How much sympathy did you feel for the US soldiers?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Platoon
jenn4394 — 9 years ago(January 29, 2017 12:05 PM)
Sorry if my English is not perfect! I am not an American, so I believe I have a clear unbiased view of this war. From the beginning to the end of the film I was unable to feel much sympathy for the soldiers. America had no business attacking Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. These young men had no place there. I think this is one of the points made by the film.
On the other hand I understood where these men came from. Well, there were the ones like Bunny, that had serious mental issues and just needed an excuse to be violent. But then most of them were poor, uneducated, lower-class kids, that were brainwashed or just needed a job and some status in their circles.
The only character I really liked was Elias, but when I saw him running in the jungle killing Vietnamese like crazy I felt disgusted. I mean, how would you all feel if a big, rich nation attacked your country and suddenly your village was on fire and your family killed and raped? What did you expect them to do? Of course they would fight back.
If every capable young man was obliged to go to war it would be different. But I can't feel any sympathy for men who CHOSE to travel across the world and participate in an invasive war, risking their lives for the money and power of wealthier people, thus becoming puppets.
I would like to know how Americans and non-Americans feel about all this.