a dark reflection on good and evil

A Dark Reflection on Good and Evil

Jeff DidioMrs. Karen Redding

English 1102June 28 2012

Dark Reflections on Good and Evil

Table of Contents

Analytical Cover Letter…………………………………………………1 Quality Comparison……………………………………………………. Least Successful Paper (original final draft)……………………3 Most Successful Paper (original final draft)…………………….6 “What’s the Difference?” Paragraphs………………………….11 Revision Samples……………………………………………………….. Least Successful Paper (with mark-up)………………………….13 Least Successful Paper (new final version)……………………...16 Most Successful Paper (with mark-up)………………………….19 Most Successful Paper (new final version)………………………24 Free Choice Essay (with mark-up)………………………………30 Free Choice Essay (new final version)…………………………..34

June 28, 2012 Karen P. Redding, M.A.Assistant Professor of EnglishGainesville State CollegeOconee Campus304 Oconee Classroom1202 Bishop Farms ParkwayWatkinsville, Georgia 30677 Dear Mrs. Redding,

This semester has been a great learning experience. Through just four weeks I have noticed significant changes in my writing techniques. My main goal of the semester was to get back into the rhythm of writing academic papers. I’ve always been confident in my writing abilities, however after taking six years off from school I realize now that writing is a perishable skill. I feel that this semester has brought back many of these lost skills as well as helped me to gain skills that I have never had before. This semester has helped me sharpen my ability in writing introductions, thesis developments, conclusions, and tying these things together. This semester I also learned to analyze film, something I have never done before. The group discussions in and out of class definitely helped me. When ever I got stuck on something, outside thoughts and perspectives of my peers helped my creative process keep going.

As we started to write papers I noticed that one of the biggest difficulties I faced was tying my body paragraphs to my thesis. I felt that while I made some good points, they were loosely tied together with my thesis, I found myself reforming my thesis to fit the body paragraphs rather than using the body paragraphs to support my thesis, which in turn weakened my paper as a whole. I feel that I have made improvements in overcoming these problems since the start of the semester. For example, in our essay “Writing Critique” looked like I had taken a sentence from each body paragraph and added them all to the conclusion paragraph. The sentences did not flow well together and I barely tied them together with a one sentence conclusion.(Didio paper 1) In my final draft of the essay, I spent more time on the flow of the paper and making sure it all tied together.

Another bad habit I had was working with quotes. Often times I would throw in quotes with little to no introduction or follow through. In my writing critique, I threw in one quote about electrocution where I failed to introduce the citation or explain it afterwards. As I came back to my earlier papers I found that the majority of my quotes could be condensed, better explained, or completely omitted.

Lastly, I had a habit of getting hung up on essay lengths. Looking back I found that in my essays I used so many examples of things to support my thesis that my essays often resembled a list that I failed to successfully tie to my thesis. I also used large quotes to add length to my papers that I did not need. Revisiting my papers I omitted many of the weaker examples in my papers, and more thoroughly explained the strong points. By doing this I strengthened my paper, used better arguments for my thesis, and easily met the standards for essay length.

Overall, I feel that I have become more successful in writing papers. Through the constant feedback on my essays and peer evaluations I feel that I am a much better writer than at the beginning of the semester. While working on papers I now take more time to better explain

1

myself. In just four weeks I have learned to better explain myself in essays, structure my essays, and provide a more thorough product as a whole.

2

How the Exposition Changed America

The Chicago World's Columbian Exposition was created to celebrate the 400th

anniversary of Columbus's journey to America, The fair showcased America's ingenuity in

creating new technologies, engineering advancements, and the spirit of the American people.

The Columbian Exposition was instrumental in shaping America’s future, it brought new ideas

and technology to the public and the after effects can still be seen today.

In "The Promotion of New Technology Through Fun and Spectacle,” Judith Adams

wrote,

"When new technologies are experienced in the amusement guise, they are eagerly

and confidently embraced with joyful spirit. In contrast, in common, unadorned, and

competitive "actual" world, a novel technology will threaten and frighten because

it imposes itself on individuals generally without attention to the cultivation of

comprehension or engagement."(Adams)

The fair was important because it helped promote new technologies by introducing those new

inventions in entertaining setting to the masses of fair goers. At that period in history the public

was skeptical and even fearful of electricity and technology.

“Electricity would garner some negative connotations, however, in 1889-90 when

animals (dogs, calves, and a horse) were killed in the first electrocution experiment, and

convicted murderer William Kemmler was executed by electricity in Auburn Prison,

Auburn, New York.”(Adams)

The public also feared electricity because it was invisible and hard to understand how it worked.

The World's Columbian Exposition helped to shed fear from the public by amazing fair goers

with its uses and in creating spectacles. The publicity electricity got at the fair helped hasten the

spread of electricity across the world.

One of the highlight of the exposition was the Ferris Wheel, created by George

Washington Gale Ferris. While the Ferris wheel was powered by steam boilers, it was also

decorated in 2,900 light bulbs. Because of the Exposition , amusement parks continue to provide

exhibits and rides to generate excitement in the public to this day.

Another exhibit was an intramural railroad which became the precursor to monorails

today. A moving sidewalk was also showcased where people could either stand or sit as a

conveyor belt carried them to a new destination. This invention helped pave the way for similar

walkways in airports and other places.

While constructing the Exposition the designers decided that all electric wires and

conductors would be buried underground for safety and aesthetic reasons. A complex subway

was designed to hide the wires and provide easy access for maintenance. This same subway

would be used as a reference while designing Walt Disney World. In “The Legacy of the fair”

Julie K. Ross writes,

“By the turn of the century, the first permanent iteration of the concept of the Midway

was established at Coney Island, New York, and has been followed by scores of

permanent amusement and theme parks throughout the country--including Disneyland

and DisneyWorld.”(Rose)

The Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition brought about the concept of a permanent

amusement park that future developers would use as inspiration.

The World's fair helped fuel the idea of consumerism. The fair showcased consumer

products such as Shredded Wheat, Pabst Beer, and Juicy Fruit gum. The fair also showcased diet

soda and hamburgers. The producers that won medals at the fair would later use their awards to

sway buyers into their particular brand of product. By including concession stands at the fair,

people linked entertainment and fun with spending money.

“The Exposition had an emphatic answer: onward and upward. The answer of the Fair's

visitors to this question was equivocal, as is found in the varied reactions to the Fair's

message of American strength through pride in its culture, education, commerce, and

technology.

The cultural legacy of the Fair is not quite as obvious, but still as pervasive, today,

coloring every aspect of daily modern life--from museums to the Pledge of Allegiance to

hamburgers and Disney World.”(Rose)

The Exposition helped strengthen patriotism by giving Americans a new holiday,

Columbus day. The fair even created patriotism among children with the Pledge of Allegiance.

The overall grandeur and displays exhibited at the fair fed American patriotism. Americans saw

the technology at the fair and saw a connection between technological progress and American

progress as a whole.

The World’s Columbian Exposition has set the standard for fairs, brought on a new

form of consumerism, and brought new technology to the public in a way that excited people.

Patriotism grew and many Americans became excited about the development and progress

of America. The Exposition helped America transition into the 20th century and many of the

concepts and products introduced in 1893 can still be seen today.

Works Cited Adams, Judith A. "The Promotion of New Technology through Fun and Spectacle: Electricity

at the Worlds Columbian Exposition." The Journal of American Culture 18.2 (1995): 45-. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 11 June 2012.

Rose, Julie K. "The Legacy of the Fair." The World's Columbian Exposition: Idea

Experience, Aftermath. N.p., 1 AUG 1996. Web. 11 Jun. 2012. <http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma96/wce/title.html>.

The Conflict Within

Throughout the years, many directors have tried to capture the true essence of war in

movies. Though very few have actually succeeded, Oliver Stone is one of the few directors who

actually did. Platoon, considered a controversial movie depicting the Vietnam War, illustrates

a soldier’s inner conflict between good and evil. Stone uses his own personal experiences of

the war to add realism while using certain scenes to represent actual events such as the Mai Lai

massacre to add additional conflict. Through camera angles and dialog, Stone shows how war is

not as simple as the "good guys versus bad guys", but rather varies with each individual.

Stone builds up to the village scene with the camera using a distance shot showing

the back of the platoon stopped in their tracks. As the camera moves across the front of the

platoon in a horizontal shift, it stops on a dead soldier tied to a post, his throat slit and an

indistinguishable note nailed to his chest. The camera closes in and moves horizontally across

the faces of the men looking at the dead soldier, the men expressionless with the exception of

their eyes which show sorrow and anger. The camera shift stops on Barnes’s mangled and ugly

face, Barnes being the only one to actually say anything. He curses the enemy in a tone of pure

hatred, expressing the thoughts and feelings of the entire platoon.

Up until they get to the village, Barnes is neither good or bad. It isn’t until they reach

the village that Barnes’s true nature emerges. Charlie Sheen’s character, Chris, is the narrator in

Platoon, and as they walk up to the village, he narrates:

“The village, which stood for maybe 1,000 years, didn't know that we were coming that

day. If they had, they would’ve run. Barnes was at the eye of our rage, and through him,

our Captain Ahab. He would set things right again. That day, we loved him.” (Stone)

That day, darkness and hate overcame the platoon as they came across the village, blind with

rage.

As they climb the top of the hill to the village, they see a Vietnamese person running

away. Stone illustrates Barnes’ true nature as he shoots and kills the Vietnamese man without

hesitation. In this scene, whatever compassion or mercy that Barnes may have had was now

lost. The camera focuses on Barnes’ face which expresses only rage. When he tells a soldier

to check the body out, the soldier happily complies, showing that the rest of the platoon feels

the same way as Barnes. Stone reveals the anger of the platoon when the soldiers aggressively

march into the village and start destroying everything, including the livestock. Stone shows one

soldier quickly walking through the village and shooting towards the camera. This angle shows

the destruction that is left behind from the soldier’s anger. The soldiers yell at the villagers and

round them up. When Barnes finds a family hiding in a hole, he yells at them to get out. After he

gets a couple of villagers out of the hole, he gets tired of waiting for the rest and throws a white

phosphorus grenade into the hole, killing everyone left inside.

Chris is at another part of the village inside a hut when he finds a hole with villagers

inside. The camera angle starts from within the hole, covered up with bamboo. This point of

view shot illustrates the vulnerability of the villagers inside the hole who, hiding, find the barrel

of a rifle pointing right at them. Chris pushes the bamboo aside with his rifle and starts yelling

at them to get out. Chris’s friend, Junior, tells him to stay calm and that the villagers are scared.

Chris replies that he’s scared too and sick of it, then continues to yell and pull the two villagers

out, one an old lady and the other a cripple. Chris has reached his breaking point and, in his

frantic dialog, it is unclear if Chris will succumb to violence or do the right thing. He starts

slapping and shoving the crippled villager. The character called Bunny walks in at this point

and tells Chris to kill the villagers. Chris snaps and starts shooting his rifle around the villager’s

one leg while yelling at him to dance. With Chris exhausted and near tears, Junior starts to take

him out of the hut. Stone shows in this scene that being in a constant state of fear and danger can

drive good people to commit violence.

This scene also shows Bunny’s true character. As Chris and Junior begin to leave the hut,

Bunny attacks the crippled man and kills him by hitting him repeatedly with his shotgun. Stone

shows the brutality of Bunny with the camera looking down over Bunny’s shoulder at the cripple

as he kills him. Stone shows that while some of the soldiers act out because of their constant

fear, other soldiers, like Bunny, enjoy the act of killing. While Bunny is not a main character,

Stone makes the character out to be the darkest with no redeeming qualities. Barnes may be the

primary antagonist in this movie, but even his methods can be rationalized; Bunny gets actual

enjoyment out of killing and hurting others.

When Chris returns to the center of the village, all the other villagers have been rounded

up. Stone then builds a feeling of chaos when he shows the entire platoon standing around

spectating as Barnes interviews the head villager. As he interrogates the villager, the soldiers yell

to kill everyone while the villagers are yell and scream out of fear. When the head villager’s wife

comes over and starts arguing, Barnes raises his weapon and in an act of impatience shoots the

wife, silencing everyone for a moment before the head villager’s daughter begins to cry. Barnes

adds even more tension to the scene when he grabs the girl and threatens to kill her. Barnes

becomes more enraged and is about to kill the girl when Willem Dafoe’s character, Elias, the

personification of good, comes in and starts an all out brawl with Barnes. The camera is angled

on the ground showing the fight and then switches to close ups of everyone else in the platoon

yelling for one man or the other to win the fight. It takes one half the platoon to restrain Barnes

and the other half to restrain Elias. At this point, the entire platoon is divided, half siding with

Barnes and the other siding with Elias.

Stone divides the characters by good and bad, the likeable characters being good and

siding with Elias, while the characters that are unlikable side with Barnes. As they leave the

village, Stone shows soldiers that are sided with Barnes trying to rape villagers before Chris

and Elias come across them and stop them, further showing Elias to be good. After the platoon

burns down the village and march out, Barnes’ supporters walk alone upfront without helping the

villagers. Bunny takes a quick picture to remember the destruction he took part in. Chris walks

behind Barnes’ supporters and in front of Elias. At this point Chris is caught in the middle; he

doesn’t know what is the right thing to do. Stone shows Johnny Depp’s character Lerner, as well

as other minor characters that sided with Elias, following him and carrying smiling children on

their shoulders, some wearing the soldier’s helmets. Stone makes it clear that Barnes represents

evil and Elias represents good.

In a brief scene after they get back to base, Elias and Barnes report their own versions

of what happened in the village to their captain. The captain ensures that there will be an

investigation. A moment later, Barnes walks away and stops to light a cigarette. Stone shows

a closeup of Barnes as Bunny, off screen, says that someone should kill Elias. Barnes with his

scarred and sunken face just stares off into the distance smoking while the others ask if there will

be an investigation. Stone uses Barnes’s facial expressions and silence to show that Barnes is the

bad guy and will try and kill Elias.

In the final scene of platoon, a wounded Chris is flown out on a medevac. It is the first

scene in the movie where Chris is truly safe. He is out of the jungle and in the broad, open

daylight waiting for the helicopter. Stone shows closeups of Chris’s face showing relief and

happiness. The medevac slowly lifts off in a sea of white smoke. His smile fades as he looks

down and sees all of the dead bodies and bomb craters from the firefight he just survived. Stone

uses Chris’s narration to explain the conflict that Chris has briefly overcame, but will always

have:

“We did not fight the enemy. We fought ourselves, and the enemy was in us. The war is

over for me now but it will always be there the rest of my days. As I’m sure Elias will be,

fighting with Barnes for what Rhah called possession of my soul. There have been times

since I’ve felt like a child born from these two fathers.” (Stone)

Chris finishes up his narration by saying, “we must find goodness and meaning to this life.”, as

the screen fades to white.

In Platoon, Oliver Stone depicts the duality of man. Every man is filled with good and evil.

Platoon is not a movie about the good guys versus the bad guys. In platoon, everyone has the

power to be the good guy or the bad guy. The movie depicts the inner conflict of one man versus

himself, not an outside influence. Outside influences certainly play a role, but making the right

decision ultimately comes down to the individual.

Work CitedStone, Oliver, dir. Platoon. Perf. Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, and Tom Berenger. 1986. Film.

Quality Comparison

Looking back at the essays we have written for English 1102 it seems clear to me which

essay I wrote that was the least successful and essay that was most successful. I chose my least

successful paper to be “How the 1893 Chicago Columbian World’s Exposition Changed

America” The essay that I chose as most successful was “The Conflict Within”

I found that in both essays I had trouble with tying everything together to my thesis. In

my essay, “How the 1893 Chicago Columbian World’s Exposition Changed America” I listed

off spectacles of the fair but did a poor job explaining the significance of them to America.

Lacking good content I used long quotes and citations to make my paper longer, often times the

quotes made little to no sense as to what I was talking about. In “The Conflict Within”, I wrote

about the movie “Platoon”, which also had similar problems of bulking up my paper with

unnecessary content. In my most successful paper I found that I started to summarize the movie

more and analyze the movie less.

Getting the chance to redo my essays, the first thing I did with my least successful essay

was analyze my quotes. At one point I realized that I put in a quote about electricity that did not

have an introduction or a follow through. The other quotes in my essay could all be reduced and

better explained. As I struggled to build my essay I also started listing off achievements of the

fair. Many of these achievements I listed should have been omitted and the ones I kept written

about in more detail.

In the essay “The Conflict Within” I found that I had made some of the same mistakes as

my least successful paper, only for different reasons. As I analyzed the movie “Platoon”, I

started to realize that there was so much of the movie’s plot I wanted to talk about that my essay

began turning into a bulky piece of work that started getting away from my initial intent of the

paper. I tried to improve this essay by cutting out as much plot summary as possible or break the

summary up more and explain the significance better.

I felt that my initial ideas for the essay “How the 1893 Chicago Columbian World’s

Exposition changed America” and “The Conflict Within” were good subjects to write on. I feel

that “The Conflict Within” was more successful however because I spent more time actually

contemplating the deeper meaning of the movie “Platoon”. I also was able to use comments

from my other essays to build upon and avoid patterns of mistakes.

I feel that “The Conflict Within” was a better more complete essay overall. When I

started to go over the essay I felt that it was already a good paper that needed to be polished up.

When I looked at “How 1893 Chicago Columbian World’s Exposition Changed America” I saw

a paper that might be better off scraped and started over than try and save the paper.

How the Exposition Changed America


anniversary of Columbus's journey to America, The fair showcased America's ingenuity in


The Columbian Exposition was instrumental in shaping America’s future, it brought new ideas

and technology to the public and the after effects can still be seen today.

In "The Promotion of New Technology Through Fun and Spectacle,” Judith Adams

wrote,

"When new technologies are experienced in the amusement guise, they are eagerly

and confidently embraced with joyful spirit. In contrast, in common, unadorned, and

competitive "actual" world, a novel technology will threaten and frighten because

it imposes itself on individuals generally without attention to the cultivation of

comprehension or engagement."(Adams)

The fair was important because it helped promote new technologies by introducing those new

inventions in an entertaining setting to the masses of fair goers. At that period in history the

public was skeptical and even fearful of electricity and technology.

“Electricity would garner some negative connotations, however, in 1889-90 when

animals (dogs, calves, and a horse) were killed in the first electrocution experiment, and

convicted murderer William Kemmler was executed by electricity in Auburn Prison,

Auburn, New York.”(Adams)

The public also feared electricity because it was invisible and hard to understand how it worked.

The World's Columbian Exposition helped the public overcome their fears by amazing fair goers

with its uses and in creating spectacles. The publicity electricity got at the fair helped hasten the

spread of electricity across the world.

One of the highlight of the exposition was the Ferris Wheel, created by George


decorated in 2,900 light bulbs. Because of the Exposition , amusement parks continue to provide

exhibits and rides to generate excitement in the public to this day.





While constructing the Exposition the designers decided that all electric wires and









The Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition brought about the concept of a permanent

amusement park that future developers would use as inspiration.

The World's fair helped fuel the idea of consumerism. The fair showcased consumer

products such as Shredded Wheat, Pabst Beer, and Juicy Fruit gum. The fair also showcased diet

soda and hamburgers. The producers that won medals at the fair would later use their awards to

sway buyers into their particular brand of product. By including concession stands at the fair,

people linked entertainment and fun with spending money.

“The Exposition had an emphatic answer: onward and upward. The answer of the Fair's

visitors to this question was equivocal, as is found in the varied reactions to the Fair's

message of American strength through pride in its culture, education, commerce, and

technology.

The cultural legacy of the Fair is not quite as obvious, but still as pervasive, today,

coloring every aspect of daily modern life--from museums to the Pledge of Allegiance to

hamburgers and Disney World.”(Rose)


Columbus day. The fair even created patriotism among children with the Pledge of Allegiance.

The overall grandeur and displays exhibited at the fair fed American patriotism. Americans saw



The World’s Columbian Exposition has set the standard for fairs, brought on a new

form of consumerism, and brought new technology to the public in a way that excited people.

Patriotism grew and many Americans became excited about the development and progress

of America. The Exposition helped America transition into the 20th century and many of the

concepts and products introduced in 1893 can still be seen today.

Works Cited

Adams, Judith A. "The Promotion of New Technology through Fun and Spectacle: Electricity


How the 1893 Chicago Columbian World’s Exposition Changed America


anniversary of Columbus's journey to America. The fair showcased America's ingenuity in


The Columbian Exposition was instrumental in shaping America’s future, bringing new ideas

and technology to the public that can still be seen in society today.

In "The Promotion of New Technology Through Fun and Spectacle,” Judith Adams says

that when technology is brought forward through entertainment, it is eagerly embraced, while the

same technology might scare or intimidate people under normal circumstances because of a lack

of understanding. (Adams) The fair was important because it helped promote new technologies

by introducing those new inventions in entertaining settings to the masses of fair goers. The fair

gave the new technology a positive image and helped spread this technology across the world.

One particular technology that the fair helped improve the image of and spread popularity was

electricity.

At that period in history, the public was skeptical and even fearful of technology.

The people especially feared electricity because it was invisible and difficult to understand,

but the World's Columbian Exposition helped dispel these fears by exciting people with its

multiple purposes and creating spectacles embellished in electricity for the fair goers to admire.

Because the fair was so popular, it gave electricity the publicity it needed to hasten the spread

of electricity across the world. The world finally began to see the practical uses of technology,

ranging from lightbulbs to a fully electric kitchen.

One of the highlights of the exposition was the Ferris Wheel, created by George


decorated in 2,900 light bulbs, inspired to out-class the Eiffel Tower which was built for the

Paris World’s Fair. The Ferris wheel was all about one-upping the competition, a concept that

amusement parks continue to strive for to this day. The motivation behind the Ferris wheel also

showed the American mentality of wanting to be the best, a mentality that is still around today.





While constructing the Exposition, the designers decided that all electric wires and









One reason the subway turned out to be so successful was because Americans wanted to see

spectacles and be entertained; seeing wires would have been aesthetically unappealing to fair

goers. The concept and design of the subway was so well thought out that future developers of

permanent amusement parks used the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition as inspiration for

building their own fairs.

The World's fair helped fuel the idea of consumerism and showcased consumer products

such as Shredded Wheat, Pabst Beer, and Juicy Fruit gum. The fair also showcased diet soda

and hamburgers. The producers that won medals at the fair would later use their awards to sway

buyers into their particular brand of product. By including concession stands at the fair, people

linked entertainment and fun with spending money.


Columbus day, and even created patriotism among children with the Pledge of Allegiance. The

overall grandeur and displays exhibited at the fair fed American patriotism. Americans saw



The World’s Columbian Exposition has set the standard for fairs by outdoing previous

fairs. The fair brought many innovations such as a new form of consumerism. The fair also

brought new technology to the public in a way that excited people. The grandeur of the fair

showed and inspired American patriotism as Americans became excited about the development

and progress of America. The Exposition helped America transition into the 20th century and

many of the concepts and products introduced in 1893 can still be seen today.

Works Cited

Adams, Judith A. "The Promotion of New Technology through Fun and Spectacle: Electricity

The Conflict Within



actually did. Platoon, considered a controversial movie depicting the Vietnam War, illustrates


the war to add realism while using certain scenes to represent actual events such as the Mai Lai

massacre to add additional conflict. Through camera angles and dialog, Stone shows how war is

not as simple as the "good guys versus bad guys", but rather varies with each individual.

Stone builds up to the village scene with the camera using a distance shot showing

the back of the platoon stopped in their tracks. As the camera moves across the front of the

platoon in a horizontal shift, it stops on a dead soldier tied to a post, his throat slit and an

indistinguishable note nailed to his chest. The camera closes in and moves horizontally across

the faces of the men looking at the dead soldier, the men expressionless with the exception of

their eyes which show sorrow and anger. The camera shift stops on Barnes’s mangled and ugly

face, Barnes being the only one to actually say anything. He curses the enemy in a tone of pure

hatred, expressing the thoughts and feelings of the entire platoon.

Up until they get to the village, Barnes is neither good or bad. It isn’t until they reach

the village that Barnes’s true nature emerges. Charlie Sheen’s character, Chris, is the narrator in



day. If they had, they would’ve run. Barnes was at the eye of our rage, and through

him, our Captain Ahab. He would set things right again. That day, we loved him.”

(Stone)

That day, darkness and hate overcame the platoon as they came across the village, blind with

rage.



hesitation. In this scene, whatever compassion or mercy that Barnes may have had was now

lost. The camera focuses on Barnes’ face which expresses only rage. When he tells a soldier

to check the body out, the soldier happily complies, showing that the rest of the platoon feels

the same way as Barnes. Stone reveals the anger of the platoon when the soldiers aggressively

march into the village and start destroying everything, including the livestock. Stone shows one

soldier quickly walking through the village and shooting towards the camera. This angle shows

the destruction that is left behind from the soldier’s anger. The soldiers yell at the villagers and

round them up. When Barnes finds a family hiding in a hole, he yells at them to get out. After

he gets a couple of villagers out of the hole, he gets tired of waiting for the rest and throws a

white phosphorus grenade into the hole, killing everyone left inside.

Chris is at another part of the village inside a hut when he finds a hole with villagers

inside. The camera angle starts from within the hole, covered up with bamboo. This point of

view shot illustrates the vulnerability of the villagers inside the hole who, hiding, find the barrel

of a rifle pointing right at them. Chris pushes the bamboo aside with his rifle and starts yelling

at them to get out. Chris’s friend, Junior, tells him to stay calm and that the villagers are scared.

Chris replies that he’s scared too and sick of it, then continues to yell and pull the two villagers

out, one an old lady and the other a cripple. Chris has reached his breaking point and, in his

frantic dialog, it is unclear if Chris will succumb to violence or do the right thing. He starts

slapping and shoving the crippled villager. The character called Bunny walks in at this point and

tells Chris to kill the villagers. Chris snaps and starts shooting his rifle around the villager’s one

leg while yelling at him to dance. With Chris exhausted and near tears, Junior starts to take him

out of the hut. Stone shows in this scene that being in a constant state of fear and danger can

drive good people to commit violence.

This scene also shows Bunny’s true character. As Chris and Junior begin to leave the

hut, Bunny attacks the crippled man and kills him by hitting him repeatedly with his shotgun.

Stone shows the brutality of Bunny with the camera looking down over Bunny’s shoulder at

the cripple as he kills him. Stone shows that while some of the soldiers act out because of their

constant fear, other soldiers, like Bunny, enjoy the act of killing. While Bunny is not a main

character, Stone makes the character out to be the darkest with no redeeming qualities. Barnes

may be the primary antagonist in this movie, but even his methods can be rationalized; Bunny

gets actual enjoyment out of killing and hurting others.

When Chris returns to the center of the village, all the other villagers have been rounded

up. Stone then builds a feeling of chaos when he shows the entire platoon standing around

spectating as Barnes interviews the head villager. As he interrogates the villager, the soldiers

yell to kill everyone while the villagers are yell and scream out of fear. When the head villager’s

wife comes over and starts arguing, Barnes raises his weapon and in an act of impatience

shoots the wife, silencing everyone for a moment before the head villager’s daughter begins

to cry. Barnes adds even more tension to the scene when he grabs the girl and threatens to kill

her. Barnes becomes more enraged and is about to kill the girl when Willem Dafoe’s character,

Elias, the personification of good, comes in and starts an all out brawl with Barnes. The camera

is angled on the ground showing the fight and then switches to close ups of everyone else in the

platoon yelling for one man or the other to win the fight. It takes one half the platoon to restrain

Barnes and the other half to restrain Elias. At this point, the entire platoon is divided, half siding

with Barnes and the other siding with Elias.

Stone divides the characters by good and bad, the likeable characters being good and

siding with Elias, while the characters that are unlikable side with Barnes. As they leave the

village, Stone shows soldiers that are sided with Barnes trying to rape villagers before Chris

and Elias come across them and stop them, further showing Elias to be good. After the platoon

burns down the village and march out, Barnes’ supporters walk alone upfront without helping the

villagers. Bunny takes a quick picture to remember the destruction he took part in. Chris walks

behind Barnes’ supporters and in front of Elias. At this point Chris is caught in the middle; he

doesn’t know what is the right thing to do. Stone shows Johnny Depp’s character Lerner, as well

as other minor characters that sided with Elias, following him and carrying smiling children on

their shoulders, some wearing the soldier’s helmets. Stone makes it clear that Barnes represents

evil and Elias represents good.





scarred and sunken face just stares off into the distance smoking while the others ask if there will

be an investigation. Stone uses Barnes’s facial expressions and silence to show that Barnes is the

bad guy and will try and kill Elias.




happiness. The medevac slowly lifts off in a sea of white smoke. His smile fades as he looks

down and sees all of the dead bodies and bomb craters from the firefight he just survived. Stone

uses Chris’s narration to explain the conflict that Chris has briefly overcame, but will always

have:

“We did not fight the enemy. We fought ourselves, and the enemy was in us. The war

is over for me now but it will always be there the rest of my days. As I’m sure Elias will

be, fighting with Barnes for what Rhah called possession of my soul. There have been

times since I’ve felt like a child born from these two fathers.” (Stone)



In Platoon, Oliver Stone depicts the duality of man. Every man is filled with good and evil.

Platoon is not a movie about the good guys versus the bad guys. In platoon, everyone has the

power to be the good guy or the bad guy. The movie depicts the inner conflict of one man versus

himself, not an outside influence. Outside influences certainly play a role, but making the right


Work CitedStone, Oliver, dir. Platoon. Perf. Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, and Tom Berenger. 1986. Film.

The Conflict Within



actually did. “Platoon”, considered a controversial movie depicting the Vietnam War, illustrates


the war to add realism while using certain scenes to represent actual events, such as the Mai

Lai massacre, to add additional conflict. With the help of camera angles and dialogue, Stone

shows how war is not as simple as the "good guys versus bad guys", but rather varies with each

individual.

Stone builds up to the village scene with the camera using a distance shot showing the

back of the platoon stopped in their tracks. As the camera moves across the front of the platoon

in a horizontal pan, it stops on a dead soldier tied to a post, his throat slit and an indistinguishable

note nailed to his chest. The camera closes in and moves horizontally across the faces of the

men looking at the dead soldier, the men expressionless with the exception of their eyes which

show sorrow and anger. The camera shift stops on Barnes’s mangled and ugly face, the only

soldier to actually say anything. He curses the enemy in a tone of pure hatred, expressing the

thoughts and feelings of the entire platoon. Stone’s use of camera angles, along with Barnes’

dialogue, show an intense sense of emotional pain and anger, two heavy contributors that affect

the soldier’s actions in the village.

Before they reach the village, Barnes is neither good or bad; it’s when they arrive at the

village that Barnes’s true nature emerges. Charlie Sheen’s character, Chris, is the narrator in



day. If they had, they would’ve run. Barnes was at the eye of our rage, and through

him, our Captain Ahab. He would set things right again. That day, we loved him.”

(Stone)

Chris’ narrative explains that the platoon is united in their feelings of hate and thoughts of

revenge. While the men in the platoon all feel the same way, once in the village, each soldier

conducts himself differently.



hesitation. In this scene, whatever compassion or mercy that Barnes may have had was now lost.

The camera focuses on Barnes’ face which expresses only rage. When he tells a soldier to check

the body out, the soldier happily complies, showing that the rest of the platoon feels the same

way as Barnes. Stone reveals the anger of the platoon as one soldier quickly walks through the

village and shoots towards the camera. This angle gives the sense of the soldiers venting their

emotions through destruction. Stone further develops Barnes’ character as the villain as he gets

tired of waiting for villagers to come out of their hiding place and throws a grenade into the

hole, killing everyone left inside.

Chris is at another part of the village inside a hut when he finds a hole with

villagers inside. The camera angle starts from within the hole, covered up with bamboo. This

point of view shot illustrates the vulnerability of the villagers inside the hole who, hiding, find

the barrel of a rifle pointing right at them. The next camera angle is over Chris’ shoulder as he

pushes the bamboo aside with his rifle and starts yelling at them to get out. Chris’s friend,

Junior, tells him to stay calm and that the villagers are scared. Chris replies that he’s scared too

and sick of it, then continues to yell and pull the two villagers out, one an old lady and the other

a cripple. These two camera shots show that both Chris and the villagers are equally scared.

Chris has reached his breaking point and, in his frantic dialog, it is unclear if Chris will succumb

to violence or do the right thing. He starts slapping and shoving the crippled villager. The

character called Bunny walks in at this point and tells Chris to kill the villagers. Chris snaps and

starts shooting his rifle around the villager’s one leg while yelling at him to dance. With Chris

exhausted and near tears, Junior starts to take him out of the hut. Stone shows in this scene that

being in a constant state of fear and danger can drive good people to commit violence. Stone

also shows that while Chris may be angry and scared, he is ultimately good and cannot bring

himself to commit any serious violence to the innocent villagers.

This scene also shows Bunny’s true character. As Chris and Junior begin to leave the

hut, Bunny attacks the crippled man and kills him by hitting him repeatedly with his shotgun.

Stone shows the brutality of Bunny with the camera looking down over Bunny’s shoulder at

the cripple as he kills him. Stone shows that while some of the soldiers act out because of their

constant fear, other soldiers, like Bunny, enjoy the act of killing. While Bunny is not a main

character, Stone makes the character out to be the darkest with no redeeming qualities. Barnes

may be the primary antagonist in this movie, but even his methods can be rationalized; Bunny

gets actual enjoyment out of killing and hurting others.

Stone then builds a feeling of chaos when he shows the entire platoon standing around

spectating as Barnes interviews the head villager. As he interrogates the villager, the head

villager’s wife comes over and starts arguing. The camera shows a half body shot of Barnes

as he raises his weapon and, in an act of impatience, shoots the head villager’s wife. Barnes

looks down at his kill with a look of anger and disgust, silencing everyone for a moment before

the head villager’s daughter begins to cry. Stone, in a series of close-ups of the soldier’s faces,

shows a feeling of mostly confusion mixed with approval by some and shame by others. In this

scene, Stone shows that the platoon is divided on what they think is right and what they think is

wrong.

The same scene also shows the facial expression of the Platoon Leader who lets the

whole incident happen and only spectates, even though he is actually in charge. The PL is not a

good or bad person, he’s just inept. In this scene, there are a couple of brief closeups of his face

expressing fear and confusion; he does not know what to do. The PL is an important character

because he shows that people, even when they know something is wrong, are often too scared to

stick up for what is right.

Barnes adds even more tension to the scene when he grabs the girl and threatens to kill

her. Barnes becomes more enraged and is about to kill the girl when Willem Dafoe’s character,

Elias, the personification of good, comes in and starts an all out brawl with Barnes. The camera

is angled on the ground showing the fight and then switches to close ups of everyone else in the

platoon yelling for one man or the other to win the fight. The camera angles add to the scene

a sense of intensity and also shows division within the platoon. It takes half of the platoon to

restrain Barnes and the other half to restrain Elias. At this point, the entire platoon is divided,

half siding with Barnes and the other siding with Elias.

Stone divides the characters by good and bad, the likeable characters siding with Elias

while the characters that are unlikable siding with Barnes. Stone divides the platoon in this

way so that there is a visual distinction between the good and bad soldiers. As they leave the

village, Stone shows soldiers that are sided with Barnes trying to rape villagers before Chris and

Elias come across them and stop them, further showing Elias to be good. In the final shot, after

the platoon burns down the village and marches out, Stone uses a distant shot to show Barnes’

supporters as they walk alone upfront without helping the villagers. Chris walks behind Barnes’

supporters and in front of Elias. Stone uses this shot to show that at this point Chris is caught in

the middle; he respects both Barnes and Elias and doesn’t know what is the right thing to do.





scarred and sunken face just stares off into the distance smoking while the others ask if there

will be an investigation. This scene shows the seriousness of Barnes. His scars and sunken face

reflect his inner self and future intentions. Stone uses Barnes’s facial expressions and silence to

show that Barnes is the bad guy and will try and kill Elias.




happiness. This scene is important because it shows for a brief moment that Chris’ battle over

good and evil had momentarily stopped. The medevac slowly lifts off in a sea of white smoke.

His smile fades as he looks down and sees all of the dead bodies and bomb craters from the

firefight he just survived. Stone uses Chris’s narration to explain the conflict that Chris has

briefly overcame, but will always have:

“We did not fight the enemy. We fought ourselves, and the enemy was in us. The war

is over for me now but it will always be there the rest of my days. As I’m sure Elias will

be, fighting with Barnes for what Rhah called possession of my soul. There have been

times since I’ve felt like a child born from these two fathers.” (Stone)



In Platoon, Oliver Stone depicts the duality of man. Every man is filled with good and

evil. Platoon is not a movie about the good guys versus the bad guys; everyone has the power to

be the good guy or the bad guy. The movie depicts the inner conflict of one man versus himself,

not an outside influence. While outside influences certainly play a role, making the right


Work Cited

Stone, Oliver, dir. Platoon. Perf. Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, and Tom Berenger. 1986. Film.

Free Choice Essay Mark Up

The Evils of Fast Food

In American society fast food is a natural part of life. It’s usually cheap, its fast, and it is

convenient. Americans are blasted by advertisements almost everywhere they go by fast food.

Large fast food corporations market their products where ever they can, in all areas of the media,

and most places where people congregate in masses, such as sporting events and music concerts.

The problem with fast food is that it is almost never healthy and corporations will do everything

they can to keep people buying it.

The media has a major influence on fast food. A primary sponsor of television shows are

food companies, fast food commercials are seen at every commercial break. The commercials

portray to their audience healthy people eating unhealthy food. The message is, “buy our

product and you can have as much fun and be as happy as these people” Arby’s is one example

of this. Arby’s sells their food as “Good mood Food”. Arby’s tells the consumer that emotional

eating is a good thing, when emotional eating is usually eating unhealthy to feel better. One of

McDonald’s slogans is “Put a smile on your face”, as if eating their food will instantly change

your psychological being. Fast food companies may also show a bunch of attractive people

hanging out with each other having the best time of their lives. Even the food itself is given a

makeover to look better.

Fast food companies go to great lengths to sell their food. Through shiny packaging

fast food companies try to catch the eye of their intended audience. As Thomas Hine

wrote, “Packaging strives at once to offer excitement and reassurance. It promotes something

newer and better, but not necessarily different.”(125) While Hine is talking about technology,

it also pertains to fast food. The marketing of the product doesn’t just stop at the package.

Companies often hire professional artists to take their product and make it look more appetizing.

The product that is presented to the consumer in a commercial is usually not even edible. For

example, food stylist Kim Krejca (adoramaTV) talks about using WD-40 to make brownies look

more appetizing to consumers.

Children are not safe from being targeted. Many companies offer a children’s menu

that are just as unhealthy as the product marketed to their parents, only in a smaller dosage.

McDonald’s and Burger King both offer kid’s meals where they throw in a toy in an effort

to appeal to young children. They know that a nagging kid can be a very effective method at

making their parents buy their products.

The fast food industry even influences what can be seen in an actual television show.

Television producers must be careful not to offend sponsors. On reality shows products are

often censored if they are not a product of a sponsor, while other shows use products without

labels so as not to offend sponsors. Often times a company will pay for product placement in

shows, movies, and even sporting events.

The majority of fast food is unhealthy. Food is loaded with fats and preservatives in

order to lengthen the product’s shelf life. In the documentary “Supersize Me” Morgan Spurlock

shows the decomposition of McDonalds foods compared to other restaurant’s similar foods.

While the McDonalds food did last longer than their counterparts, it was the McDonalds French

fries that stood out. After ten weeks the French fries showed almost no change. While fast food

chains are starting to jump on the healthy food bandwagon after seeing Subway’s success, the

items on the average menus are still mostly unhealthy foods.

Fast food has deep roots in the on-the-go American culture. In today’s society most

people want to streamline their day and find the most efficient way to do as many tasks possible.

Craig S. Watkins wrote, “Like fast food, fast entertainment is easy to get, all around us, and

typically cheap, but not always good for you” (143) While Watkins is talking about technology

he is also describing fast food. Fast food sells itself by quickly creating a meal for someone that

doesn’t want to take the time and cook themselves. America has also turned into an

individualistic culture. Most families are on the go doing their own thing. When parents are

preoccupied with work, and kids are preoccupied with school and their social life, a sit-down

meal becomes less practical. Fast food is quick and easy, to the point a parent can just pick up

food on the way back from work. The media fuels this by leading people to believe they simply

don’t have the time for a home cooked meal. Many fast food restaurants stay open twenty four

hours. If a person wants food at four in the morning, their only choice is to buy fast food or

make a home cooked meal, given they have the food at home already to cook.

This also caters to consumers with lower income jobs who don’t work a typical nine to

five job. Income levels affect the practicality of eating healthy. In the documentary Food Inc., a

lower income family shows how hard it is with little time or money to eat healthy. When faced

with the prices of individual items such as produce, they found that it was just cheaper to buy

unhealthy foods off a fastfood dollar menu. In the Documentary Food Inc., Michael Pollan talks

about how unhealthy food affects lower income households and causes obesity.

“Why is it you can buy a double cheeseburger from McDonalds for 99 cents when you

can’t even get a head of broccoli for 99 cents. We’ve skewed our food system to the

bad calories and it’s not an accident. The reasons that those calories are cheaper are

because those are the ones we are heavily subsidizing. This is directly tied to the kind of

agriculture that we’re practicing and the type of farm policies we have. All those snack

food policies are the ones that come from the commodity crops; Wheat, corn, soybeans.

By making those calories really cheap is one of the reasons the biggest predictor of

obesity is income level.”

Fast food companies use these bad calories because it makes production cheaper. Fast foods

almost never provide the nutritional facts to their products. While they may pass health

inspections they almost never tell the consumer what actually goes into their products. Many

companies add preservatives, chemicals, and artificial flavoring to boost a product’s taste appeal

to a customer, while also making the product cheaper and make it last longer.

While fast food is everywhere in America, that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. The

media shoves the idea of fast food down society’s throat. The fast food industry aggressively

tries to market their products to as many people as possible. The fast food market targets people

regardless of age or income. In an attempt to mass produce and cheaply manufacturer products,

the industry hands out a product to people that is cheap and unhealthy.

Works Cited

Kim Krejca, Gayle, Rick, Wallace, Mark. “How’d They Do That?” adoramaTV. Uploaded by, adoramaTV Oct 11, 2010. Accessed March 29, 2012. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhPC9frwE4g&feature=related

Hines, Thomas. “What’s in a Package.” Signs of Life in the USA. Ed. Sonia Maasik, Jack

Solomon. 7th ed. Boston: 2003 Bedford/St. Martin's, 125. Print. Spurlock, Morgan. “Supersize Me” Dir. Spurlock, Morgan. Pro. Spurlock, Morgan, 2004 Watkins, Craig S. “Fast Entertainment and Multitasking in an Always-On World.” Signs of Life

in the USA. Ed. Sonia Maasik, Jack, Solomon. 7th ed. Boston: 2003 Bedford/St. Martin's, 143. Print.

Pollan, Michael “Food Inc.” Dir. Kenner, Robert. Pro. Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media,

River Road Entertainment, 2008

http://www.imdb.com/company/co0134717/













Free Choice Essay Final

Fast Food’s Grip on American Society

In American society, fast food is a natural part of life. It is cheap, it is fast, and it is

convenient. Americans are blasted by fast food advertisements almost everywhere they go.

Large fast food corporations market their products wherever they can-- in all areas of the media

and most places where people congregate in masses, such as sporting events and music concerts.

The problem with fast food is that it is almost never healthy and corporations will do everything

they can to keep their profits up.

Fast food industries have a major influence on the media. A primary sponsor of

television shows are food companies; fast food commercials are seen at almost every commercial

break. The commercials display to their audience healthy people eating unhealthy food.

The message is, “buy our product and you can have as much fun and be as happy as these

people”. Arby’s is one example of this. Arby’s sells their food as “Good Mood Food”, telling

the consumer that emotional eating is a good thing, when emotional eating is usually eating

unhealthy to feel better. One of McDonald’s slogans is “Put a smile on your face”, as if eating

their food will instantly change your psychological being. Fast food companies manipulate the

viewer by showing an unrealistic representation of attractive people hanging out with each other

having the time of their lives while showing none of the harmful effects of their food. With fast

food advertisements virtually everywhere, the temptation to eat unhealthy food is always present.

Fast food companies go to great lengths to sell their food. Even their food is given

a makeover. Through shiny packaging, fast food companies try to catch the eye of their

intended audience. As Thomas Hine wrote, “Packaging strives at once to offer excitement

and reassurance. It promotes something newer and better, but not necessarily different.”(125)

While Hine is talking about technology, it also pertains to fast, food. The marketing of the

product doesn’t just stop at the package. Companies often hire professional artists to take their

product and make it look more appetizing. The product that is presented to the consumer in a

commercial is usually not even edible. For example, food stylist Kim Krejca (adoramaTV) talks

about using WD-40 to make brownies look more appetizing to consumers.

Children are not safe from being targeted. Many companies offer a children’s menu that

are just as unhealthy as the product marketed to their parents, only in a smaller dosage.

McDonald’s and Burger King both offer kid’s meals where they throw in a toy in an effort to

appeal to young children. They know that a nagging kid can be a very effective method at

making their parents buy their products. The majority of fast food is unhealthy. Food is

loaded with fats and preservatives in order to lengthen the product’s shelf life. In the

documentary “Supersize Me”, Morgan Spurlock shows the decomposition of McDonalds foods

compared to other restaurant’s similar foods. Overall McDonalds’ food lasted longer than their

counterparts, it was the McDonalds French fries that stood out. After ten weeks the French fries

showed almost no change. While fast food chains are starting to jump on the healthy food

bandwagon after seeing Subway’s success, the items on the average menus are still mostly

unhealthy foods.

Fast food has deep roots in the on-the-go American culture. In today’s society, most

people want to streamline their day and find the most efficient way to do as many tasks possible.

Craig S. Watkins wrote, “Like fast food, fast entertainment is easy to get, all around us, and

typically cheap, but not always good for you”. (143) While Watkins is talking about technology,

he is also describing fast food. Fast food sells itself by quickly creating a meal for someone that

doesn’t want to take the time and cook themselves. America has also turned into an

individualistic culture. Most families are on the go doing their own thing. When parents are

preoccupied with work and kids are preoccupied with school and their social life, a sit-down

meal becomes less practical. Fast food is quick and easy to the point a parent can just pick up

food on the way back from work. The media fuels the appeal of convenience by leading people

to believe they simply don’t have the time for a home cooked meal. Many fast food restaurants

stay open twenty four hours. If a person wants food at four in the morning, their only choice is

to buy fast food or make a home cooked meal, given they have the food at home already to cook.

Fast food also caters to consumers with lower income jobs who don’t work a typical nine

to five job. Income levels affect the practicality of eating healthy. In the documentary Food Inc.,

a lower income family shows how hard it is with little time or money to eat healthy. When faced

with the prices of individual items such as produce, they found that it was just cheaper to buy

unhealthy foods off a fastfood dollar menu. In the Documentary Food Inc., Michael Pollan talks

about how unhealthy food affects lower income households and causes obesity.

“You can buy a double cheeseburger from McDonalds for 99 cents when you can’t even

get a head of broccoli for 99 cents. We’ve skewed our food system to the bad calories

and it’s not an accident. The reasons that those calories are cheaper are because those

are the ones we are heavily subsidizing. This is directly tied to the kind of agriculture

that we’re practicing and the type of farm policies we have. All those snack food policies

are the ones that come from the commodity crops; Wheat, corn, soybeans. By making

those calories really cheap is one of the reasons the biggest predictor of obesity is income

level.”

Fast food companies use these bad calories because it makes production cheaper. Fast foods

almost never provide the nutritional facts to their products. While they may pass health

inspections, they almost never tell the consumer what actually goes into their products. Many

companies add preservatives, chemicals, and artificial flavoring to boost a product’s taste appeal

to a customer which makes the product cheaper and last longer as well as remove nutrients and

make the product even less healthy than before.

While fast food is everywhere in America, that doesn’t mean that it is a good thing. The

media shoves the idea of fast food down society’s throat by aggressively trying to market their

products to as many people as possible. The fast food market also targets people regardless of

age or income. In an attempt to mass produce and cheaply manufacture products, the industry

hands out a product to people that is unhealthy.

Works Cited

Kim Krejca, Gayle, Rick, Wallace, Mark. “How’d They Do That?” adoramaTV. Uploaded by,

adoramaTV Oct 11, 2010. Accessed March 29, 2012.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhPC9frwE4g&feature=related

Hines, Thomas. “What’s in a Package.” Signs of Life in the USA. Ed. Sonia Maasik, Jack

Solomon. 7th ed. Boston: 2003 Bedford/St. Martin's, 125. Print.

Spurlock, Morgan. “Supersize Me” Dir. Spurlock, Morgan. Pro. Spurlock, Morgan, 2004

Watkins, Craig S. “Fast Entertainment and Multitasking in an Always-On World.” Signs of Life

in the USA. Ed. Sonia Maasik, Jack, Solomon. 7th ed. Boston: 2003 Bedford/St.

Martin's, 143. Print.

Pollan, Michael “Food Inc.” Dir. Kenner, Robert. Pro. Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media,

River Road Entertainment, 2008














a dark reflection on good and evil

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