Tues 11/24- "Platoon" (1986) directed by Oliver Stone: Please read the entire blog post carefully before composing your responses.

11/20/2015

Just as Chris and the platoon are divided between Elias and Barnes, viewers also feel somewhat divided. You feel compelled to side with Elias because he is jaded and righteous and seems to care about his men, but you can't help but admire Barnes' hardiness, his determination to win the war, and ability to survive. After our class discussion about allegory, the Christ figure and Machiavelli, as well as the inability of humans to be purely good or evil, you understand that this is a decision that is not as easy as one might hope.

Imagine that you are a soldier in this platoon. Who do you follow, Sgt. Barnes or Sgt. Elias? Take into consideration all factors: survival, morality, reality of the war environment, psychological effects of the war, constant extreme stress, and any other factors that would affect your decision. Explain your decision in a thoughtful and well supported blog entry.

Primary Blog Entry Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the assigned "pen name" given to you in class. Please complete this in the first 20 minutes of class.

Secondary Blog Entry Expectations (read everyone's first responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the assigned "pen name" given to you in class. Please complete this in the last 25 minutes of class.

PLEASE ADD WORD COUNT AT END OF EACH BLOG ENTRY!

You have ample time to complete these three entries in one period. If you do not, you may complete it as homework, but the blog post will be closed at the end of the day.

Audie Murphy

11/24/2015 07:50:12 am

The person I would follow would for sure be Elias. In the movie, when Elias first got shot by Barnes I teared up despising the director for letting Elias die such a shameful and unknown death. Later, however I found out that Elias didn’t die from Barnes’ bullets, but in a heroic way in front of his whole platoon. That really brought tears to my eyes to see such a good man die for no good reason. However, when Barnes died I felt nothing, not even a pinch of sadness. Barnes, to me was an amazing fighter, but so was Elias. I would never follow a man like Barnes though. I look at Barnes with disgust but I look at Elias with Admiration. There’s not much else to say, besides the fact that Elias was a great sergeant AND a great person. What more could a soldier ask for in their leader?

Matt Alxelson

11/24/2015 07:58:19 am

I believe everything you said was true. Barnes was a good fighter but he used in a bad way. Elias used his fighting skills in a good way. They way Elias killed the women he had know right of killing her. I know he did for revenge but your not supposed to kill other people. In the military law you can go to jail for it and is against the rules. I also did not like the way Sgt. Barnes was killed an even though Barnes bullets didn’t kill he still put up a fight to get to safety.

11/24/2015 08:12:12 am

I am going to add more to my original response because it was too short. I just wanted to add that Barnes was not a completely bad person, he did in fact kill innocent people but in his eyes he didn't think that was a bad thing. He thought that it was necessary to win the war. Now that I think about it, he didn't deserve to die either, he just needed to go home and clear his mind so he can think straight the next time he were to go to war

Jesse Brown

11/24/2015 08:13:10 am

I also agree with what you said because I also feel that Sgt. Elias is a good person and I would also follow him. When Sgt. Elias died I was also sad about it but when Sgt. Barnes died I also felt no pain for him because he was a bad person anyways. I feel like Sgt. Elias didn’t deserve to die because he cared about his men and all he wanted to do was protect them. If Sgt. Elias was still alive he would protect his men to the end and he would probably still have won the war.

Abner Doubleday

11/24/2015 08:26:16 pm

I believe you, I would follow Elias as well. I do agree that Elias died a shameful way it was unbelievable. I really didn’t want him to die the way he did I wanted him to live, to win the war. I do know Elias did wrongs in his life when he killed the woman he shouldn’t have done that but he had to. Sgt. Barnes also was killed, he killed people but to him he think it was the right thing to do to win the war even though it was really wrong.

Matt Axelson

11/24/2015 07:50:25 am

I would choose to follow Sgt. Elias because he been through war already and know how to survive it. Also he is more of a Jesus figure in this movie he always choses to do the right thing. As in Sgt. Barnes he wanted to do anything to win the war, he shot Elias and went back field and act like he didn’t do it. Elias wanted to save as many people as possible he wanted all his men to be safe. We compared him to Mufasa from the Lion King because they had the same mission to help and save as mean lions/ people as possible. I also would lean towards Elias because you can talk to him about anything, and I would have more confidence in him. I would have more confidence in him because he would lead us to more success. I believe that Sgt. Barnes would lead us into much danger and he won’t care if dies or the whole army dies. The thing is about Barnes was he believed in what he was doing and everything he said or was doing was right. The call Elias a “Water Walker” because he always wanted to do the right thing and what’s right for the team, and also try to lead the too success.

11/24/2015 07:58:30 am

I agree with you because Elias IS a much better leader, but I would have to say that Barnes knows a little more about war than Elias. He's been there longer and he sure knows how to win a war. Elias, as you said is a much better leader, though because honestly, when it comes to war it's more important to save lives than to win the war. Barnes didn't really care about the lives of his men, or in fact any other men/women/children. He cared about winning and that's not a leader like quality

louis zamperini

11/24/2015 09:11:13 pm

I would like to comment about your decision to follow Sgt. Elias. I do agree with you because Sgt. Elias is a good man with good heart and he does the right thing. As a leader as he is he rules, guides or inspires others and he was all of that because Chris Taylor considered him as a mentor and was very affected when he heard he was killed. He knew right there that Barnes had something to do with his death and at the end of the movie; he made justice for Elias by shooting him the same way he did to him. I think the fact that he was trying to get everyone and he out of the war alive, just shows he has good survival skills. So I agree with your decision to follow Elias because he was a real soldier and he died proud. Word count 151.

Marcus Lutrell

11/24/2015 07:52:07 am

If I were a soldier in this platoon I would follow Elias because he has a caring and nurturing feel to him. I appreciate Elias’s morality for the innocent civilians of Vietnam. I also, think the fact he’s just trying to get out of this war alive, just shows he has good survival skills. The way he portrays himself as a soldier is fascinating to watch. He moves almost animal like through the woods like he is one with nature and he leads his crew that way. During the movie I noticed anyone in Elias’s crew was the least likely to die do to the being one with the wild instinct Elias had. Elias, unlike Barnes had a feel good attitude he didn’t come off as so much as a leader, but a friend or a mentor. But, Elias and Barnes seemed like the type of people that were meant for war. Elias was meant for war as we watch his survival tactics and the way he bolts through the woods as if he were an animal shows he has strong survival skills . Barnes was meant for war in a take charge way rather than just being able to survive the war it was to win the war.

11/24/2015 08:08:34 am

That's what I like about Elias as well, how he was such a wonderful and caring soul. And what you said about how you know he has survival skills because he wants to get out of the war alive is true in a way. However, he did not get the job done (although he was trying his hardest to), because he was shot and killed. But, yeah I agree with the last bit of your response as well. They were both able to survive the war because they were both amazing soldiers. Elias, however wasn't given the chance to help his platoon survive, and neither was Barnes if you think about it. They were both murdered by their own team.

Patrick Henry

11/24/2015 10:35:58 am

I also agree with your response with choosing Sgt. Elias over Sgt. Barns. I like how you said that Barns cared more about the win of Vietnam War and getting back at them for their tricks more than the actual safety of his soldiers. I also like how you said Sgt. Elias has good survival skills for even caring for his men and making them safe. I believe that’s the real difference between the two commanders and that’s when separates them from good and evil. I also agree when you said he has a good attitude about the war. It’s definitely more positive. Having a attitude like this is one of the reasons why a lot of people chose Elias also and why they would follow him. In contrasts, I do believe that Sgt. Barns has a very straightforward attitude and will deficiently be the person to listen too. Despite Barns problem with empathy, he is a great choice of an commander for war. If you’re on his good side, of course.

11/24/2015 08:00:48 am

The sergeant that I would follow is Sgt. Elias because he cares about his men. I am a very caring person so I would want to know that everyone around me is also safe. I would feel guilty knowing that all the people that I fought with are dead because I left them behind to die. I wouldn’t know how to live with myself knowing that I didn’t even try to help them. I want to be a nurse, so in order for me to become a nurse I would need to be able to care for someone. If I don’t care for a person’s life then I shouldn’t be a nurse. Although I would have a better chance of surviving with Sgt. Barnes, I prefer to stick with Sgt. Elias because at least I know I’m dying as a good person and not an evil person. The moral to saving a person’s life is that fact that you know you’ll be able to sleep because you know you did your best to help that person. This is why I would want to follow Sgt. Elias because he cares about people and their lives and I also care about other people lives.

11/24/2015 08:02:01 am

Word count: 202

11/24/2015 10:21:20 am

I agree with you 100% I can also relate to your personal statement as well as wanting to be a nurse. Seeing these things in the war and following strict and less caring commander can make your experience less of great one. I also agree with your statement about feeling bad about leaving hurt soldier behind. I would feel empathy and want to care for them back to health as a fellow solider. Also that’s just being a good person. I also like how you said that you would rather die as a good person and helping and soldier with Sgt. Elias than with Sgt. Barns. I would also like to add that Sgt. Barns isn’t really a evil commander. He just lacks empathy. He can help us through the battle with his strict survival tactics. But in my opinion his upbringing is just wrong.

Noah Galloway

11/24/2015 10:31:41 am

I in one hundred percent agree with you. Sgt. Elias is a very caring person about his men. I am certain that no one wants to leave anyone behind after a battle during a war. Sgt. Elias is a good person and has good morals, which is save as many lives as possible. Therefore, I would follow Sgt. Elias in the platoon.

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Nathan Hale

11/24/2015 08:01:54 am

Realistically, I would side with Sgt. Elias. Although many may see SSgt Barnes as a figure which will do whatever he must to survive, and is vengeful for his men, all of his acts directly conflict with the Uniform Military Code of Justice, several articles of the Geneva Convention, and Marine Corps Standard Operating Procedure. The SSgt’s actions are unjustified, and at best, morally ambiguous if not plainly unethical. It is impossible to say how one would truly react given the infinite amount of variables that contribute to ones thought process and wellbeing during the war -- the stigma against eastern and communist bloc countries, the stressful environment of the war, the stance of other military members on revenge-- but I could adequately say I would be morally against, and not partake in such atrocities. Ultimately it comes down to the ROE, Rules of Engagement, but even when Free Fire is in effect, it is important that troops use personal discretion. Unarmed combatants, and even to an extent, civilians suspected of supporting enemy forces, or sympathizers should be imprisoned rather than executed, certainly ones who are merely speculated for being sympathizers, and not proven.

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George Custer

11/24/2015 08:10:13 am

I agree with your decision. I agree because Sgt. Barnes did break the code of honor and he went against his men. Sgt. Barnes job was not to engage in conflict with his men. He was suppose to lead and guide his men and Sgt. Barnes did not do this. Sgt. Elias was a better figure and role model for his men. I would also follow Sgt. Elias.

11/24/2015 08:04:03 am

Elias does have good survival skills he wanted everybody to be safe and get home safe. He helped people when they needed to be help. When I was watching the movie I thought Elias team was less likely to die because he knew what he was doing and would not lead them in too much danger as in Barnes. I also agree about how you said that Elias was meant for survival and Barnes was meant to take charge in the war, and Elias did move like an animal and trusted all his instincts.

11/24/2015 08:05:38 am

If I was one of the soldiers in the platoon, I would follow Sgt. Elias. Sgt. Elias’s mission is to save as many lives as possible. He cares so much about his men. I would have a lot more confidence of my survival in the war if I followed Sgt. Elias instead of Sgt. Barnes. If we couldn’t win the war, at least we for sure we will save our men, which is way more important than winning the war no matter what. If we leave our men behind during the war, then we would all feel very bad for the rest of our lives.
With all this being said, I would never follow Sgt. Barnes. He believes in what he do in the war is right. His mission is to win the war at all cost. For example, he would leave any of his men behind in war just to make his own survival. He would also kill anyone, including his own soldiers. I would feel very unsafe where I go during the war if I followed Sgt. Barnes. He is too ruthless and reckless to me to follow him in the platoon. That is why I easily choose Sgt. Elias instead of Sgt. Barnes.

11/24/2015 08:08:55 am

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11/24/2015 08:07:59 am

If I were a soldier in the Platoon, the person I would follow would be Sgt. Elias. I say this because Sgt. Barnes only worried about winning the Vietnam War. Sgt.Barnes did not care about his men. He risked his Platoon’s life and also killed innocent people. Sgt. Elias cared about everyone in his Platoon and he did not kill innocent people. Elias still managed to get the job done without harming anyone else’s lives. He is a good Sgt. you can tell he was very dedicated to his Platoon. Sgt.Elias was a Christ-like figure. Sgt. Barnes was more of a satanic figure. He killed Elias because he thought Elias was weakening the Soldiers and holding them back. I wouldn’t want to be with Sgt. Barnes because he killed his own men. His job is not to fight with his men. His job was to get to Vietnam, win the war and bring his men home alive. He did not do this. He took an innocent life and I could never forgive him for that. This is why I would rather be in Sgt. Elias’s platoon.

11/24/2015 05:56:51 pm

It is true that Sgt. Barnes only worried about winning when he should have really worried about his men survivin the war. No one in the platoon want make it out of the war without the same men you started with. That's why we both agreed on following Sgt. Elias instead of Sgt. Barnes. Why would anyone follow a sargent that have enough nerves to kill his own men? Sgt. Barnes is very sinful for killing Sgt. Elias. That's why I would easily follow Sgt. Elias over Sgt. Barnes.

George S. Patton

11/24/2015 08:12:48 am

I would follow Stg. Elias because since he cares about his men more he would have them care for each other more, boosting the platoon’s morale. Since the morale is higher they would have each other’s back and a higher chance of survival and of being more successful at accomplishing the mission. With the reality of the war’s environment Elias would make the men realize that they can’t just go off and try to kill everyone they see, but rather have the platoon split into squads so it would be harder to ambush or flank them. Also, it would make it psychologically easier on them because they would become like a family and would miss their real family a little bit less because they are part of a new one. This would thus relieve some of the stress they have to face constantly because they know that they got each other’s back and have to worry less about dying. I would also Elias because he seemed more experienced than Barnes because he knew where the opposition was going to attack from.

Sybil Ludington

11/24/2015 08:14:44 am

I would follow Sgt. Elias because personally I believe that he is doing the right thing and I feel like he could still protect us at the same time. Sgt. Elias is a vet and on the battlefield he predicted things before they even came. He knew what the enemy was planning to do and knew the best way to counter attack them .Doing this he would put us in a position to defeat the enemy and cause less death as well. Sgt. Barnes gets the job done no matter what it takes and I agree with getting the job done but not if it means killing innocent people and letting other soldiers abuse and mistreat harmless citizens. Then again there might come times where you’re put in a tough situation and you might need to do something that you normally wouldn’t do for the sake of the men. In that situation that should be the only time things should be taken to another level if needed. I felt that Sgt. Barnes was a bad influence and just showed the men the wrong way to handle certain situations. For example when bunny killed that kid in the hut and made him dance before was just awful, But not surprisingly I seen the same rage and craziness in bunny’s eyes as I did Sgt. Barnes sometimes.

11/24/2015 10:11:03 am

If I was a soldier in this platoon during the Vietnam War, I would make the decisions to follow the morals of Elias. I chose Sgt. Elias as my leader during this journey because of the characteristics on himself as well as the care of his men. While Sgt. Barns is a strong commander and has intense feelings about winning this war, Sgt. Elias was a man who has great way of combat as well as the factor of warm-heartiness those Barns in lacking. I would feel more drawn into Elias’s energy and then Barns. In war, you are fighting the enemy as well as yourself. You are going through conditions that you have never been through and are in a total new envoiremt. Not counting the fact of balancing survival and killings. Sgt. Barns might care about him men, but cares more about killing Vietnam soldiers and winning this war. Sgt. Elies had morals and helped others. A great example of this represented in the movie Platoon was the scene of the invasion of the village. Both sergeants came looking for evidence of revenge of slaughter of one of their soldiers with rage. In the end of the scene, Sgt. Barns ends of going too far. He commits murder and not just any murder but shoots a woman that was an innocent civilian. He also puts a gun to a child’s head. Sgt. Elies ends up fighting Barns in range of emotions of what he’s doing to these people. To me that’s a person that I would like to call my leader in a Vietnam war, Not Sgt. Barns.

11/24/2015 08:41:03 pm

I do agree with you I surly will follow Stg. Elias in times of war, because of the type of person he is. He really do care about the health and the safety of his men. I also agree with you when it comes to Stg. Barnes he is a great fighter and a great person without a heart but he is surly not a good leader because he only cares about winning not the safety of his men Stg. Barnes is a person without heart that is really great of the war but he need to think about others. Stg. Barnes has got shot so much times and he also was in war before but he is not a good person.

chief red cloud

12/3/2015 09:07:27 pm

I agree with the reasons that you came up with. Elias was the man to follow because he always did the right thing and when he saw someone doing the wrong thing, he did something about it. He felt that everyone was supposed to follow the rules that were put upon all the soldiers. I agree that Barnes is a strong commander and was determined to win the war but he was not doing what he was supposed to do. He was breaking the law by killing those innocent people. Barnes could have been a great leader if he did the right thing all the time. (106)

Chris Kyle

11/24/2015 12:07:13 pm

The person I follow is Sgt. Barnes because even though Elias was always doing the right thing, Barnes was doing what he came to war for which is to win it. In the movie Barnes did some wrong things like killing Barnes and other soldiers from the platoon, I feel like in life sometimes you have to do wrong to reach a goal, in this case he had to kill people in the platoon to win the war.

11/24/2015 07:55:09 pm

If I were a soldier in the platoon, I would have followed Sgt. Elias of his Christ-like-figure. He’s really a nice man and his mission is to get many people save as possible. So being around such person will motivate me to do what I got to do to be saved and win the war at any cost. I will side with Elias because he is jaded and righteous and seems to care about all the men and wants everyone to be saving after the war. The reason why I will follow Elias is because of his heart. How he cares for everyone even with the scene when Barnes killed the woman, he became very mad at him and got into a fight with him. Barnes on the other hands wants to win the war at all cost so he doesn’t have the patience for anything he always do whatever he feels it’s right for him. Being around such person comes with bad influence and I won’t put myself in that situation. I can see Elias being a good leader and not Barnes so that is why I would like to ride with Elias and not Barnes. word count 197

11/24/2015 07:56:40 pm

If I was a solider in the platoon. I would followed Sgt. Elias because to me he is doing the right thing. A leader is someone who rules, guides or inspires others and he has all the character of a leader. Elias is a man who likes to keep his troops together with him he refuse to leave any of his man behind, he also want all his man to stay together. Elias is a clean hearted man. He is also a man of his words when he says he is going to do something he does it. I would follow Elias also because of the way he died in front of his whole troops even when they were shooting at him he continue to run trying to save his life he never stop fighting for what he believes in. Elias thinks more about saving his soldiers in the war than winning the war, unlike Sgt. Barnes he doesn’t care how much people are hurt all he cares about is winning the war he do get the job done no matter what but the way he get the job done by killing innocent people and letting the other solider do it to it is not the right way, that’s why he died the way he did.

11/24/2015 08:31:02 pm

I would like to add one or two things to Abner Doubleday’s comment about who he/she will follow if part of the platoon. I agree with your decision because Sgt. Elias is a good leader and was doing the right thing. A leader is someone who rules, guides or inspires others and he was all of that because Chris Taylor considered him as a mentor and was very affected when he heard he was killed. He knew right there that Barnes has something to do with his death and at the end he made justice to Elias by killing him the same way he did to Elias. So I agree with your decision to follow Elias because he was a real soldier and died proud. Word count 128.

12/3/2015 09:01:32 pm

I agree with what you are saying because I feel like Elias made sure everything he did was done right. I believe Elias was the definition of a leader because he guided his men to do the right thing. I also agree with the fact that Barnes killed innocent people to win the war, this just makes Elias look like a better leader. Barnes was not doing what he was supposed to do as a soldier. He was setting a bad example for the men in the platoon. I like the statement about how when Elias was getting shot at before he died, he didn’t stop fighting. This just shows that he doesn’t give up easily. (116)

Dorris Miller

11/26/2015 12:39:56 pm

The person I would follow would be Elias. In the movie, Elias knew what he was supposed to do and did the right way. Barnes wanted to just do anything to win the war. Even if it meant killing innocent people. Elias also wanted to win the war but he made sure his men were safe and they were killing the right people. Elias would be a better leader than Barnes because Barnes would just lead his people into danger just to win the war. Elias was also like a Jesus figure because he did the right thing and had experience so he knew how to fight in the war. When Elias died it wasn’t because Barnes shot him. When everyone got into the plane, you saw Elias running and the bad guys behind him shooting him and they shot him a lot of times and he still didn’t die. This shows that he wasn’t meant to die. When Elias died the movie portrayed it as a big deal but when Barnes died it wasn’t as dramatic.

Chief red cloud

12/3/2015 08:53:20 pm

If I was a soldier in this platoon I would follow Sgt. Elias because in the movie, he was a representation of Jesus Christ. He was a man who cared about others and made sure they were safe and protected. He wanted to win the war just as bad as Sgt. Barnes but he made sure everything he did was done in the right way. He followed all the rules presented to him and that made him a great leader. With him doing the right thing, it makes other people want to follow in his footsteps and do the right thing too. Elias liked to help others and liked to make sure that they were not left behind. I would also follow Elias because he had been in war before so he knew what it was like. He was experienced and could help us with learning how to survive in the war. Elias had great survival skills. I would not follow Barnes because he did illegal things to try to win the war. He did not do the right thing so he lead others to do to the wrong thing. Barnes did things that put his men in danger. He was too concerned with winning the war and was not concerned with the safety of his men. (217)

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