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

11/23/2015

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.

Geronimo

11/24/2015 10:40:00 am

After observing how things are in the Platoon and seeing how sgt. Elias and sgt. Barnes react to the war I would have to side with sgt. Elias he isn’t just thinking about himself during the war he’s also thinking about his men protecting them and making sure they are safe. Unlike Sgt. Barnes he’s kind of selfish. He does have the good traits for a sergeant of the war but he is more ruthless. He’s killed his own men and did not think twice about it. He doesn’t care about anything but winning this war. Sergeant Elias believes in the whole self-righteous thing and he believes in Christ also. He knows what’s right and wrong, he always tries to make the right decision. Even at war he does he’s not just a ruthless killer. I would choose to follow sgt. Elias because of the person I am I couldn’t just stand by and kill innocent people just because. It wouldn’t sit right in my heart. Barnes just didn’t care who he killed or how he did it as long as they were out of his way he didn’t care. People didn’t mean anything to Barnes. It’s like he was in this war by himself. In the movie when the Vietnamese people raided their side he was going to try and kill Chris one of his own solider not thinking about it or caring. Sgt. Elias would’ve never even thought about killing his men no matter what they. He believed in letting the justice system get them. I myself would having the same thinking as Elias I just believe Karma will get the person and I would just sit back and watch.

Chris Kyle

11/24/2015 11:58:53 am

I agree completely. Elias is a lot more caring than Barnes. Not saying that is a bad thing but, I don't think he understands that everyone is being affected differently by the war and not everyone can be as strong as him. Elias cares for people a lot more than Barnes does (or at least seems). However, we can't necessarily blame Barnes for the way he is because he has been in the war for a long time so that more than likely has taken a toll on the way he deals with his emotions.

11/24/2015 11:54:08 am

If I was a soldier in this Platoon, I would side with Elias. Although you can admire Barnes need and want to win for our country, Elias wants more than anything to just keep his men alive. Barnes is basically "every man for themselves" and to him, if you die then you die. Elias is more practical when it comes to the war and understands that people are going to die and he may even die but, he's not going to put himself first. He's worrying about his men as well and knows that America isn't going to win every single war we're in. Not only is he trying to keep his men alive, but he tries and to help them in any way he can. Barnes is stronger and doesn't care how his men feel and just wants to win. Elias on the other hand, will talk to his men and help them deal with all the stress of the war and the things they may be going through. (170 words)

Jesse brown

11/24/2015 12:07:39 pm

I completely agree. Elias mindset was a realistic mindset. He looked out for his men and knew that America wasn't going to be able to win every war and he was okay with that. He was trying to help his men get through this war the best way they could with the most rational mindset possible. In the end I found Sgt. Elias mindset to be much stronger than Sgt. Barnes

Marcus Luttrell

11/24/2015 12:12:41 pm

I agree with you, Sgt. Barnes is about himself and the war than to think about the other men around him. He has such a harsh, horrid attitude towards everyone there. I guess you could say that isn’t a very caring person like Elias is. Elias wants to help his men and listen to their problems as well as be a leader, fatherly figure in their lives. Those are important qualities to have to be leader. The moment he has looking at the stars and talking to Chris Taylor shows how humble he truly is. You wouldn’t see Barnes out there doing something like that with his men. Barnes is very hard headed compared to Elias. I agree with your writing completely.

Stonewall Jackson

11/24/2015 12:18:45 pm

I agree that Sargent Barnes isn’t the softest, most caring person in the world, but his skills are reliable. I respect Elias’s morals, but a good soul won’t keep you alive. Would you rather die young with good depth or fight through the war and take a chance towards success? Elias may have had leadership skills, but he did not present them as well as Barnes, so I’d have to disagree.

jessebrown

11/24/2015 12:02:37 pm

I would side with Sgt. Elias because he cares about the well-being and safety of his men. The war will already leave scars and memories that will always be embedded in my head, I don't need to add on any extra bad memories than I already have. Sgt.Barnes is only concerned about winning the war. He isn't concerned about his men well being, he has the mindset of sacrificing some if not most of his men to win. While Sgt. Elias is thinking more realistically in terms of the war. Sgt. Elias always tries to do things by the book and is always thinking rationally because he has the lives of his men on his hands. I wouldn't feel right with just going around and causing havoc to innocent people just because I have the authority to, I wouldn't be able to live with myself and it wouldn't sit right with my conscious. Sgt.Barnes believes in handling things on his own, he doesn't like taking orders from anyone. In some ways I would say he is a one man army and to me that is a dangerous mindset to have when you have other men following behind you and that's the mindset that I am not willing to follow.

11/24/2015 12:19:09 pm

I agree with this. Elias had the mindset of doing things the right way instead if doing anything he could in order to win even if that meant not following the book. The war is already hard enough on people so having someone constantly willing to sacrifice and do whatever it takes doesn't help that at all. I also agree that I wouldn't be able to live with the fact that I killed someone in order to win something. Especially one of my own men. I wouldn't know how to deal with that along with those memories that I would have from the war itself.

11/24/2015 12:06:12 pm

If I was in the war I would choose to follow Sgt. Elias. Barnes has a good way to survive but he is way too harsh and although it seems the men have respect for him I believe they are more frightened of him. I truly believe the men respect Elias. Elias is more caring and looks out for his men to ensure that they are safe. Elias wants for him and his men to make it back home alive. Elias is more of a peaceful type where Barnes is all about the war and all about winning. Elias separates fantasy from reality and he knows that this war is not heading in the right direction for them and although he wants to win he’s not surprised if they don’t. I believe Elias has good intentions he’s not so much thinking of himself as he is for the other soldiers. He called out Barnes when he committed murder while the other men weren’t saying anything. He was doing the right thing that also shows that he has courage to be able to stand up to Barnes for something that was unjust. Elias shows great courage and bravery and kindness throughout the film. That’s what makes him a powerful leader is that he can combine all that into one. I would also say that Sgt. Elias remains very humble in the film for his time being.

Jesse Brown

11/24/2015 12:10:57 pm

I like how you said Sgt. Elias separates fantasy from reality. Elias hold a lot of courage in this film, especially when he stood up to Barnes for murdering those innocent people. His bravery to put his men first before him showed just how much strength he actually had compared to Barnes.

11/24/2015 12:14:50 pm

Now although Elias had good morals, if you were in an environment where plenty of people were dying around you daily, several explosions, gun shots, always having to watch your back, who would you feel safest with? Would you trust Sargent Elias to lead you through this crisis and have a successful end? Are you willing to sacrifice your life for your country? Would you have considered following Sargent Barnes, aside his immoral decisions if you knew if guaranteed you survival and success?

Chief Joseph

11/24/2015 12:07:52 pm

If I were a soldier in the platoon, I would choose to follow Sgt. Elias. As much as the men were both leaders fighting for their country in the war, they did not meet eye to eye. As stated above, Elias cared for his men and was very righteous. He wanted the same as Barnes did, to win the war. But he was more focused on getting to where they needed to reach and protect his men while as well. Barnes on the other hand, he is very aggressive and cruel and only cares about what satisfies himself and not what he is fighting for. In the movie, it showed Barnes wanting to kill the little village of people because they were Vietnamese. Yes, these people are the same race as the country they are fighting against, but that does not mean these people are the cause of this situation. Elias on the other hand thought that this wrong and that they should not kill them. I would have to go with Elias. As much as I am willing to fight and die for my country, this is not the right way.

Word count: 190

George. S Patton

11/24/2015 12:15:52 pm

I completely agree with you. Elias is a person of moral he did want to win the war but he didn’t want to sacrifice his men if it meant winning. Barnes would do whatever it would take to win the war if it meant he would be the last man standing. He was selfish and reckless. Barnes isn’t in the right mind he isn’t at peace with himself as much as Elias was. Barnes was wrong for killing the people who were in the village it was technically murder. Elias was a Christ like figure and he did what he could to protect his men. I would want to be saved not thrown into something I will be killed in. I would rather be safe and die by a fair fight.

George.S Pattion

11/24/2015 12:09:41 pm

As a solider in the war I would choose to follow Sargent Elias. Compared to Sargent Barnes, Elias is like peace in this chaos.
Barnes is doing whatever it takes to win this war just thinking of himself and no one else who has the possibility of getting hurt. Elias cares about what he can do to save his men during this terrible time. Elias follows his morals but Barnes doesn’t. Barnes has jealousy towards Elias. He lets his jealousy get the best of him and he actually kills Elias. In the movie when all the solders are in the helicopter at safety Elias is being chased by the enemies. Elias raises his hands to the sky as a sacrament. He is abandoned in this moment although he has always tried to be his best and do well for everyone else he is sacrificing himself. This supports the fact that he’s a Christ like figure and Barnes is the opposite. Elias is a better solder because he isn’t selfish he’s helpful and he does what he can to be better. Barnes is horrible and he pays for what he’s done from the way he dies.

11/24/2015 12:20:46 pm

I agree with your writing. I believe that Barnes could have killed Elias because of the jealously he was feeling or maybe he was scared because Elias could get him a lot of trouble for killing those innocent people. I like how you said that is trying to better himself because he really is. He’s so focused on his men and their safety and wellbeing. That’s why he’s such a good leader and that’s why the men like him he’s always there for each of his men.

11/24/2015 12:09:49 pm

During this time, I would have chosen to follow Sargent Barnes. Despite his immoral decisions to kill innocent people, his main goal was to win and to survive. He knew that he needed to survive and he was willing to do anything he needed to in order to do so. People like myself see his determination to win, which proves him a good leader while leading the men of the U.S. military through the war. Although Sargent Elias had better intentions for his men and wanted to do the right thing, this made him weak. Sargent Barnes was focused on realistic outcomes of the war. The reality was that they needed to survive and they needed to win. I would want to make my country proud and return safely to my family and everyday life, so Sargent Barnes would be the most significant leader for me. “Sacrifice is a part of life. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to.”

Nathan Hale

11/24/2015 12:10:16 pm

After looking at the two main point of views that you can have in a war it is very difficult to just pick a side instantly. There's many effect that that would influence me to go in either way. It is a matter of how you think that it would make you choose a side. In my case since Alias had strong reasoning to not fight like Barns did I would have followed Alias lead. The main reason why I would have choose him was because he had a broad view to what was going on the war and was realistic to acknowledge that we were loosing the war overall. I can understand Barnes point of view to because he is just trying to get revenge for all the sacrifices that he had done for his country explaining the way he behaves and talks. Overall alias is a comprehensive leader that does really care about his people. If I was fighting a battle like that I would at least want to think that I would have support from my peers.

Sybil Ludington

11/24/2015 12:13:23 pm

If I had to choose between Barnes and Elias, id side with Elias. I would side with him because even though Barnes has such a strong will to live, so does Elias. Elias just does things in a more humane why and follows the rules. Barnes kills people if he thinks he can get information that way but that is still considered a murder. Id rather go into a war and keep my morals then come out of a war and not be able to live with myself when I got back home.

Matt Axelson

11/24/2015 12:20:07 pm

I agree with you that I would rather keep all my morals when at war then coming back and regretting something that I did and not being able to live with myself.

Audie Murphy

11/24/2015 12:26:03 pm

That is very true Barnes was a very violent person for no reason at all. Both Barnes and Elias were very strong people but I think Elias was the stronger person morally even though he died before Barnes who eventually got killed by chris.

Audie murphy

11/24/2015 12:14:06 pm

If I was in the platoon that Chris was in I would most likely side with sergeant Elias over sergeant Barnes. There are many reason why I would choose Elias over Barnes. The first reason is because Elias knows that the war is unwinnable and all he wants to do is make sure his men stay alive. The second reason is because Elias has the same morals as me such as not harming someone that is not a threat to me or anyone around me which means not harming random civilians. The final reason is Elias never put his men into any situations where he thought they couldn't make it out. those are the reasons why I would choose Elias over Barnes.

11/24/2015 12:21:27 pm

I didn't think of how Elias never put his men into a situation that he didn't think they could get out of. That's a good point

11/24/2015 12:15:35 pm

If I was a soldier in this platoon I would have to side with Elias. After looking at things from both Barnes and Elias' side of things I think that Elias would be a smarter choice to side with. Both sergeants were great at what they did but both ended up dying by the end of the film. What separates the two from each other is that Elias has more morals than Barnes does and does things smarter making sure that people stay alive regardless if it would help the war or not. Barnes on the other hand would kill innocent people that they come across or even allies as shown when he kills Elias. Even though Elias did not put winning that war first like Barnes did the decisions he made were smart enough to help put his people in a better position than they would if things were done Barnes way which would just be to kill someone without thinking. Doing such things can get you in a lot of trouble for a reason because it is wrong. Also Elias still did everything he could to try to help them win even if he didn't necessarily put that first and always fought hard. Elias died while going out fighting which shows the type of person that he is while Barnes died because the bad decision of killing Elias came back around to bite him which led to his death. Chris would have no reason to kill Barnes if he would have never killed Elias and Elias would have still been alive too but Barnes still would have been in a bad position since he killed the innocent women that they came across. So therefore that is why I would have to side with Elias opposed to siding with Barnes.

Louis Zamperini

11/24/2015 12:22:37 pm

From watching this film platoon and if I was a solider in this movie I would have choose between Stg. Elias and Stg. Barnes, I would choose Stg. Elias because he was thinking of others and wasn't selfish at all. also I think even though he was soft and above Sgt. Barnes he always seem to make the right decisions. Stg. Barnes always seemed like the tough guy and always thought that everything he did was right, but he killed innocent lives and didn't care about anything he had no good will and just wanted everything to be over. The good in Stg. Barnes was that he seemed like he cared about his rights because he would have done anything to find and kill the enemy. Stg. Elias knew his rights from wrongs and he did anything he could to make sure he did the write thing. for example Stg. Elias tried to keep his men alive while Sgt. Barnes tried and kill Chris Taylor at the end and ended dying for it. The problem with Stg. Elias was that he didn't make his decisions right away and he had trouble, but stg. Barnes was trying to fight this war by himself and didn't care who died. (207 words)

Douglas MacArthur

11/24/2015 03:56:10 pm

After seeing how Sgt Elias and Sgt Barnes acted in a high pressure situation, I would followed orders from Elias because he cared more about doing the right thing than just trying to look got in front of everyone. Another reason that i would pick Elias is because I feel that If I ever got in trouble at any point in the war he would have my back I can say the same for Sgt Barnes. Following Elias would also mean that I would always have someone there for me that wants to see me succeed in the war. Knowing that Elias helped Chris when he was having a bad time this makes me more opt to want to following him. I also feel that I would be able to help Elias I this war knowing not to trust anyone like Barnes I would try and keep Barnes away from Elias and try to keep him alive.

Molly Pitcher

11/24/2015 07:39:43 pm

If I was in the platoon I would follow sgt. Elias because he has good morals. Unlike Barnes Elias doesn't only care about winning the war for his country he cared about his fellow soldiers in the platoon, he wanted to make sure as a leader that everybody was safe. Apart from his fellow soldiers Elias also cared about the people in the villages because when Barnes killed the lady in the village he got angry enough to fight Barnes. He's a good example of a good Sgt. he respects the rules made by the army and also makes sure his fellow soldiers respect them too.

Kit Carson

12/3/2015 07:05:06 pm

I completely agree with you! Sgt. Elias genuinely cares about both winning the war and his men. He puts his men before anything else, and that's what I like about him. I also like how you said he respects the rules made by the army. I never thought about it that way. Unlike Barnes, Elias did care about everyone. The people in the villages and his men, even Sgt. Barnes. This quality makes him an excellent leader!

12/3/2015 06:49:58 pm

If I had to choose between Sgt. Elias and Sgt. Barnes to side with, I would have chosen Sgt. Elias. Elias is an exceptionally caring person and he genuinely cares about the safety and interests of his men. I believe he cares more about his men than himself and this is an excellent quality of a good leader. Even though Sgt. Barnes is a determined man, he will do anything to win the war for his country, which may include killing innocent people. He even killed someone who was on his side (Elias) just to be number one. Through his point of view, it doesn’t matter who you are. You are just in his way of being powerful. Unlike Elias, Barnes doesn’t care about you at all. Why would you side with someone who doesn’t care about your safety and well-being? He really only cares about himself and I wouldn’t want him to be my leader because of the crazy things he does sometimes. The men in the film make it seem like they are on his side, but I feel that they are afraid of him. They are afraid to stand up for themselves because of how Barnes might retaliate. (200 words)

Abner Doubleday

12/5/2015 07:47:58 pm

I totally disagree with what you believe. You basically just said that elias killed someone who was on his side. Why would you want a leader who can at any time attack you. Yes I understand that he would do anything to win the war for his country. But winning the war isn't the only thing. A leader is supposed to show you the right of way. And although he was a member of the government officially responsible for initiating business so was Ssg. Barnes.

12/5/2015 07:43:08 pm

If I was a soldier and I had to chose between Ssg. Elias or Ssg. Barns, I'd have to go with Ssg.Barnes, because even though he isn't as tough as Ssg. Elias he has an amazing heart. The way I see him is he looks out for everyone. He rather loose the war and keep everyone safe unlike Ssg. Elias who would kill those who are on his side. I wouldn't want a leader who could stab me in the back. I would want a leader who I know I can trust and will do anything to keep me safe. And although most people might disagree with what I believe I think he is caring and Elias only cares about him. why would you want that in a leader someone who killed a member just to be "number one". That's selfish.

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