Winner of the 1987 Academy Award for Best Picture, Platoon is one of Oliver Stone’s best written and directed films.
The Story
Platoon follows the journey of Chris Taylor, a white middle class idealistic American who decides to join the Army and fight in Vietnam. As the story begins, it’s apparent that Chris is very green. When he sees the enemy for the first time, he freezes and does not alert the platoon that the enemy is upon them. The result is the death of another newbie soldier.
As the movie unfolds, Chris discovers that the platoon is split into two squads. One group follows Sgt. Barnes while the others adhere to Sgt. Elias. The group that follows Sgt. Barnes resembles hard drinking militaristic patriots while the crowd that trails Sgt. Elias is marijuana smoking multicultural free spirits. Initially, Chris follows Sgt. Barnes and then realizes that he relates more to the Sgt. Elias clan.
Even though the groups are different, they manage to coalesce for the common cause. However, after the platoon discovers the brutal murder of one of its members, Sgt. Barnes leads the platoon in the senseless destruction of a Vietnamese village. And, just as he is about to execute the elder of the village, Sgt. Elias stops him since he believes Barnes is acting immorally. The internal strife that was brewing inside the platoon then erupts into a civil war. Each soldier must now choose sides.
With the animosity running deep between the two sergeants, Barnes assassinates Elias. Chris, realizing that Sgt. Elias was killed by Sgt. Barnes, wants to seek vengeance. As the movie climaxes, the platoon experiences its most intense fight of its campaign. During this fight, Chris finds the bravery and strength to become a great soldier. Yet, as the fight ends, Chris still wants revenge and he kills Sgt. Barnes.
The Meaning
Almost twenty five years after its release, Platoon is even more relevant today than it was in 1986. Platoon is about the cultural war that began in the nineteen sixties which is currently playing out all across America.
Even though it is very obvious that Oliver Stone relates to and empathizes with the cultural left viewpoint portrayed by the Sgt. Elias character, he does an excellent job of accurately demonstrating the Red and Blue state mentality that currently defines the U.S. cultural war. With an idealistic belief in progressive attitudes toward racial equality and multiculturalism, the Blue state thought process mirrors the attitudes of Sgt. Elias. Wanting to revert back to time when America dominated the world with militaristic patriotism, suits the Red State mindset portrayed by Sgt. Barnes.
Since the Vietnam War was a civil war between North and South Vietnam, it is a perfect backdrop to tell the story of a divided nation fighting its own cultural war.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Ordinary People
Winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1980, Ordinary People almost perfectly brought Judith Guest’s 1976 novel of the same name to life.
The Story
Ordinary People is a story of the Jarrett’s, an upper middle class family living in the suburbs of Chicago. The story begins with Conrad, the youngest son, reentering high school after a stint in a psychiatric hospital because he tried to commit suicide. We soon discover that Conrad and his older brother, Buck, were in a boating accident and only Conrad survived. Still dealing with the tragedy after getting out of the hospital, Conrad contacts a psychiatrist to help him. The mother and father try to bring normalcy to the family, yet both are obviously suffering tremendous mental anguish. As Conrad is spending more time with the psychiatrist, he tries to reach out to both parents. However, his mother remains cold and stoic. His father finally seeks help from the psychiatrist and tries to convince his wife to come as well. She declines and the couple’s relationship starts to dissolve. The story climaxes with Conrad finding out that one of his friends from the hospital committed suicide. Considering suicide himself, Conrad rushes to the psychiatrist to help him. As he meets with the psychiatrist, Conrad discovers that he blames himself for his brother’s death and it has been the crux of his pain all along. At the same time, the parents separate. The movie ends with the father and son able to grieve together for the pain they had held inside for so long.
The Meaning
This is a story about the power of psychology to heal mental illness. One of the striking and purposely omitted elements of the story is the lack of religion to help the family through their tragedy. It is apparent that the family is culturally Christian since they celebrate Christmas. However, the only reference to God in the movie is slang as in “Oh my God.” The writer is definitely showing how spirituality is in decline and to resolve one’s mental issues, people must embrace the healing powers of psychology. While the mother never embraces psychology, the father and son do and they are saved. The mother then becomes a tragic figure who cannot resolve her pain.
Whether you believe in psychology or not, since Judith Guest wrote her book and Robert Redford directed this movie, psychology has become much more accepted in American society. With the book being a mainstay for years in high school English classes and the movie attaining critical acclaim, it could be argued that this is the most powerful story ever to sell the benefits of psychology to resolve mental health issues.
The Story
Ordinary People is a story of the Jarrett’s, an upper middle class family living in the suburbs of Chicago. The story begins with Conrad, the youngest son, reentering high school after a stint in a psychiatric hospital because he tried to commit suicide. We soon discover that Conrad and his older brother, Buck, were in a boating accident and only Conrad survived. Still dealing with the tragedy after getting out of the hospital, Conrad contacts a psychiatrist to help him. The mother and father try to bring normalcy to the family, yet both are obviously suffering tremendous mental anguish. As Conrad is spending more time with the psychiatrist, he tries to reach out to both parents. However, his mother remains cold and stoic. His father finally seeks help from the psychiatrist and tries to convince his wife to come as well. She declines and the couple’s relationship starts to dissolve. The story climaxes with Conrad finding out that one of his friends from the hospital committed suicide. Considering suicide himself, Conrad rushes to the psychiatrist to help him. As he meets with the psychiatrist, Conrad discovers that he blames himself for his brother’s death and it has been the crux of his pain all along. At the same time, the parents separate. The movie ends with the father and son able to grieve together for the pain they had held inside for so long.
The Meaning
This is a story about the power of psychology to heal mental illness. One of the striking and purposely omitted elements of the story is the lack of religion to help the family through their tragedy. It is apparent that the family is culturally Christian since they celebrate Christmas. However, the only reference to God in the movie is slang as in “Oh my God.” The writer is definitely showing how spirituality is in decline and to resolve one’s mental issues, people must embrace the healing powers of psychology. While the mother never embraces psychology, the father and son do and they are saved. The mother then becomes a tragic figure who cannot resolve her pain.
Whether you believe in psychology or not, since Judith Guest wrote her book and Robert Redford directed this movie, psychology has become much more accepted in American society. With the book being a mainstay for years in high school English classes and the movie attaining critical acclaim, it could be argued that this is the most powerful story ever to sell the benefits of psychology to resolve mental health issues.
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