Analysis of Platoon

The United States Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team was comprised of Americans of Japanese ancestry (Nisei) who fought courageously during World War II against Hitler’s Third Reich in Italy and France. Its members sustained heavy fatalities but earned recognition, battle honors and medals of valor. Commanders considered them intelligent, “conscientious, loyal, and anxious to prove their devotion to their country” (“442nd Regimental Combat Team.” the 442.org, 2015). Interestingly, the 442nd was organized after more than a year after the U.S. War Department declared Americans of Japanese descent “4-C or enemy aliens, forbidden to serve their country.” There were exceptions made for those already in military service (“The War”). With their bravery

The other film by Stone that gives inkling into his thesis towards the Vietnam War is JFK. This film about the Vietnam War was based on the book On the Trail of the Assassins, by Jim Garrison. This film contains the story of Garrison, a former New Orleans district attorney who critiqued the stance of the Warren Commission on the Kennedy assassination. According to the film, a high-level group of politicians and other officials in key security dockets planned and implemented the assassination of John F. Kennedy (Howard, p. 11). The reason for the assassination was that President Kennedy wanted to pull US forces from Vietnam after his 1964 reelection.

CHris is feeling like his empire is blowing up around him and in the rubble his is former glory. But he survived this explosion and only thing he can see is destruction from having no power to stop it. He feel like his power is being stolen from him and need to get it back somehow. This is why he want to end the rebel movement so that won't happen for real. This is making him scared of Ned's military and the growing threat of the superpower the peewee tigers military. TO him both of those issue combined is making him feel like his days as king are numbered. HE think the rebel movement will destroy his kingdom like they dropped a nuclear bomb on the whole kingdom. HE also think Ned is a good representation of the rebel movement. They are

This was the first war-type-emergency to hit the United States since the Cold War. The platoon specifically participated in the “Operation Desert Storm” which was a “a 100-hour land war, that expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait” (history.state.gov). “Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq, ordered his army across the border into tiny Kuwait” (history.state.gov) where oil was a major factor. If Iraq were to win in Kuwait, they would be close to Saudi Arabia and Iraq could easily have controlled at least 1/5th of the world’s oil supply. President Bush gave Saddam an ultimatum, giving him the option to either leave Kuwait by January 15th, or he would implement all the military forces (history.state.gov). At this time, the United States troops were stationed in “Saudi Arabia in case of an Iraqi attack on the Saudis” (history.state.gov) under the operation name of Desert Shield. When Saddam did not evacuate his Iraqi troops by January 15th, President Bush engaged the Operation Desert Shield into Operation Desert Storm. This is where the 2004 Manchurian Candidate picked up the narrative. The platoon was involved in Operation Desert Storm when they were captured and brainwashed. This is significant because it was the first war since the Cold War and it was a war with previously known terroristic countries. This war was appropriate because it left most Americans feeling “confident in their military and technological edge once more” (history.state.gov) which is what Raymond Shaw aimed to do with his campaign of “Secure tomorrow today.” These major historical differences did reshape the movies, but again, it did not take away from the overall theme of the fear of terrorism or the fear of communism, it only customized the themes to their time

Since 1968, there have been at least 25 films made that portray the events of the Vietnam War. Historians have to ask themselves when watching these films, "Did the fictional character represent historical figures accurately? Is this how a soldier would react in this situation?" The point of view of the director of the film can change with simple alterations in camera angles. For example, a view from the ground of a battle seen can show how the innocent people had the war in their own backyards. The view from a helicopter can show Viet Cong firing rounds at American troops and the troops can't tell the difference between the innocent and the enemy. The audience feels empathy and sympathy for the person from whose point of view the

Chris remains one of the leaders, but even at times presents a problem to the group. He has a very tough attitude and almost gets his eye burned out in the beginning trying to stand up against bigger, tougher kids. At the end of the movie he almost gets attacked with a knife for mouthing off to the same group of kids, but Gordie bailed him out. By standing up against difficult group members Gordie really showed his leadership skills.

Chris felt himself being lifted up. One of Russell’s cronies was holding him, another was holding Dalton, and and a third was holding Hazel. Timothy was on his hands and knees on the floor with Russell standing over him.

In the film, Platoon, there were several examples which support Marilyn Young’s statement about American’s treating Vietnam as something that happened amongst themselves. The film is set during the 1960s and tells the story of a young college student who goes by the name Chris Taylor. He drops out of college to enlist in the Military to fight in the Vietnam War. In beginning, Taylor is very excited and enthusiastic about his choice to fight in the war. Eventually, the enthusiasm changes when he begins getting to know the squad he is assigned to as well as how they him because he is new. One major event in the film which really changed how Taylor felt about being a part of this war is when they raided

Oliver Stone is best known from his portrayals of Vietnam in film. His movies “Platoon” and “Born on the Fourth of July” have won him Academy Awards for best director. These movies not only depicted the violence of war, but also the cultural and psychological issues that the soldiers in these wars had to endure. The majority of his earliest and best known movies center around the Vietnam War. Oliver Stone’s experience in the military gave him a special insight that made his movies feel more authentic and convincing to audiences. These movies portray the struggles that soldiers and veterans of the Vietnam War had to face on and off the battlefield.

The Hellish Truth of the Vietnam War “War is hell”. Three words that perfectly describe what thousands of men must have felt before and after serving in a war. The 1986 film “Platoon” directed by Oliver Stone, portrays this common idea very well. In this movie, a young soldier in the Vietnam war is strongly confronted with the hardships and horror of war. During this time, he also began to question the differences between good and evil.

He condemns unnecessary violence, when he saves a Vietnamese girls from being raped by his comrades. Yet he cannot completely escape the negative impact the other “father” has on him. Despite the fact, he fights very hard to be like Elias, at the end his cold-blooded murder of Barnes does not differ much from the way Barnes had taken care of Elias. This constant battle within Chris is later illustrated by his words “we did not fight the enemy, we fought ourselves – and the enemy was in us”. The war and these two sergeants changed him and his view on life, and his role now is to transfer that knowledge to others and try to find any meaning to this

Their conclusion points toward the inevitability of history, with a Hobson's choice between “sovereignty and international government”. Since 1945-1946, arms control and disarmament regimes have come a long way and the failed efforts of 1946 might be attributed to the principle of unripe time. In comparison to this book, we had the opportunity to watch The Green Berets. From watching the film, I noticed that the film was mainly based on propaganda. “The Green Berets,” is a heavy-handed, remarkably old-fashioned film. It was supposed to be about Vietnam, but to me wasn’t. The military adventures we see could be from any war. In one, the enemy attacks a camp and the two sides shoot at each other. In the other, a team of soldiers kidnaps a Viet Cong general. Things like that usually take place anywhere. In my opinion, “The Green Berets” offered a different viewpoint. If one is to keep it into perspective it comes across quite well as it highlights how the U.S. was welcomed in many parts of Vietnam and how indifferent the North Vietnamese were to their own people. The millions of people murdered in the communist controlled parts of Indo-china during and after the American withdrawal are well documented. On the other hand, I would recommend both, the movie and the film, because they both demonstrated different insights on how to understand different events that took place during this time

But Platoon is historically and politically accurate. Stone states that “I wrote it as straight as I could remember” Unfortunately, the fact that the film reflects Stones personal memories of the war does not automatically make the film an authentic representation of the way Vietnam really was for other GI’s. Richard Corliss, for example, believes there’s a presence of passive racism in the movie. He claims that “The Black soldiers are occasionally patronized and sentimentalized; they stand to the side while the white soldiers grab all the big emotions” However, it can be argued in this exchanged between the main character and a black character that Stone hints at racial

World War II films depict veterans as brave and honorable individuals and many times create love stories for the war heroes, for example Fred and Peggy and Homer and Wilma. But the basic story of World War II was victory over the forces of evil. Vietnam on the other hand, was about intense suffering for reasons that were unclear. Realism was in a sense the only response because there was no fantasy to turn the story into. Even though, The Best Years of Our Lives also touches on the subject of readjusting to life after the war and making sense of life again in the United States, films about the Vietnam War and its veterans focused on the internal suffering and guilt many veterans came home with because of what the war in Vietnam had done to them. Instead of focusing on American heroism and the devastating effects on Vietnam, US film focused on veterans personal dilemmas and internal conflicts in films like Platoon (1986) and Born on the Fourth of

When people go to the theaters to watch a movie, they usually remember the plot, the action, and most importantly, the actors. But how is all of the action made possible? It takes a group of designers, producers, directors, cameramen, and many others to make a movie a success. It is common for people to forget those who are off camera than those who are. A similar occasion occurred during the Vietnam War. When people reminisce and recall the Vietnam War, they tend to just remember the young American men dressed in their military uniforms in the country of Vietnam, defending the pride and honor of the United States of America. They tend to forget about the ones who worked behind the scenes and made contributions to this collective effort. These