Analysis: Born on the Fourth of July
The idyllic 1950's to the turbulent 1960's represented a dynamic shift in American culture. The end of World War II prompted a boom economy and the American dream of a your own house with the white picket fence was born. Although the 50's were picturesque in some respect the end of WWII entrenched a deep fear of Communism. As America entered Vietnam the conservative ideals of the WWII generation clashed with the rising student and youth awareness. The movie, Born on The Fourth of July, represents a modern view of the Vietnam War era and the transformation that occurred through out the country with varying degrees of historical accuracy. The opening scene of the movie pictures the mood of the country in the mid to late fifties. It romanticizes war with the parade scene and the kids playing army. This plays on the theme that some war is good, or at least justifiable. Kovic, the main character of the film, is a patrotic person wanting to serve his country and believing that Vietnam would be his chance. As Kovic and his friends discuss entertaining the Marines the ideas of containment and the domino theory are discussed. The ideas of the McCarthy age shines through when Kovic bluntly states that Communism needs to be stopped beca . . .
The shift is tied closely to the feelings of the nation as a whole although once again one sided. Kovic is shot in the second war scene and taken back to the states. The portrayal of the War itself was flawed and completely one sided. The first time that Kovic is introduced as a Marine he is on his second tour. It emphasizes that America had not lost a war, that American’s, as a whole feared communist encroachment. The movie is incredibly one-sided in its interpretations of events and has no qualms in stating who the director thought was right and wrong. He transforms from a product of his parents, a young marine, to a demonstrator and a product of his own generation. The events manifested through out the movie are based on historical truth although highly over dramatized and with a lot of artistic license. The movie does deal with a lot of the cultural changes that occurred throughout this time era and it does demonstrate the general mood of the country. As Kovic is repeatedly haunted by the visions of the war you see him transform. Kovic's stay at the Veterans Hospital symbolized the lack of respect and inhumane treatment that the soldiers received when they returned to the country. The black man is getting it together and if you aren't part of the solution you are part of the problem," you see the dynamic shifts being represented. Kovic's journey is symbolic of his generation as a whole representing cultural shifts. One of the war scenes showed the Marines killing of a family, leaving a baby to die and the killing of a Marine by a Marine.
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