“Born on the Fourth of July” by Oliver Stone What does this film tell us about i

“Born on the Fourth of July” by Oliver Stone
What does this film tell us about its historical subject (what the film is ostensibly “about”)?
What does this film tell us about the social conditions that surrounded (and perhaps guided) its production?
evaluate the ways it inevitably deviates from the historical record. How have historians treated this topic? How does your film deviate from its source material? Mere claims of “inaccuracy” are not enough. Concisely but specifically, how does your film go amiss, and why might that be?
evaluate the ways that period’s conditions may have guided the filmmakers’ decision process. What key social, political, or other events contributed to the atmosphere surrounding the film’s production? How were those conditions expressed in popular culture and other media at the time? How did your film differ from other film treatments of the same topic, and why might that be? Make bold claims and then back them up with evidence!
Below is a rough outline I have been working on peer my professor’s request. All the points in the outline need to be covered.
Introduction/Thesis
Hook (usually an anecdote)
Many people fail to realize that in 1978 when Oliver Stone and Ron Kovic originally wrote the screenplay for Born on the Fourth of July, it was William Friedkin (not Stone) who was set to direct the film and a thirty-eight-year-old Al Pacino (not Tom Cruise) who was set to star as Ron Kovic.
Less than a week before filming was set to begin, the film’s ‘financial backers’ got ‘cold feet’ and decided to pull the plug on the project.
It would take another decade and the success of Stone’s Vietnam epic Platoon for Stone and Kovic to find someone (Tom Cruise) that would be willing to provide the necessary financial backing to get the screenplay ‘off the shelf’ and the film made.
Transition to arguments
Tom Cruise plays an intricate part in the story, not just in his stellar depiction of Kovic, but his enthusiasm for the project, and his help in finally getting the film made. According to Eric Synder, “Kovic had been skeptical when Cruise was first cast but was soon won over by the actor’s commitment to the role and his sincerity. When the film was finished, Kovic gave Cruise his Bronze Star as a token of his admiration.” (Snyder 12 Facts About Born on the Fourth of July)
Produced and released during the last days of the ‘Cold War’, Stone and Kovic’s hope was certainly to use the film not only to spread awareness for the plight of disenfranchised Vietnam Veterans but for global peace.
This film has a clear anti-war message and shows the devastation wrought on a generation of young men who have been basically pushed aside, and forgotten about.
War is evil and should only be a last resort. America’s involvement in WWII was just because we were called on by our allies to help defend democracy and basic human rights. The Vietnam War was an entirely different situation. The government knowingly lied to the American people, used fear tactics and the ‘threat’ of Communism to garner support. Involvement by the Catholic Church only aided in the propaganda and disinformation.
Arguments
What does this film do?
BOTFOJ puts a spotlight on the failed government policy of the United States to go to war in Vietnam, a war that we had no business getting involved in (as I have learned from Kovic and Stone ). It helps to promote the ideal of peace, the ‘Golden Rule’, ‘Love thy neighbor’, etc.
It shows how poorly the wounded veterans were treated upon coming home, not just by their government (who lacked the financial and logistical means to effectively care for them) but by their friends, families, neighborhoods, and communities. It shows Kovic’s journey from soldier and patriot who has ‘bought in’ to everything he has been told by the government, only to discover upon returning home and seeing the counterculture/protest/peace movement, that he had been fed nothing but ‘lies’.
What does that tell us about the time it was made/released?
The ‘Cold War’ ended on December 3, 1989. Nuclear annihilation was a distinct possibility up until that point. The Iran-Contra scandal came to a head as indictments are handed down by a Grand Jury to Oliver North, Richard Secord, John Poindexter, and Albert Hakim for their involvement in the Iran-Contra Affair, charging them with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government. Iran-Contra was a huge scandal in which arms were illegally sold to the Iranians in exchange for U.S. hostages being held by Iranian terrorists in Lebanon. CIA operatives used the money from the arms sold to Iran to fund a rebel group in Nicaragua, known as the Contras, then tried to cover it up. Ironically, George H.W. Bush, former director of the CIA, wins the Presidential election, extending the hold of the GOP (Republican Party) for an additional four years, ensuring Reagan era policies like the “War On Drugs” will continue into the next decade especially as “crack” cocaine becomes increasingly popular and gains a foothold in the inner cities of the U.S. This becomes a point of cynicism for people like Oliver Stone, who have lost faith in and no longer believe that the government can be trusted, and sharply disagree with the direction the country is heading (in an interview with Tariq Ali, Stone remarks that he believes drugs should be legalized).. The Iran-Iraq war, which began in 1980, comes to an end with no clear victor, setting the stage for Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and a U.S.-led coalition response, resulting in the Gulf War. This seems to be an important point as parallels between the Gulf War and Vietnam can be drawn and many young men and women formed strong opinions about U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts. Also, interesting is the fact that coincidentally Oliver Stone was in the same class at Yale as George W. Bush (Stone saw him as entitled/elitest). Bush’s father was President at the time the movie was released.
Body section 1
What does this film do?
Helps the audience understand the conditions in 1950s suburbia that led to so many young men like Ron Kovic to enlist in military service out of a strong feeling of duty and love for country.
Shows audiences the horrors of war, on the battlefield in Vietnam
Shows audiences the unseen ‘horrors’ faced by the Vietnam Veterans who have survived the war and returned home.
Sheds light on the inhumane treatment wounded veterans faced while recovering in Veteran’s hospitals post-Vietnam
What does it depict?
Idyllic 1950s suburban life in Massapequa, NY.
The horrors and atrocities of the Vietnam War. The indiscriminate killing of civilians (women and children) at the hands of American soldiers (which horrified them). The accidental killing of an American soldier from friendly fire (Wilson shot by Kovic).
The death of American soldiers on the battlefield and in the MASH units. The extreme loss of life.
Kovic was shot on the battlefield, his life saved by an African American soldier
Kovic recovering at the ‘Bronx Veterans Hospital’ in 1968
Empty liquor bottles on the floor, urine bags overflowing, veterans ‘shooting up’ in closets.
Rats on the floors, the overall deprivation of the hospital
‘the 6 o’clock special’ (6 am all the paralyzed veterans would be carted into the enema room every few days to empty their bowels)
Veterans getting hosed down like they’re at a ‘carwash’
Kovic determined to walk again is moving around the hospital ward in braces using arm supports, falls, and breaks his leg.
How does it alter the historical narrative?
Book vs. Movie: In the film Kovic is depicted
Book vs. Movie
Book vs. Movie
Book vs. Movie
Body section 2
Who made this film? Why?
Director: Oliver Stone. Oliver Stone was a Vietnam veteran himself and was inspired by Kovic’s story. Stone wanted to make this movie to shed light once again on the atrocities of war and the poor treatment that United States veterans received upon returning home from Vietnam. He felt it necessary to call attention to the plight of veterans who were disabled, disenfranchised, homeless, lost, and forgotten about by their country.
Writer(s): Ron Kovic and Oliver Stone. Kovic wanted to make this movie to get the message in Kovic’s book out to a wider audience. to show the world not only the horrors of war but the depolrable conditions veterans who fought for their country were subjected to while recovering in VA hospitals around the country, the struggles caused not only from physical injuries but coping with PTSD and trauma and the process of transformation Kovic ultimately went through.
Producer(s): A, Kitman Ho, and Oliver Stone
Lead actors: Tom Cruise (Ron Kovic), Kyra Sedwick (‘Donna’), Raymond J. Barry (Mr. Kovic), Willem Dafoe (‘Charlie’)
Supporting cast: Jerry Levine (Steve Boyer), Frank Whaley (Timmy), Caroline Kava (Mrs. Kovic), Bryan Larkin (‘Young Ron’), John Getz (Marine Major-Vietnam ), Ed Lauter (Legion Commander), Richard Guskin (Wrestling Coach), Stephen Baldwin (Billy Vorsovich), Anne Bobby (Susanne Kovic), Josh Evans (Tommy Kovic)
What were the social/political/cultural conditions at the time the movie takes place?
The 1950s: Post World War II Suburban Long Island, New York. With the war over the United States comes into a time of great economic prosperity. Families are beginning to move farther away from the cities and into more suburban and rural parts of the country. American suburban society begins to become very uniform. Television becomes the new means of mass communication. There was a strong sense of cohesion and conformity among many Americans. However, there are also many social movements beginning to take shape that will become increasingly important in the decade to follow. These include: the feminist movement, the civil rights movement (Brown vs. Board of Education, 1954, desegreation, the ever increasing drug scene (espesically among the beatniks and jazz musicians/culture), the music scene (including the birth of rock and roll, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presely, jazz, etc.).
Politically the most important thing was the Cold-War with the Soviet Union and the fear of the spread of Communism. This certainly helped promote a much more conservative political ‘climate.’ The 50s is also the time of the Korean War (1950-1953, which gets no where near the type of media attention/coverage that the war in Vietnam will recieve). General Dwight Eisenhower, a republican is elected president in 1952 and re-elected in 1956, making him president for the better part of the 50s. Richard Nixon is the vice president. Communism and the fear of its spread leds to the ‘Red-Scare’ and McCarthyism. The Cold-War creates the conditions for the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union lanches ‘Sputnik’ in 1957, kicking off the ‘space-race,’ between the United States and the Soviet Union. Also, the Cuban revolution (led by Fidel Castro) takes place in 1959, setting the stage for events to come in the 60s.
The 1960s: Vietnam/Counterculture/Kennedy
The 1970s: Post Vietnam
How are they reflected in the film?
Events depicted:
a
Examples of dialogue
Mise-en-scene
Technical aspects
D. What were the social/political/cultural conditions at the time the movie was in production?
Cold War
Wall Street/Cocaine
Yuppies
Reagan…”Star Wars”…Evil Empire
Conclusion
Recap introductory arguments in different words
Born on the Fourth of July
Explain how your body sections supported your claims
Also, it needs to compare the actual movie, Stone’s life and his involvement in the Vietnam War, Sheen’s character in Platoon is supposed to be somewhat autobiographical of Oliver Stone’s experience. And it needs to compare Ron Kovic’s autobiography, Born on the Fourth of July, to Stone’s film. Why were certain choices made to change details of Kovic’s actual account?
There need to be footnotes included throughout, for any sources you quote, paraphrase, or even take an idea that is not entirely yours.
I realize that I have only given you three sources plus the book and the movie for a total of five, the rest can be interviews with Stone (I have a ton of notes written up from a really good interview between Stone and a Pakistani journalist that I will try to share as the process goes on the next few days. The rest of the sources can literally come from anywhere, magazine articles, film critics, journal publications about the Cold War, The Vietnam War, etc.