Geeez!! Vietnam is so Intense!!!

Man, I do not know where to start honestly... These two movies have really impacted the way I view Vietman and understand why the hippies hated the U.S. during this time period. Agian the only word to really describes these two movies are INTENSE! I watched Platoon first and that movie hit me hard. I went from hiding behind my pillow during the scene where the watching post fell asleep and Chris was the only one that knew what was going on to almost in tears because of Elias being shot down. This movir kept my attention the wntire time and had a strong impact on my emotions and reality of the situation. I was able to see the hatred, deceit, and lies behind enemy lines when they shot the innocent civilians of Vietnam and didn't think twice about it. This whole experience for the soldiers really sent them over the edge mentally and thinking straight was hard to do. They hardly slept, attacked my mosquitoes, constantly on watch for the 'enemy' to come out of no where. I would be worn out from the constant fear. The way they portreyed the war was brutal and let everything out in the open.
When it came to Full Metal Jacket, this was a completely different view point I thought. I was not able to really get into this movie as much. The beginning was very interesting and I was able to get into that much, but after the boot camp, I slowly lost interest. I felt that i showed a different view of the war and was overall, less impacting. Yes, it did show a soldier's start to the war and how it can send someone over the edge, but Platoon did that as well. FMJ did not really show what a soldier went through in the heart of Vietnam or show how harsh it could really be from their perspective in the center of the war. Yes, FMJ had the intense moments that made the war difficult to support. They did a very good job showing a wide range of aspects, but it just didn't ave as much of an impact as Platoon did.
The two differ because of where they are focusing their attention. Platoon focused on the jungle and hardships of the soldiers. These two movies did a great job with their scenes and the quality was remarkable. I have a whole new respect for soldiers and those that lives are affcted by war itself. I didn't think these movies would have such an impact on me. What hurt me the most was this small detail I saw in a split second which was the glimpse of a wedding ring on a soldier's finger. I was also shocked by the deceit that took place within the platoon. Elias' life was taken by his own brother in the army. I was absolutely shocked and realized that it is hard to trust just anyone. That was the difference between the two I think. Besides the harsh treatment of Pyle in FMJ, the guys wanted to help teh others genuinely. FMJ didn't spend as much time showing the shadiness between one another. I saw this when the sniper was attacking and they risked their lives to get them out of the open field. These movies opened my eyes to the reality of this war and how people can be. I am glad to not feel so naive anymore.