down and sees all of the dead bodies and bomb craters from the firefight he just survived. Stone uses Chris’s narration to explain the conflict that Chris has briefly overcame, but will always have: “We did not fight the enemy. We fought ourselves, and the enemy was in us. The war is over for me now but it will always be there the rest of my days. As I’m sure Elias will be, fighting with Barnes for what Rhah called possession of my soul. There have been times since I’ve felt like a child born from these two fathers.” (Stone) Chris finishes up his narration by saying, “we must find goodness and meaning to this life.”, as the screen fades to white. In Platoon, Oliver Stone depicts the duality of man. Every man is filled with good and evil. Platoon is not a movie about the good guys versus the bad guys. In platoon, everyone has the power to be the good guy or the bad guy. The movie depicts the inner conflict of one man versus himself, not an outside influence. Outside influences certainly play a role, but making the right decision ultimately comes down to the individual.
Work Cited Stone, Oliver, dir. Platoon. Perf. Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, and Tom Berenger. 1986. Film.