Manuel Amado
Professor Andrea Klimt
SOA 344-02 Cultures of Memory
October 03, 2016
The Vietnam War was one of the most controversial armed conflicts during the 20th century. Many people were against the war as they believed that the soldiers were only being sent to their deaths, and that the war was not very productive for the United States. In the movie Forest Gump, the Vietnam war is portrayed has a box of chocolates, “you never know what you’re going to get” Forrest Gump enlists in the army where he is sent to the front line in Vietnam. Arriving there with the theme song playing “Fortunate Son” is played during the scene in which Forrest Gump is drafted and sent to fight in Vietnam. When Forest arrived to his base the soldiers were having
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The movie gave all kind of messages to relate viewers to the movie. One of the messages is “loyalty to your friends.” Forest’s honorable loyalty is to his friends Lieutenant Dan and Benjamin Blue “Bubba.” Forrest met his friend “Bubba” while serving in Vietnam, his loyalty to Bubba was so intense that, despite being in the thick of a war zone, Forrest would not stop until he was able to pull Bubba out of the wreckage. Forest went back time after time rescuing soldiers until he found “Bubba” who was wounded badly. After Bubba’s death, Forrest kept his promise and started a shrimping business after its success he financially assisting Bubba’s family. Unlike “Bubba” Lt. Dan finds himself hating Forrest for saving his life while in Vietnam. Despite Dan’s poor attitude towards Forrest, Forrest stayed by his side during his darkest times and throughout the holidays in New York City. Eventually, Forrest’s dedication was returned, when Lt. Dan stepped up to help him with his shrimping business, and when he arrived at Forrest’s intimate wedding back home in Alabama. We can apply this to our own lives by sticking with those we care about, even when they refuse to care about themselves. We must never lose hope in others, and demonstrate to them how special they really are. These actions demonstrate the importance of keeping our promises to our …show more content…
It gives you a proud story you can tell while waiting for the bus. But Platoon is no fantasy, it’s what you really get when you join a war, a blood bath that really is. Forest Gump when in to the army with no plans for his life after the war. He comes out winner, he became famous, and very rich, he is television ads show, “you join the army you come out a successful man.” But for Chris the message is about loss of innocence, the fog of war, and the disillusionment of “moral” principles guiding so-called just wars. Chris though he would be proud of the man he was going to be after the army, but with events that occurred it changed him
In both Things and Forrest Gump the main character goes to the Vietnam War and leaves their family. In both of the stories the main character creates a strong bond with their fellow soldiers. Tim O’Brien, in Things, becomes friends with Jimmy Cross, Mitchell Sanders, Kiowa, Norman Bowker, Henry Dobbins, and Rat Kiley. In Vietnam, Forrest Gump becomes friends with Bubba and Lieutenant Dan. Both stories tell how close friends died and how the main character reacts. Along with the sad memories there are happy memories as well. O’Brien says that in their free time they played checkers and told stories to get their minds off the war. In Forrest Gump, Forrest played ping-pong and would play in front of his friends to entertain them. Him and Bubba
A trait that makes Forrest Gump a great hero is that he is protective, of his friends & Jenny. Jenny was constantly being mistreated & hurt. Whenever Forrest was there & saw this, he punched that guy right in the face to defend her. Jenny also had a horrible childhood & was abused by her dad too. Her house reminded her of what ruined her life, so Forrest had it bulldozed. She never had to look at that awful place ever again. After Jenny died, Forrest looked after Forrest Jr. He taught him to read & do many other things. He cared for & protected his family to the
Film during much of the Vietnam War and the years after usually attempted to push a strong agenda. Not until later did movies become less biased, especially when talking about Vietnam. The Ugly American, directed by George Englund, and The Green Berets, directed by John Wayne, are no exceptions. The Green Berets propose a strong support for the war while The Ugly American tended to blame the United States for being in an unnecessary war. Nevertheless, while both movies differ strongly in their views, both tend to convey the horrors of war.
I carry the memories of the ghosts of a place called Vietnam-the people of Vietnam, my fellow soldiers- Tim O’Brien
Robert S. McNamara's book, In Retrospect, tells the story of one man's journey throughout the trials and tribulations of what seems to be the United States utmost fatality; the Vietnam War. McNamara's personal encounters gives an inside perspective never before heard of, and exposes the truth behind the administration.
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.
Fifty-eight thousand were killed, a pair of thousand captured, and three hundred fifty thousand; maimed and wounded, just about everyone throughout this country still feels the results of this conflict. Today, the kids in the country rest uneasy in response to the senselessness of this struggle. A different generation of school students, staff and young parents bring a singular perspective to the analysis of the implications of this specific war. These square measure the sons and daughters of the boys that fought to their death inside the jungles of South East Asia..
The Vietnam war started in December of 1956, and lasted until April of 1975. The war was between the U.S., and Vietnam. This war was a very gruesome, and tragic war. In Vietnam their leader Ho Chi Minh came back after a 30 year trip to explore around the world. When he returned his country was occupied by two major countries, Japan and France. Ho Chi Minh had a plan to run them out of his country, but he needed the U.S. for it to work. U.S. was still in the Cold war with Russia and there was fear of communism there. So the U.S. decided not to help Vietnam and send military aid to help the French and Japanese forces, in order to stop communism. Thus begun The vietnam war!
was the first time that the media were able to get a glimpse of it. As
In overall, the movie is about a marine Captain (Sam) who leaves on his mission to Afghanistan, leaving his wife (Grace) and his two daughters behind. He’s also leaving his brother (Tommy), a criminal who just got out of jail for robbing a bank. While Sam being on mission and being captured as prisoners (presumed dead), Tommy looks after Grace and his two nieces, creating a strong bond between them, and helping the family go through its grief. When Sam comes home, he’s totally changed: he becomes a cold man suffering of PTSD and paranoia, and suspects his wife and his brother have had sex together. In the end, he attempts suicide, after having a rage breakout because of his daughter (she said that Grace and Tommy had slept together), and is sent off to a psychiatric clinic. He also tells his wife about what really happened while he was in his mission, how he killed Private Joe.
Platoon is Oliver Stone’s first film portrayal of Vietnam. The film starts off with main character Chris Taylor (portrayed by Charlie Sheen) arriving in Vietnam. A very important element about the character Chris Taylor is that he is a college student that dropped out by choice to join the war effort. This element helps contrast Taylor with supporting characters as most of them are people who were drafted and came to Vietnam against their will. “Mr. Stone, himself a Vietnam vet, observes the war through the short focus of a single infantry platoon, fighting somewhere near the Cambodian border in 1967.”(Vincent, “The Vietnam War in Stone’s ‘Platoon’”) Charlie Sheen’s character narrates the journey and struggles of the Platoon through notes to his Grandmother. “To all intents and purposes, Chris was Oliver Stone. ‘He was a stand-in. Alter-ego’ Stone would write similar letters to his grand-mother, telling her of ‘my wishes, my desires’.” (Salewicz 21) The choice in narration tells the audience that Taylor may have a closer relationship with his grandmother than his actual parents. There...
The friendships and bonds that formed in the jungles of Vietnam between the members of Alpha Company help them to survive on a day to day basis. Not only while they were “in country”, but in dealing with their lives back in the United States. Without the bonds of friendship none of them men of Alpha Company would have survived mentally or physically the strains and trauma of the Vietnam War.
It is a great example of how persevering through life’s obstacles can make life even better than before. Being different creates many challenges for Forrest, however, he shows inner strength as he fights through these challenges. Along with this, Forrest Gump shows how having support while trying to escape a dark path will make success easier. Therefore, the movie reveals that life will not always be perfect, but it is important to persevere through the adversity that it is filled with. Ultimately, no matter the circumstances, any obstacle can be
Tony and Elizabeth Jordan thought they had it all – a beautiful daughter, great jobs, the best cars, and their dream house, but looks can be deceiving. Behind closed doors their marriage is falling apart, and they are constantly fighting, pushing away from each other and hurting their daughter emotionally and mentally in the process to the point where she says to her friend ¨I wish I lived at your house, my parents are always fighting.¨ Tony and Elizabeth are typical churchgoers who have become self-righteous and, in Tony case, even hostile towards the God who created him for his glory. Elizabeth is a real estate broker, and Tony is a salesman who is always traveling. While Tony relaxes in his professional success and flirts with temptation,
The overall theme running through the movie that I noticed was the theme of chance and destiny. The movie starts with a feather floating by Forrest, and it ends with that same feather. To me, that was showing the connectivity between events in our lives. Everything that Forrest did up until then, led him up to that very moment. It was showing how even though some things may seem completely random or it may not be obvious how they are connected, everything is connected. However, I think it was more so showing how we make our own lives and our own “destiny”. Some things happen by chance but we choose what to do with them. Forrest’s life was full of crazy things happening, but he never was overly affected by them. He even met the president. To me, this was showing how it’s good to sometimes go with the flow of life and see where it takes you. Forrest says, “Life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” I think this summarizes the movie very well. Another example of finding the meaning of life is seen through Lieutenant Dan’s story-line. He is seen as a very dedicated soldier. Dan felt that his life’s purpose was to die in battle just like those in his family had done before him. However, while in battle Forrest picks up Dan and saves his life. Dan loses both of his legs and wishes that Forrest would have just left him to die because that is what Dan wanted to begin with. I think this shows the struggle of finding the meaning of life. Dan thought that he had his meaning of life all figured out and when he realized that his life was not going to turn out that way, he had a really difficult time accepting it. It took him quite some time to come to terms with his life in a wheelchair. I think this can apply to many people. Sometimes circumstances cause people to have to reevaluate their meaning of life. Another example of the meaning of life I think can be