Rodrigo Jose Samodal
LDS 102
Charles Powell
March 19, 2016
Platoon
In times of war, there is always a terrible price to pay. Losing lives, losing sanity, and losing humanity. The Vietnam War is a prime example of what it war time can do to soldiers. The film “Platoon” captures what life was like for soldiers deployed into the Vietnam War. It portrays the different kinds of personalities in leadership in the military.
The plot of the film follows Chris Taylor, a college dropout who enthusiastically volunteered to fight in Vietnam. He is assigned to Bravo Company of the 25th infantry division. He is placed under command of Staff Sergeant Barnes and also befriends Sergeant Elias. Both soldiers loyal to the cause of the war, but differ greatly in personality. His Platoon commander, Lieutenant Wolfe, also shows a different personality and perspective as well.
Staff Sergeant Barnes is a hardened and experienced veteran of the Vietnam War. He is hard-headed, aggressive, bold, and sometimes cruel. His methods of handling situations are often harsh, and he is often seen fighting with his fellow comrades at times. Sergeant Elias is much more reserved in his actions and is never too rash. He seems to have more sanity and self-control than Barnes. Lieutenant Wolfe, on the other hand, seems to be quite reluctant and hesitant with decisions and actions. He also does not show very prominent leadership qualities and is not very bold.
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. It was at this point the Sergeant Elias arrives, furious with Barnes. Elias condemns Barnes’ actions and a fight breaks out between the two. The fight eventually is broken up by the very timid Platoon commander, Lieutenant Wolfe, who finally steps in and then orders the village to be burned to the ground.
Barnes’ actions could possibly have him court marshalled and prosecuted. Knowing that Elias would testify against him for an illegal killing of an innocent civilian, Barnes shoots Elias after running into him in the foliage, then reporting that he was killed in action. However after seeing Elias alive and running from the NVA, Taylor suspects that it was Barnes that tried to kill Elias. He later attempts to convince the others of the truth, which causes Barnes to mock them and a fight breaks out between Taylor and Barnes, in which Barnes cuts Taylor. Later on, after another NVA raid, Taylor encounters Barnes, obviously driven to the point of insanity, who tries to kill Taylor, until an airstrike knocks them both unconscious. Taylor sees Barnes wounded, and instead of helping him, he kills him.
Sergeant Barnes and Sergeant Elias both were effective leaders in the field of duty. They wanted to get their job done and get home safe and protect their platoon. But their methods and personalities are very different. Elias is reserved and has a more composed personality while Barnes is aggressive. They each handle situations differently. Lieutenant Wolfe is also a different leader. He, in my personality, is not fit as a platoon leader as he is too reluctant and hesitant to make decisions when needed. All of these officers were in the same situation and had the same job to do, but each were unique and different. The military needs this diversity in personalities in leadership qualities.
Citation
Platoon. Dir. Oliver Stone. Prod. Arnold Kopelson. By Oliver Stone. Perf. Tom Berenger, Wilem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen. 1986. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. <http://digitalcampus.swank.com/stonybrook/sdc/fwatch.aspx?v=25bada9d4f2a40dfb3a191325b0f6e1a>.