Much like pervious war movies, the 1968 film The Green Berets was a movie to promote the conflict in Vietnam. The movie stared American Hero John Wayne, who played in many war movies and westerns that justified American conflicts over its enemies. John Wayne and Ray Kellogg directed the film with intensions to plant a positive story for the public, particularly the children for the justification of Vietnam. They made the movie by laying a familiar cinematic feel through a cowboys vs. Indians feel. Almost portraying a modern day “wild west” feel, by having the Green Berets as Cavalry, South Vietnamese as friendly Indian trackers, North Vietnamese/Viet Cong as the bad Indians, and the Villagers as the besieged settles. John Wayne went to President …show more content…
Platoon is and might be consider the most influential example of the Vietnam War. Director Oliver stone, who served two tours in Vietnam, adds some of his personal experiences to the film. Stone portrays the war as more of an conflict between American soldiers internally rather than a conflict with the Vietcong. Platoon tells the story of Vietnam from the point of view of a naïve young soldier, Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen). The first thing he sees when arriving is rows of bodies being readied to be ship back to the United States. He finds out that other soldies don’t associate with the new guys because they haven’t put in their time. After only a week, Chris realizes he made a mistake by volunteering. The Platoon is led by two men, Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe) and Sergeant Barnes (Tom Beringer). Sergeant Elias is portrayed as a caring leader who does what he believes is right and likes to use drugs to get away from the war. His enemy in the Platoon though is Sergeant Barnes, who is portrayed as a war machine that won’t stop till the job is complete. As the film progresses, friction develops between Barnes and Elias which causes two groups to form within the platoon. As Taylor gains experience in Vietnam, he realizes that war is not only regulated to fighting the known enemy, the NVA/Vietcong, but his fellow comrades as well. When searching a local village for Vietcong and weapons, Taylor goes through a dramatic change from what he sees and does. For instance, you see Taylor, who has mentally change, beat a disabled boy to death with is gun. He also witnesses a mother get murder by his superior officer, Sergeant Barnes. In addition sees and stops the attempted rape of a village girl by the American Soldiers, which causes those soldiers to resent him. Throughout the film you see the physical and mental changes of all the soldiers with in the Platoon go through. Platoon, unlike other
In the movie The Milagro Beanfield War, a large construction project is going on in the small town of Milagro, NM. Despite a rule made so that the locals could not water their crops, after accidentally opening a way for the water to flow onto his land Joe Mondragon decides to break the rules and grow a beanfield. As the movie progresses, people begin to take sides, some wanting the work the construction site would bring, others wanting to stick to the traditional way things had always been. The beanfield continues to be part of that controversy, along with being a thorn in the side of Devine Corporations, the ones doing the construction. Eventually, confusion leads to the oldest man in the town, Amarante Cordova, being shot by Joe. This puts him temporarily on the run, as those in power use this as their final try at getting rid of him. However, Amarante ends up recovering and doesn’t press charges, so this doesn’t work. The movie ends with the harvest of the beans. I feel as though this was a fairly decent film. Perhaps not the most
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
...oung American men had to endure from the time that they had joined back in their boot camp days, and the brutality of war that showed them no mercy. To me the importance of the movie was to show what truly went on over in Vietnam through the eyes of a soldiers eyes of what happened, as the film created a very disturbing yet a real picture of The Vietnam War.
Vietnam was a highly debated war among citizens of the United States. This war was like no other with regards to how it affected people on the home front. In past war’s the population of the United States mainly supported the war and admired soldiers for their courage. During the Vietnam War, citizens of the U.S. had a contradictory view then in the past. This dilemma of not having the support of the people originates from the culture and the time period. During this time period it would be the fourth time Americans went to war in that century which made it tough for Americans to give their supportS (Schlesinger 8). Most Americans did not know why the country was getting involved in Vietnam as well as what the United States’ agenda was. This dilemma ties into the short story, “On the Rainy River” which is a passage from Tim O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried.
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.
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.
A war that still comes to mind and appears in people’s conversation today is the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War started November 1, 1955 and ended April 1, 1975. This war involved the United States, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, New Zealand, and Thailand. The people who didn’t experience the war might wonder what it was like, what were the soldiers duties, how did the soldiers act, or even how did the soldiers survive the war. Tim O’Brien who wrote a short story that is called “The Things They Carried”, is a story that involves soldiers who are in Vietnam. In his story he writes about a Lieutenant named Jimmy Cross and his passion about a woman named Martha and how he becomes a better lieutenant for his men during the war.
It is understandable that some Americans strongly opposed the United States getting involved in the Vietnam War. It had not been a long time since the end of World War II and simply put, most Americans were tired of fighting. Mark Atwood Lawrence is one of the people who opposed our involvement in the Vietnam War. In his essay, “Vietnam: A Mistake of Western Alliance”, Lawrence argues that the Vietnam War was unnecessary and that it went against our democratic policies, but that there were a lot of things that influenced our involvement.
The reality of war changed many soldiers' lives because of nightmares from firefights and small skirmishes to bombings and atrocities. Many places from Saigon to Khe Sanh are filled with stories from many veterans. A letter from a marine fighting in Khe Sanh said to his Parents "Since we began, we have lost 14 KIA and 44 men WIA. Our company is cut down to half strength, and I think we will be going to Okinawa to regroup. I hope so anyway because I have seen enough of war and its destruction." From the death of close friends any person's emotions would crumble. A normal everyday business person in the shoes of this soldier wouldn't last a day. The experience a soldier goes through will change his view on life forever. This is just showing how it affects people. Seeing death and killing on a daily basis. The random occurrence of death would truly disturb any person. Seeing the death of friends and mangled bodies of South Vietnamese villagers left by Vietcong guerillas, the soldiers were left with the vivid visions of the bodies.
I chose to compare these two films after noticing Apocalypse Now on our suggestion list. I had heard of Platoon but had never had the opportunity to see it. I am interested in films about the Vietnam War because my Grandfather served two tours in Vietnam as a pilot. Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979) and Oliver Stone’s Platoon (1987) both are very powerful films that have their separate and distinct ways of interpreting warfare. These films both present unforgettable visual images of the dark side of war and of the human soul.
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.
In 1961 John F. Kennedy secretly sent in 400 Special Operations Force trained soldiers – known as Green Berets -- taught South Vietnamese how to fight against the communist Guerillas in South Vietnam. On September 2, 1963, in an interview Kennedy said, “We need to send our men as advisors, but they have to win it, the people of Vietnam against the Communist, we’re prepared to continue to assist them.” After Kennedy’s assassination, Lyndon Johns...
...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.
The author, Tim O'Brien, is writing about an experience of a tour in the Vietnam conflict. This short story deals with inner conflicts of some individual soldiers and how they chose to deal with the realities of the Vietnam conflict, each in their own individual way as men, as soldiers.
The war for Chris Taylor begins the same as it does for the characters in most war novels and films. Taylor leaves college and enters the Vietnam War by his own choice. Unlike many of the other soldiers he is with, he is the typical middle-class Caucasian. As with many new soldiers he has an idealized picture o...