The Vietnam War On The Movie, Platoon, As A Portal

The Vietnam War was in many aspects one of the lowest periods in American history, being not just a military failure, but also contribute to social unrest and extensive political change in the mainland. In many ways, ‘The Forever War’ is an analogue of The Vietnam War, that, in abundant detail, explores the vast amount of opinions the veterans of that war had towards a new society, vastly changed from the one they left.

Michael Herr captures a momentous era of American and world history in his book Dispatches. While there are many works that document the Vietnam War, Herr’s writing becomes significant in the way it captures the period. For one, Herr is able to describe major historical moments of the nineteen-sixties in context to what was concurrently taking place Vietnam. Also, Herr offers a unique voice compared to other documentation of Vietnam due to his story being the reflections of a journalists in the midst of action there. This mix of cultural milieu and journalistic perspective turns Herr’s Dispatches into a relevant and substantial testament of the Vietnam War.

The Vietnam war was an absolutely brutal time in American history. The war lasted for the majority of the 1960s and left many young men dead. The short story “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien and the film Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam give us just a glance into the war by giving using the three themes of fear, pressures, and blame/guilt to embody the concept of war and how it absolutely changes a person. War not only destroys countries, but it destroys people.

The war in Vietnam was a war against communism that tore apart the US. The United States of America plunged together with its allies and played a tremendous role as far as fight against communism is concerned. A huge number of American soldiers were deployed in Vietnam a practice that coupled with much unpreparedness. The soldiers were not aware what exactly they were up to in Vietnam. Most Americans at the time were very much against the act. It was one of the most deliberating wars America plunged herself into and the only one to have been lost. Most intriguing is the amount of publicity and media buzz created by the film industry. Vietnam War was the topic of many television networks, music and Hollywood. Journalist and veterans and scholar were never left behind and went ahead to produce tones of literature on the legacies and lessons to be learnt from the war (Hochgesang, Lawyer, and Stevenson). The exploitation of the soldiers and rejection of the veterans created just as much interest as the war had created. One such commentary came from George Kennan, who depicted the war as one of the most disastrous mission The United States has ever undertaken (Westheider 155-159).. This essay will establish the effects the war had to the US soldiers.

"I have tried to describe accurately what the dominant event in the life of my generation, the Vietnam War, was like for the men who fought it" (Caputo, p. xxi). In Philip Caputo's own words, he describes the book he tried to write as an accurate portrayal of the events of the Vietnam War, not as he wished it had happened and not in protest of what happened. To this end, Caputo was successful. His book, A Rumor of War, provides a poignant and evocative glance into the lives of real men who fought in a war which no one who was not there could ever truly understand. In going about this, he touches on a variety of recurring themes in his book: the romanticizing of war vs. actual war, the personal aspects of war vs. impersonal aspects of war,

The Vietnam War was largely considered a failure, a waste of resources, time and precious lives. It was simply a war that did not need to be fought. But in order to combat the ever prevailing communist forces; the capitalists and in particular, America, decided that Vietnam would be the land where these differences would be disputed. Men were sent in to fight in this war and they came back with very different experiences. As seen in both perspectives held in “A Rumor of War” by Philip Caputo and in “We were soldiers once... and young” by Hal Moore and Joseph Galloway; they explore the varying perspectives and experienced seen and learnt within war. Whereas in “A Rumor of War”, it tackles the consequences of being sent into such harsh warfare, only because Philip Caputo saw the harsh reality firsthand as he was a soldier in the war. The former, “We were soldiers once... and young” tackles the glorification of war because it’s not solely a soldier’s account. A journalist was in company of these men and as such details get skewed for the public’s perception. Regardless, both these books share a telling tale of the war in Vietnam through their radically different views.

This paper will be discussing the two movies The Green Berets (1968) and Apocalypse Now (1978), and argue how The Green Berets is a propagandist pro-war film depicting the unrealities of the Vietnam War while Apocalypse Now is an ambiguous anti-war film that shows the social and political absurdities of the Vietnam War.

Platoon teaches that sometimes the enemy doesn’t come from the individuals on the other half of the battlefield, but from within. The scene where soldiers are committing the inhumane act of raping a girl, and the personalities of both Sgt. Barnes and Sgt. Elias depict the duality of man and the way in which a person’s attitudes and emotions can be swayed through the horrors of war. Books will state the number of casualties, but movies like Platoon make the viewers elicit different emotions, which they can also learn

The Star Wars films show similarities to various aspects of history and American society. It has been proven that George Lucas wrote the movies based on The Vietnam War, with aspects of other American events. It is evident that these aspects have had a major influence on the concept of “War in America” after the release and success of the Star Wars movies. This will be investigated by analyzing the movies, critical reviews, and other texts relating to the subject.

When considering the film Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and the Vietnam war that entrenched the United States into armed conflict, it is plain to see that there exists a level of disapproval about our actions in said war. Even though there doesn’t exist an apparent motive for the film’s production, there exists an underlying reason or theme behind this film in particular. As we will see, once the connection is made, it will hard to distinguish between the battles taking place within the film and the actual events that occurred in Vietnam. The movie is first and foremost a science fiction film that portrays political, social, and spiritual conflict in a galaxy far far away and a very long time ago. Although, it is hard to take out personal biases about what is going on during the time you produce a film and what affects you politically. Therefore, knowingly or not, ideologies and personal opinions make their way into the piece of art that you direct and make.

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

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

The Americans at front wanted to show the world that communism must be contained; however, citizens at home thought differently. The Southern Vietnamese didn’t want to be governed by such leadership. The Northern Vietnamese wanted imperialism because they believed their way of ruling was superlative and superior. These different perspectives are intensively analyzed in many well-written novels and powerful films concerning the Vietnam War throughout the world. With this in mind, the fascinating book that glimpsed at the Vietnam War through a domestic eye is In Country written by Bobbie Ann Mason while the film, Deer Hunter, directed by Michael Cimino provides visual understanding. This domestic eye is from strictly the ones that reside in America; however, we cannot forget the Asian view of this war. With this in mind, The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh, “A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain” by Robert Olen Butler, and the two movies; The Scent of Green Papaya directed by Tran Anh Hung and Three Seasons directed by Tony Bui are the best sources that allow us to understand the other view of war. However, regardless of the different views, there is always the questioning of morality. As discussed previously, morality is a choice that is based on individual valuations; therefore, no one should be criticized for his or her decision. With this in mind, ethics are deeply embedded in “The Madagascar Plum”

Full Medal Jacket directed by Stanley Kubrick raises questions about the Vietnam war and war in general. Kubrick opens up the film with boot camp, a majority of the film takes place with boot camp because Kubrick wants the viewer to be mindful that the boot camp that was taking place was to prepare you to be a killer. Almost like a psychological preparation to kill. Boot camp was so intense that it broke down all of the moral human bonds the soldiers once had before they joined the army. As most people know before boot camp you are sent to get your head shaven because its cleaner and less of a hassle. Kubrick has all the men lined up taking orders from Gunnery Sergeant Hartman who is basically bad mouthing all the men lined up teaching them how to have a hard heart such as "I don't like the name Lawrence, only faggots and sailors are called Lawrence. From now on you're Gomer Pyle. Sir, yes, sir. "

The 1986 Oscar winning film Platoon (Stone) is a classic example of this genre and why it is so popular. As such, Platoon is a fictional work that follows Chris Taylor, a young American who gives up college and volunteers for combat duty in Vietnam. Following Taylor’s tour of Vietnam, the film’s main focus is not only his life during the war, but also the mortality issues he must find a way to deal with. Furthermore, Platoon includes all four of the narrative elements necessary to fit into this genre.