Assassinations of both Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, violent clashes at the Democratic Party Convention in Chicago, the Manson Murders, and of course mounting casualties in Vietnam. Consequently, news of the massacre reinforced the belief held by some that Americans were trapped in an irrationally rising tide of violence which shed doubt on the goodness of American character. As the war was increasingly governed by bureaucrats back home, what transposed on the battlefield could be a complete different story. While many battalions fought efficiently, others were afflicted with infighting. As a result the violence was not just limited to the VC army and Vietnamese civilians. Warring factions between officers and soldiers was not uncommon. Battles were also being fought between the “enemy within” as many soldiers would contend. Platoon does a remarkable job at showcasing the “enemy within”. These themes are exemplified throughout the film, with inept sergeants who have little control over their men, racial tensions, different philosophies on winning the war, low morale, Chris Taylor’s disillusionment with the soldiers and country itself, Barnes quest for power, Elias’s crusade to take care of his men and see them through the war, and finally the most pervasive being fragging. The killing or wounding of one of your
Assassinations of both Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, violent clashes at the Democratic Party Convention in Chicago, the Manson Murders, and of course mounting casualties in Vietnam. Consequently, news of the massacre reinforced the belief held by some that Americans were trapped in an irrationally rising tide of violence which shed doubt on the goodness of American character. As the war was increasingly governed by bureaucrats back home, what transposed on the battlefield could be a complete different story. While many battalions fought efficiently, others were afflicted with infighting. As a result the violence was not just limited to the VC army and Vietnamese civilians. Warring factions between officers and soldiers was not uncommon. Battles were also being fought between the “enemy within” as many soldiers would contend. Platoon does a remarkable job at showcasing the “enemy within”. These themes are exemplified throughout the film, with inept sergeants who have little control over their men, racial tensions, different philosophies on winning the war, low morale, Chris Taylor’s disillusionment with the soldiers and country itself, Barnes quest for power, Elias’s crusade to take care of his men and see them through the war, and finally the most pervasive being fragging. The killing or wounding of one of your