...d in Vietnam he could not imagine what he got himself into. When assigned to the platoon, he struggled to pick between Barnes and Elias which caused some resentment towards him. At the end, he does not hesitate to kill Barnes but showed some sign of guilt on his trip back to the army hospital for what he had become.
Oliver Stone created a legendary portrayal of the Vietnam War. One can understand the controversy that followed the production of the film given its legitimacy and accuracy. Before Platoon was realized, Americans viewed Vietnam as the war America lost but neglected to understand the soldiers that fought in the war. As a result, a generation of drug abusers, mental patients, and criminals were born out of the post-Vietnam climate. However, Platoon introduced Americans to the horrors and effects that a war like the Vietnam War could have on a soldier.
The Vietnam War has become a focal point of the Sixties. Known as the first televised war, American citizens quickly became consumed with every aspect of the war. In a sense, they could not simply “turn off” the war. A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo is a firsthand account of this horrific war that tore our nation apart. Throughout this autobiography, there were several sections that grabbed my attention. I found Caputo’s use of stark comparisons and vivid imagery, particularly captivating in that, those scenes forced me to reflect on my own feelings about the war. These scenes also caused me to look at the Vietnam War from the perspective of a soldier, which is not a perspective I had previously considered. In particular, Caputo’s account of
The book Outlaw Platoon written by Sean Parnell is a soldiers’ tale of his platoon in one of the most dangerous places on earth. This book is a non-fiction riveting work that tells the story of a platoon that spent sixteen months on an operating base in the Bermel Valley, the border of Pakistan. This mission the men were sent on was part of a mission called Operation Enduring Freedom. This book is extremely relevant to the war that we are still fighting in Afghanistan and the humanitarian work that continues. We still have men in this area fighting and losing their lives everyday. It is the focus of ongoing political debates and the purpose of our involvement there is an ongoing question in the minds of many Americans. In writing this book, Parnell makes it clear in his author’s notes that he indeed was not trying to pursue one political agenda over another. His goal as not to speak of all members of the platoon and expose their identities and the types of soldiers they were but instead to showcase some of the men’s bravery and abilities during the war. Parnell believed that he owed it to the men to write something that would show the world what these men go through during combat in an honest and raw account. Another purpose of Parnell’s in writing this book is an attempt at making sure these men are given a place in American war history.
In the twentieth century many young adults and many other men were chosen/ drafted to enter the war. The Vietnam War started during the time period of 1959 and this brutal war ended on 1975. It started with the United States sending aid and military advisors to the Southern part Vietnam. The U.S helped the southerners of Vietnam because the northern part of Viet was a communist state so the south wanted to end Communism up in the north. Also, this war was said to be one of the bloodiest wars that took place in the twentieth century. It was a very bloody war because more than 58,000 American soldiers had perished in combat. Also, during the decade of direct U.S Military participation in Vietnam, during early time of the year, 1964 the U.S treasury spent over 140 billion dollars on this war. “This was enough money to fund urban projects in every major American city” (history.com). As this war effected the American’s, it affected the Vietnamese people to. This war affected both the American’s and the Vietnamese, because in the year of 1973 the United States began withdrawing troops. This caused the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon to fall to the Northern Vietnamese forces. Just like how the war was long and bloody many characters from the novel The Things They Carried experienced many things that were relatable to people who in reality dealt with the war. The very brutality of war cause indelible psychological and emotional changes in most of its
My Review of Full Metal Jacket In Stanley Kubrick’s film Full Metal Jacket, the emphasis is spotlighted on the carnage of boot camp and the soldier’s life in Vietnam. The life of a soldier is not an easy one, as it requires great diligence and much sacrifice to ensure the safety and freedom to all those who are afraid and those who seek it. Stanley Kubrick makes sure that we see the harshness and ugliness of the Vietnam War as it was made to be seen. The movie starts with the life of boot camp, getting marines ready to be sent and fight over in Vietnam. The relationship between Private Joker and Private Pyle appears when the Drill Sergeant Hartman makes Private Joker the squad leader. Private Joker, is to make certain that Gomer Pyle cleans his act up and bring an end to the burdens that Pyle has put on the whole squad. Although Private Joker is trying his best to clean up the Private Pyle’s mess, he has met his match, and ultimately sees Pyle as a problem. During the scene where everyone in the squad prepares to beat Pyle with bars of soap wrapped in towels it shows that Private Joker is somewhat hesitant at first, but eventually hits Private Pyle multiple times with heavy blows. Analyzing the relationship between the two privates can be said that Private Joker was trying to help Private Pyle as much as he could, until Private Pyle suddenly breaks and it is made clear when Private Pyle is talking to himself while he is cleaning his rifle. Yes boot camp can be living hell for those who are psychologically unfit and not able to cope during times of great stress, and this can often make certain people “snap”. Stanley Kubrick does a fine job focusing on the stresses of boot camp, especially as this is a time of war and thousands of ...
Eventually, the store had to close down. The Anticommunist movement is extreme to the point that anyone who even appeared to be sympathetic to the current government of Vietnam was branded a traitor. For instance, the community claimed that one of the Vietnamese American politicians, Tony Lam, did not support the community in forcing this video store to close down. In addition, Tony Lam took part in requesting the council of the city of Westminster to change the name Little Saigon into Asian town (Collet, & Furuya, 2010). His rationale was that “Little Saigon” negatively reminded of the pain in Vietnamese history, which needed to be forgotten. His political career soon ended, since his attitude and belief was viewed as an offense toward Vietnamese immigrants. Vietnamese immigrants believe that the term Saigon is sacred and beloved, therefore replacing the name Little Saigon is equivalent to neglecting the dramatic historical background and disconnecting their origin. In away, Anticommunist movement creates cohesion among Vietnamese immigrant.
The Unromantic Reality of War- Like all the other soldiers in Fallen Angels, Richie joins the army with the illusions about what war is like. Like many American civilians, he has learned about war from movies and stories that portray battle as heroic and glorious, the army as efficient and organized, and warfare as a rational effort that depends on skill. What the soldiers actually find in Vietnam bears almost no resemblance to such a mythologized and romanticized version of war. The army is highly inefficient and fallible. Most of the officers are far from heroic, looking out only for their own lives and careers rather than the lives of their soldiers. In the heat of battle, the soldiers think only about self-preservation and ways they can personally survive the onslaught of chaos and violence.
He attempts to justify his reasoning by saying, “There were no thoughts about killing. The grenade was to make him go away—just evaporate—and I leaned back and felt my mind go empty and then felt it fill up again. I had already thrown the grenade before telling myself to throw it” (TTTC, 126). Nonetheless, even then, the guilt does not rid itself from his thoughts, and this is the type of realization, ending someone’s life, and witnessing all the gore, is what continually haunts soldier. This is also one of the concepts that overly patriotic people who have never been to war yet indulge themselves in political affairs fail or refuse to
Tim O’ Brien’s narrative, How to Tell a War Story depicts the livelihood and experience of American soldiers during the Vietnam War. More so evaluating the life Tim O’ Brien and several other characters in his platoon. The sequences of stories reveals the thoughts and behavior of many post-Vietnam veterans and also can be related to the behavior of many veterans today. Throughout the segments of stories, “How to tell a War Story”, “Speaking of Courage and Notes”, and “The Things They Carried”, O’ Brien illustrates a common theme of guilt and sacrifice among the key characters Lieutenant Cross, Rat, and O’ Brien himself. Each character are presented with an unexpected responsibility and are forced to serve their state. A sense of discomfort
The impact of the Vietnam War upon the soldiers who fought there was huge. The experience forever changed how they would think and act for the rest of their lives. One of the main reasons for this was there was little to no understanding by the soldiers as to why they were fighting this war. They felt they were killing innocent people, farmers, poor hard working people, women, and children were among their victims. Many of the returning soldiers could not fall back in to their old life styles. First they felt guilt for surviving many of their brothers in arms. Second they were haunted by the atrocities of war. Some soldiers could not go back to the mental state of peacetime. Then there were soldiers Tim O’Brien meant while in the war that he wrote the book “The Things They Carried,” that showed how important the role of story telling was to soldiers. The role of stories was important because it gave them an outlet and that outlet was needed both inside and outside the war in order to keep their metal state in check.
Unlike the WWII era, the Vietnam War brought realism into literature and film. There were no heroic movies of men fighting in Vietnam. Men could no longer shoot fifty enemy combatants on top of a tank without being hurt. Instead, popular culture brought a realistic view of war, death, pain, and destruction. Author Tim O’Brien, like many war veterans, struggled with his Vietnam experience and expressed them through writing. Tim O’Brien exposed the truth behind war stories because he shows the difference between WWII romanticism and Vietnam realism.
During the Vietnam War, the first platoon (approximately forty men) was lead by a young officer named William Calley. Young Calley was drafted into the US Army after high school, but it did not take long for him to adjust to being in the army, with a quick transition to the lifestyle of the military, he wanted to make it his career. In high school, Calley was a kind, likable and “regular” high school student, he seemed to be a normal teenager, having interest in things that other boys his age typically had. He was never observed acting in a cruel or brutal way. In Vietnam, Calley was under direct order of company commander, Captain Ernest Medina, whom he saw as a role model, he looked up to Medina. (Detzer 127).
In the movie, Apocalypse Now, based on the Vietnam War, the director portrays the reality of war, a very traumatic place, and leads viewers through the painful reality that left many warriors with everlasting nightmares and disturbing memories. As is most great war-related films, the overarching message is pointed towards viewer understanding of the Vietnam War. The director did this by exemplifying the positives and negatives of the war, so that all viewers can learn from these historical events and prevent similar wars in the future. The director uses many literary elements in Apocalypse Now such as setting, characterization, and theme to further the understanding of the message.
...ust deal with similar pains. Through the authors of these stories, we gain a better sense of what soldiers go through and the connection war has on the psyche of these men. While it is true, and known, that the Vietnam War was bloody and many soldiers died in vain, it is often forgotten what occurred to those who returned home. We overlook what became of those men and of the pain they, and their families, were left coping with. Some were left with physical scars, a constant reminder of a horrible time in their lives, while some were left with emotional, and mental, scarring. The universal fact found in all soldiers is the dramatic transformation they all undergo. No longer do any of these men have a chance to create their own identity, or continue with the aspirations they once held as young men. They become, and will forever be, soldiers of the Vietnam War.
...ut the hidden thoughts and feelings of the narrator are the real things that need to be examined. The Vietnam War is so colluded with uncertainties that it's meaning and questions of why are still lingering in the minds of citizens of the United States.
The soldiers feel that the only people they can talk to about the war are their “brothers”, the other men who experienced the Vietnam War. The friendship and kinship that grew in the jungles of Vietnam survived and lived on here in the United States. By talking to each other, the soldiers help to sort out the incidents that happened in the War and to put these incidents behind them. “The thing to do, we decided, was to forget the coffee and switch to gin, which improved the mood, and not much later we were laughing at some of the craziness that used to go on” (O’Brien, 29).