Oliver Stone Platoon Film Analysis

Oliver Stone’s Platoon presents a perspective of what it was like to be an infantry soldier in the Vietnam War during 1967-1968. The narration by Chris Taylor aids in giving an introspective account of what the warfare felt like while his brothers in arms, make it explicit through their dialog and actions. The violence that permeates the film centers around fear, bloodlust, and retribution portraying the Vietnam War like Hell on Earth. However, one of the centers of focus the film follows are the interactions between the United States infantry and the Vietnamese soldiers and civilians. These interactions take place at large through the combat scenes and also during the company’s investigation of a nearby village. While the antiwar agenda to the film is felt from the opening of the film, the interactions between the Army and the Vietnamese solidify the agenda through the use of violence.

This consists of one member keeping watch while the others are able to rest. After Taylor’s turn, Junior is supposed to keep watch but falls asleep shortly into his shift. When Taylor awakes, we see the first instance of the Vietnamese entering into his field of view. With the aid of excellent cinematography, we see the silhouette of a soldier devoid of any indication of what his race or faction is. His helmet has branches attached for camouflage once the soldier enters the frame more, which is a common indication of the Vietnamese army as seen later in the film. Taylor’s heart begins to beat into the score of the music forcing panic into his face. Finally a whole set of Vietnamese troops follow and the two forces start a fire-fight which perpetuates the scene into a state of chaos. The result of the battle leaves Gardner dead, Tex hurt in friendly-fire, and Taylor narrowly avoiding a near fatal