Platoon is one of my all-time favorite movies because it depicts the Vietnam War and the effects it had on the soldiers. I think that quote is saying that all the internal conflicts within our military and our country is what really lost that war for us. It's hard enough to fight two countries in general, but it's even harder when one of those countries is your own. I believe that a country should support government decision because in all reality, there's no changing it, and if you don't support it, stay quiet about it.

Also, I liked how the movie gave us and in-depth look at the internal conflicts that the soldiers themselves had. Once you go through something like that, there's no forgetting it, there's no escaping it. That is why so many soldiers turned to the bottle when they got home. It was cheaper and less time consuming than counseling, and you usually had other guys that were in the military around you.


I think that was Charlie Sheen meant by the "possession of the soul" was that they were in the fight of Charlie's lively hood and everything that he once believe in. They wanted to change him and make him a soldier, they both just had different views on what a soldier was and how they should act.


It's no lie that war can make people crazy. Two people in this movie were killed by non-accidental friendly fire due to the stresses that were put on their mind and body. They murdered and raped a whole village because that was their way of relieving their stress and anxiety. Is that okay? No, but they didn't think that they had anywhere else to turn and probably didn't think that what they were doing was wrong. Some soldiers drank, some smoked pot, but they would do anything just to feel better, like they were normal again. Some even faked injuries just to catch a break from the craziness that surrounded them.


I think that Charlie feels like he developed from both Elias and Barnes. He picked up two different views on war from both of them. Which one was right? There is no telling. Maybe they were both right in different ways, maybe they were both wrong. Either way, they both affected their platoon with both of their views and tactics. Barnes was tough and hard on the soldiers, Elias was more mellow and had compassion for his soldiers because he knew what they were dealing with. Whether that movie was accurate or not, it was very good and I've learned quite about from it. I think the way it was written was ingenious and I would like to see what an actual Vietnam vet has to say about it and the way that it was filmed. I wonder if they find those movies accurate and happy that they are around, or if they find them offensive and oppressing. I'm sure some writers got most of their ideas from actual vets, at least I hope they did anyway. I think our Vietnam vets at least deserve that.