Cinematic Portrayals of War

Today in class, we started watching the movie "Born on the Fourth of July," directed by Oliver Stone. I was curious to learn more about Oliver Stone, so I looked him up on IMDB. I found that he directed another movie about the Vietnam war called Platoon. The trailer for this movie gave a very different portrayal of war than the one in "Born on the Fourth of July." In "Platoon," the soldiers are drinking, smoking, dancing with women, and blowing things up with their powerful weapons. The lyrics of the music playing in the background are "people say I'm the life of the party because I tell a joke or two." This trailer is advertising war as an opportunity to be a tough guy and engage in risky activities. In contrast, "Born on the Fourth of July" portrays war as an honorable, "All-American" act of service. It was interesting to see how one director could make two movies about the Vietnam war and show two completely different portrayals of the war in his films.

Both of these films reflect how the US Army tried to convince young teenagers to fight in the Vietnam War. The US Marine Men in "Born on the Fourth of July" are appealing to one steryotype of teenagers; the "all american" boys like Ron who are convinced that fighting in the war is an honorable way to serve the country. The characters in "Platoon" are trying to convince another steryotype of teenage boys, the risk takers, to join the war so they can live on the edge. Oliver Stone's films reveal how the US army was able to convince a variety of people to enlist in the army by appealing to both their character and their desires.