Platoon

Watched this movie yesterday, thought it was really good, pretty intense and in your face. Oliver Stone is a quality director, who makes insightful and gritty films, and isn't afraid to confront controversial issues. The main thing about this movie that struck me, besides its obvious graphic nature and disturbing scenes, was the psychological aspect of the vietnam war that it displayed. The protagonist that entered the war an innocent young man, who leaves as a hardened, jaded and damaged person. In the end the United States were no longer fighting the
Vietcong, communist enemy, they were fighting themselves and the belief in their own ideals. When you enter a war, what are you personally fighting for? Everyone values their own life more than a mentality which is placed upon them by the expectations of their fellow patriotic citizens and the powers that be. All that you end up fighting for is your own survival and the only thing you fight against are your own demons. Deep in the jungle you come face to face with the devil, and your own true reckoning. This was the first war in history where there was no direct enemy, and because of the guerilla aspect it was very sinister. For the average American after even a few weeks in 'nam your initial reason for being there would be washed away, as you learn you are not really fighting for your own country, or freedom or livelihood but fighting to take away somebody else's. The power struggle amongst your own army which ensues further alienates you from your
cause, when you realise that people can do whatever they want without the fear of consequence and it is just every man for himself, except that everybody has the capability to kill each other in an instant. This movie made me question my own belief in my substance, and how quickly I would be broken in the Vietnam situation. Your life can never be the same, and you only ever live in a shadow of what happened there, like some distant dream or far off reality. The best movies are ones which can make you think like this, make you question yourself, the life you take for granted and your beliefs. Nobody is strong enough to fend off the demons which you have to confront in your life, the only thing that is different about going to war is that you come face to face with them right away, they are staring you in the face, tempting you to do the inevitable, just to take that extra step forward.