Criticizing War through Hollywood: Anti-war sentiment in Oliver Stone's Vietnam War Film Trilogy

Abstract

This research examines Oliver Stone’s Vietnam War film trilogy, which consists of Platoon (1986), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), and Heaven & Earth (1993), and analyzes theme-based scenes that visually represent U.S. anti-war sentiment against the Vietnam War. The chosen themes are dominant and major themes regarding the war, namely PTSD, violence, and death. Inspired by the work of David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, I will use two cinematic techniques – mise-en-scène and cinematography – for the analyses of the scenes. This project aims to distinguish the ways a theme is embedded in each film and ultimately, it will answer the question of how Stone’s Vietnam War films differ from each other in portraying U.S. anti-war sentiment against the Vietnam War.