With Barnes clearly aware that he could potentially be court-martialed, he devises a plan that will prevent Elias from making an official statement. Barnes. Dale Dye. His mythic persona, superiority in rank, experience, and hard-line leadership commands respect and influences the platoon to follow his example and orders. . Live up to what Grandpa did in the First War and Dad the Second. ELIAS: we been kicking other peoples asses so long I guess its time we got our own kicked. Elias squad out for an all night ambush resulting in Gardners death and Chris injuries. When Barnes suspects the villagers of being Viet Cong sympathizers, Barnes viciously shoots and kills the wife of the village chief, and threatens to shoot the chiefs young daughter as a means of coercing information out of the chief about the Viet Cong. What's new. Not one(Stone, p. 88). When he is not sitting in front of a laptop, Todd enjoys soaking up everything the Jersey Shore has to offer with his wife, two sons and American Foxhound, Wally. Understanding the volatile relationship between Sgt. Warren (WIA): Wounded behind Learner, seen being choppered out after church battle. Taylor picked up the grenade, but once one of the other soldiers made their way to him, he probably felt it was better to live and get shipped home to be with the ones he loved. Maybe I can see something I dont yet see, or learn something I dont yet know (Stone, p.14) And the next son of a bitch I catch coppin Z in the bush, Im personally going to take an interest in seein suffer. The realm of conflict between Chris and Sergeant Barnes is in their fixed attitudes. All the men in the platoon, including Chris, are functioning on raw emotions and follow Sgt. There are a number of examples illustrating how Chris prefers to deal with situations externally, and looks for physical solutions to his problems. The sergeants actions momentarily shock the entire platoon, but then seem to inspire the platoon to want to kill all the villagers. Three or four squads make up a platoon, which has 20 to 50 soldiers and is commanded by a lieutenant. . Despite US military opposition and the rumblings of revolution in the Philippines, Stone was able to film his movie, and the jungle provided the perfect backdrop from Elias mad dash from the North Vietnamese troops who were pursuing him. Barnes, a combat-loving burnout (Tom Berenger), is the informal leader of the lifers, and Sgt. | How many days you short? Sgt. He invests in the questionable notion that the war will instill within him a great sense of pride. By reprimanding the platoon on the all night ambush, Barnes feels he will be able to get his men to perform better on their missions; By denouncing and challenging Lt. Wolfes authority, Barnes will secure more control over the platoon; The effect of killing Elias will prevent Barnes from having to deal with any crusaders in his platoon. CHRIS: Yever get caught in a mistake King and you just cant get out of it? Sergeant.Pvt Tubbs (KIA): Killed by NVA soldier, in the church battle, we don't see this on screen. As a result, the platoon becomes cloaked in civil war. The meetings closed. Hes not one to sit around and consider, contemplate, or ponder situations. (to Doc) Doc, tagem and bagem. In the field, the new recruits struggle to adjust to platoon life. CRAWFORD: You volunteered for this shit, man? And it has shown him the level down to which he too can stoop, the level of cold-blooded, vengeful murder. Hes escaped death so many times he seems to have passed beyond humanity. (NEWSWEEK, 1/5/87, p. 57, David Ansen with Peter McAlevey). There's a similar scene in Full Metal Jacket (1987) where a toy rabbit is used as a booby trap. Tonight. Immediately experiencing platoon life in Vietnam abruptly begins to change the naive, idyllic notions Chris, a volunteer, has about war. Elias; In the films climatic battle, instead of relying on the safety of his foxhole, Chris leaves to engage the enemy in hand to hand combat; Ultimately, he ends up murdering Sgt. I guess having always been sheltered and special, I just want to be anonymous. Platoon -The 1986 Drama movie featuring Charlie Sheen and Willem Dafoe at the award winning 80s Movies Rewind. So he stabbed himself in order to be taken off duty long enough to be sent home. The FAQ items below may give away important plot points. Chris focuses on his intuition that enlisting in the Vietnam War will provide him with what he needs to feel he is a real man. How many days you short? Elias Elias and Barnes have the same title but couldn't be more different. I guess having always been sheltered and special, I just want to be anonymous. Barnes seems to think he owns an exclusive insight to death. Specialist 4th Class.Pvt Manny (KIA): Abducted by NVA and found strung up with throat slit.Church AmbushPvt Lerner (WIA): Wounded while walking point (the front of the line while the platoon was patrolling the forest), seen stretchered after church battle. Barnes eyes: Barnes. Chris contributes to the carnage by firing his rifle at the feet of a defenseless villager. This frustration is derived from past events the platoon has recently suffered, such as the loss of two men in the all night ambush, the loss of two additional men in a booby trapped Viet Cong bunker, and the abduction of another platoon member who is found strapped to a tree, dead and mutilated. After Ibarra saves his life from a vicious crocodile, Elas swears to protect the young man from his enemies, which are legion. But in actuality, he doesnt know for sure that Sgt. Chris memory of Barnes evil deeds and the memory of Elias and what he stood for, enable him to finally shoot Barnes. Much of this is illustrated in his letters to his grandmother. Barnes finds Elias alone and shoots him, then returns and tells Chris that Elias was killed by the enemy. You telling me how much you admired that bastard. | If theres one thing these men know, its that anyone can die at any time, and death has no loyalties. However, what makes thefinal narration especially impactfulis that Taylorsuggests he'll figuratively remain on the battlefield for the rest of his days, and imagines Eliasdoing the same while battling Barnes for the possession ofhis [Taylor's] soul. KING: Way out of anything, man. Written and directed by Oliver Stone. Chris gets his revenge and kills Sgt. Barnes blatant disregard for ethics of war and his dysfunctional code of morals are like a nagging toothache on Chris psyche: You dont sleep on no fucking ambush! Platoon, principal subdivision of a military company . Platoon's demolition expert. People like Elias get wasted and people like Barnes just go on making up rules any way they want and what do we do, we just sit around in the middle and suck on it! The iconic imageappeared on the movies poster and the box of the video tape release. Edit, Likely because it is meant to represent a helmet from a fallen soldier on the battlefield. Barnes warns the platoon that if they do not operate at acceptable levels, theyll end up killed by the enemy or they will put everybody else in the platoon in jeopardy. ELIAS: Hey ONeill why dont you cool it, you dont have to be a prick everyday of your life you know. Stone positions his hero directly over the crawling and severely-injured staff sergeant, and makes the audience wonder if Taylor will actually shoot Barnes in the back. Chris beliefs are derived from the tense, volatile relationship between Elias and Barnes, and the horrible scene where Elias runs from the jungle only to get killed by the enemy soldiers pursuing him. By the end of the film, Chris moral integrity has deteriorated to the point where he is able to kill Sgt. Barnes sitting down, lost in a thought. Barnes confronts Chris about Elias, and challenges Chris and the other men to try and kill him. What's with the booby trap that kills Sal and Sanderson? Edit, Rhah and O'Neill are the only prominent characters left, as neither got so much of a scratch in the final battle. Barnes. Edit, Night AmbushPvt Tex (WIA): Has hand blown off by Sgt. It was totally practical and then once we had that image and once that sequence was very strong, I think it became a nice emblematic and iconic image for the film.. Alternatives to LiveJournal for students. This is a failure story because the Viet Cong ultimately prove themselves more effective in the war than the US military. The remaining platoon soldiers were being hauled out by helicopter from the ambush area. This is definitely a war America is not winning. Lt. Wolfe hasnt said a word, looking as Elias departs, without a word. Elias warns Barnes that he shouldnt send the new men in the platoon out on an all night ambush because they would most likely engage the enemy, and their inexperience would make them inadequate for the patrol. Tonight. Barnes approaches what he sees as the problem of inadequacies, by taking the direction of letting everyone know what is acceptable. He was cruel and willing to kill those he was tasked with protecting. Is there a Nazi flag on the American tank? Edit, Audie Leon Murphy was the most "decorated" (was awarded the most service medals) soldier that served during World War II. Elias, a free spirit (Willem Dafoe), leads the latter group. For as intense as Elias death scene was in Platoon, it took relatively few takes; it only took three or four tries for Dafoe and Stone to capture it. Directed by Oliver Stone, Platoon ends with violence, betrayal, and retribution within a United States Army infantry unit. They seek direction and guidance for the way they need to function in order to stay alive in Vietnam. They have to be like Barnes or be like Elias or be loners, but there are definitely many aspects of their lives they have to give up and a way they must be in order to survive in the war. For instance, Chris is appalled when Barnes shoots a village woman in the head and then threatens to shoot a young village girl unless the villagers give him the information he wants; Chris tries to convince some of the other men that Barnes killed Elias, and that they need to kill Barnes who is becoming an evil, immoral, out-of-control liability to the platoon. The extremely inhumane and brutal war crimes Sgt. Noting Barnes' anxious manner, Taylor realizes that he was responsible. They all look at each other. His wisdom in understanding the unfair pattern established by society and the government to favor him, while subjecting the less fortunate to the lions share of military duty bothers Chris and provokes him to enlist in the service. Most of the platoon, including Wolfe and most of Barnes' followers, are killed in the ensuing battle. In Platoon, the narrative constant is always chaos. He wants to do for his country what his father did in World War II, and what his grandfather did in World War I. And the next son of a bitch I catch coppin Z in the bush, Im personally going to take an interest in seein suffer. For example, if Lt. Wolfe had given the right coordinates for the air strike, it would have besieged the enemy instead of his own men; Many in the platoon feel that adequate leadership and support would instill the stamina and tolerance necessary to ultimately defeat the elusive Viet Cong. Promoted to 1st Squad's Sergeant at end of film.Pvt Huffmeister (Survives): Seen standing behind O'Neil when he is given command of the platoon. Platoon opens up with a shot of body bags organized in preparation to make their final journey home to America. Sgt. Progress for the platoon continues in a devastating downward spiral. Even though he didnt see Barnes actually shoot Elias, or has any physical proof of the crime, Chris still knows Barnes murdered Elias. You fuck up in a fire fight and I goddamn guarantee you a trip out of the bush, in a body bag! Barnes impact on Chris eventually dehumanizes him to the point where he is capable of killing his commanding officer, fully conscious that he is committing the same type of immoral act that Sgt. Barnes shoots a villager he sees running away in the back when they approach the villagea case of shoot first ask questions later. (Stone p. 21) Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey-based politics, entertainment and history writer. He doesn't kill any civilians during the raid on Remember what it looks like. When the platoon finds a small Vietnamese village, Barnes was seen harassing the villagers, and ultimately, out of anger and cold blood, murders the village chief's wife and holds his daughter at gunpoint. He was cruel and willing to kill those he was tasked with protecting. By doing so, Barnes is able to call their bluff, and deal with this conflict directly and on his terms. 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