Religious Aspects of the Vietnam War in Oliver Stone's Film Platoon Essay

The Unholy CrusadeReligion is a canopy under which American culture andsociety thrives. Its extension reaches the boundaries ofsuch cultural mainstreams as movies, television, andmusic. Oliver Stone's 1986 war film Platoon is an exampleof the religious subtleties and overtones that appear invarious American genres. Stone not only uses religiousthemes to portray the Vietnam War, but manipulates the warto show the decadence of American society. Throughout history, man has traveled the world, andconquered nations, in order to force one religion onanother. America was founded by Spain's attempt to spreadChristianity to the new world. Although Spain was themost powerful nation at the time, their attempt to spreadChristianity on less civilized people came to a fatal enddue to the explorers' detrimental actions. The moviePlatoon reenacts this theme in a modern true life event.After World War II, America demonstrated itself to bearguably the most powerful nation. When communismthreatened Vietnam, America acted to defend its democraticbelief by sending troops over to thwart the communistattempts. Stone uses the war to portray the failedattempt due to the exploits of the American soldiers. Inone scene, Barnes (Tom Berenger) and Bunny (Kevin Dillon),mercilessly kill several innocent villagers. Later in thesame scene, some soldiers are caught raping a villagewoman. The actions taken by the soldiers are Stone'scomparison to the Spanish explorers' actions, whichfinally led to both nation's failed expeditions. To add depth to his religious allegories, Stone notonly uses historical references, but opens it to Biblicalcontexts as well. According to the Bible, the garden ofEden is a paradise, often pictured in a jungle-likeatmosphere. In Platoon, Stone uses the jungles of Vietnamto represent the mystic garden of Eden. Stone'sunderlying intent is to parallel the fall of man withAmerican destruction in the Vietnamese jungle. When Adamand Eve committed man's first sin, Eden no longer held thesanctum of holiness, thus began the fall of man. LikeAdam and Eve, America set itself on a stage for the worldto see, and lost credibility due to their malevolentactions. Unlike the previous wars...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Character Analysis of Basil Hallward in The Picture of Dorian Gray, a Novel by Oscar Wilde Essay

The main character in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian, is a man too easily influenced by his surroundings. He is quoted as saying, Basil Hallward is what I think I am Lord Henry is what the world thinks me Dorian is what I would like to bein other ages, perhaps (Wilde). This comparison falls in line with the moral of the story because Dorian is stuck with eternal youth and beauty even though he has a wicked soul. This causes different views of him by people who observe his daily life. Dorian is a sponge throughout the novel that absorbs everything and allows it to shape his personality, morals, and actions. Dorian Gray takes influence from Lord Henry, Basil Hallward, and the culture of society during which the novel was written. Lord Henry is the epitome of a wealthy, hedonistic gentleman seeking only pleasure, with little regard to cost or consequence. Lord Henry Wotton outwardly propounds hedonism, but it is his extreme egotism that drives him to manipulate both Basil Hallward a
Read more

Religious Symbolism in The Blessed Damozel, a Poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti Essay

Dante Gabriel Rossettis poem The Blessed Damozel is full of religious symbolism. There is talk of saints, and the poem itself takes place in heaven. But underneath the religious symbolism is a deep sensuality, that makes one wonder if the white rose of Marys gift referred to in line nine is the gift of Mary the Virgin, or the somewhat less virginal Mary Magdalene. While the Damozel is in heaven, her appearance in heaven, her behaviors in life, and what happens when she and her lover are reunited suggest some less than virginal dealings, yet the damozel is blessed and resides in heaven. Rossetti was the child of liberals kicked out of Italy a heavily catholic country for their extreme political views. While Rossetti himself was not political, he may have espoused similar views regarding politics and religion as his parents. In the poem The Blessed Damozel, Rossetti was given the chance to essentially create his own heaven. Most everything he wrote seems to show that Rossetti espoused
Read more

An Analysis of the Character of Chichikov in the Poem, Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol Essay

Dead Souls takes place in the Russia of the late 1800s, where, unlike in America, one must be born into a prosperous family in order to have opportunities. The main character, Chichikov, is clever enough to develop a scheme in which he can rise from being a petty clerk to a respected landowner. In order to do this, Chichikov moves into a new town, pretending to already be a landowner, and begins a quest to buy the names of dead serfs who have not yet been officially reported dead. Each person that Chichkov presents this offer to has a different reaction, starting with the shy and introverted Manilov. Though he does not understand Chichikov's need for the names of these dead serfs, Manilov is a character that is so desperate for company that it does not take any effort to trick him into selling his dead souls cheaply. However, as Chichikov continues his journey, he starts to deal with more clever landowners who become suspicious of his scheme. Chichikov finds that the townsmen know
Read more