Oliver Stone’s “Platoon” does an excellent job of portraying the harsh realities of being a soldier in the Vietnam War. Many of the soldiers didn’t want to go and fight in the first place, so they were already not in a good headspace. Then, once they arrived they had horrible conditions and were essentially harassed and in part dehumanized to endure things that humans should never have to endure. The climate and terrain in Vietnam was something that was incredibly hard to replicate and prepare for. Something that stuck out to me was the fact that the new soldiers that arrived were not properly trained. They were thrown right into the fire often with no instructions. To me, this is completely unfair. Many people didn’t want to be there, but if soldiers had more guidance or help things might have been at least a little better.
Another thing that stuck out to me was the lack of help and response from the government. It is so disheartening to me that Americans can be so against something but have little to no power in what actually ultimately happens. The incredible loss and pain shown in the film is only a small testament as to what these poor soldiers had to see and endure everyday at war. I am upset that the government firstly forced so many people to go fight, but then not give them the resources they deserved to recover from the trauma of war. Overall, this film did a great job of portraying the unimaginable trauma of war and I am deeply saddened that the government and America as a whole did not provide adequate support and resources for the soldiers after all they had to go through.
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