Symbolism in "Platoon"

Like I began to say last night, there are so many different layers to this movie. Stone was a perfect director for this film, having been through the war himself, and effectively captured the subtle nuances of war that I think American audiences would be most responsive to. I just wanted to point out a few things I noticed while watching this film. Let me know if any of them strike you.

I found the Elias/Barnes dynamic to be the most compelling aspect of the film. Is the term for that "foils"? Anyway, they were complete polar opposites. While Barnes represented rash decisions and sheer, mindless brutality, Elias stood for calm and rational moral decisions despite the hell of war surrounding him. Despite his known distrust of Barnes, Elias greeted him with a smile when alone in the forest just moments before he was shot and betrayed. The camera zooms into Elias' mouth and we see it close into a hardened almost grimace as he realizes that his comrade has not come to his aid, but rather to bring about his demise. I found it most telling when Barnes' says to Elias' remaining followers, "I am the truth." This was a very dramatic line which I think captures the essence of many soldier's philosophies. For Barnes', the only way he could go on being the type of man and go on living, was to believe in his own reality and disregard the truth that may be found in any other individual. The Barnes/Elias relationship symbolizes the duplicity of man. While Taylor originally found himself drawn to Barnes (the darker side of man's nature), he soon realized that he would rather take the higher road in life by subscribing to the kindness and moral awareness present within Elias. What does this say for mankind? Are we to believe, through Stone's depiction at least, that we are all initially drawn to corrupt souls rather than the goodness in life?

Barnes had been shot seven times. The only remaining wounds we see inflicted upon him are a leg injury and then the final three shots which kill him. One could argue that the 9th shot by Charlie Sheen would have been enough to finish him off and thereby brings forth the interesting reference to the nine lives of a cat. I do not know if this was in fact intentional on any level by Stone, but when you add the seven to the leg and then killing blow, I found this an interesting comparison. I was hoping you could clear something up for me. I understand that Barnes was a disturbed and cruel man, but why was he killing his own men at the end of the large VC battle. i understood his angst against Elias as rational for that brutal attack, but what reason did he have for turning on his own men at that point? Or was it just that by that point he was so consumed by the insanity of was and his own rage that he no longer had a grip on what he was doing exactly?

Now for my final comparison. Elias is the Aramaic form of the Biblical Elijah. He was the chief prophet and messenger of God in the Jewish faith. This is of note due to the ideals he represented. Unlike Elijah, however, he was not successful in his goals. His goodness, while encouraging followers, was not rewarded in this life, even though retribution for his death was eventually achieved. i think that the greater parallel may lie in him being a Christ-like figure. Much like Jesus, he too was betrayed by a comrade. The greatest visual evidence for this lies in his own death. As Elias falls and throws his arms upward and out toward Heaven, a blatant parallel is made between himself and the crucifixion of Jesus.

Thousands of things must slip my mind as I write this. I am sure many more would become apparent upon repeat viewings. As for what was not shown, I regret to inform you that I cannot place that at this time. All I can think is that a complete lack of true happiness or human decency (other than that of Elias) is not present in this film and limited to few other characters we have seen in the others. Another definite aspect that we have not seen in a film thus far (although most definitely not what you would desire to be pointed out) is the response to the war on the home front, nor any glimpses of American civilian life at this time at all, although the reaction of Taylor's going to war by his parents is evidence by the fact that he only speaks to his grandmother in letters home.