"Born on the Fourth of July" is not a story of a soldier in combat and the horrors he faces, but rather the story of a soldier who changes his stance on said war. Oliver Ston, a Vietnam veteran himself, was inspired by the book "Born on the Fourth of July” which told the true life story of a Vietnam vet named Ron Kovic. Stone bought the rights to the memoir and other than a few editorial changes, brought a very accurate version of the autobiography to the silver screen.
Ron Kovic as a child was in love with America and with the idealistic image of war. Often playing war games and dreaming of being a soldier he, along with most of America, had no idea about the horrifying reality of war. At a parade he sees the Vets as symbols of hope and bravery, with crowds of people cheering at their heroism.
When a teenaged Ron Kovic first hears about the Vietnam War he is not concerned about actually going to Vietnam, but rather that he will miss out on the action because he was told it was going to be a short war. He loves his country, and sees this as a chance to serve it in a real way. Stone communicates that the young American men being recruited were misinformed about what going to really war meant. The movie implies that a whole generation of boys were indoctrinated into a “Rah-Rah” view of America. They worried about the “Commies” and would rather “be dead than red”.
The marines at Ron’s school made joining up look glamorous and what the boys should do if they want to learn to become a real man. Naturally this was very attractive to many young men because of the societal beliefs about masculinity and being a soldier, as well as following in the footsteps of their fathers whom fought in WWII. One of Ron’s friends said that their dads “got to go to WWII” as if it was a privilege, being completely ignorant of the fact that over 60 million people died during the war. This mirrored the way Americans at home viewed Vietnam, out of sight out of mind.
The movie spends little time focusing on Kovic’s time in Vietnam, and primarily shows the aftermath he and the other soldiers experience. However a pivotal scene does take place during a battle in Vietnam, when Kovic first sees the dark reality of war. He and his men accidentally murder Vietnamese civilians, including babies and children. Stone shows examples of where the Americans made mistakes in the war, and raises the question of what the real purpose of being in Vietnam really was. Kovic keeps saying things were so confusing and chaotic, which shows the lack of organization the soldiers actually had. The confusion hits a fever pitch when Kovic shoots Wilson, a young soldier in his unit, killing him almost instantly. The movie becomes more about survival and shooting at anything that moved.
After Kovic is shot twice, becoming paralyzed from the chest down, he is thrown into a veteran’s hospital in the Bronx. There he faces the harsh reality of being stripped of his manhood (as he has lost the ability to have children) as well as his basic human rights. The hospital is rat infested, both the patients and the staff use drugs constantly and there isn’t even a real doctor in it. Although he experiences great physical and emotional pain during his stay at the hospital, he still believes the war has nothing to do with his agony. His patriotism and denial about the war continues to run strong, and he makes it a point to attack anyone who says something negative about the war.
When he returns home he sees that people treat him differently not only because he is in a wheelchair, but because he chose to be a part of the war in the first place. His first realization that the anti-war movement exists is during the Fourth of July parade, which turns out to be quite different from the one he saw when he was a child. During the parade the community was not cheering and honoring the Vietnam veterans like they were the WWII veterans, but instead they were flipping them off and shaming them for being supporters of the war. After he witnesses the Kent State rally in which violent police attack and arrest peaceful protesters, is when Kovic begins to rethink his stance on the war.
If the Vietnam War is a wrong war, what did Kovic lose his legs and by proxy his manhood for? This realization leads Kovic down a dark path of drugs and alcohol which ends up leaving him incredibly depressed and alienates him from his ultra religious family.
Though he finds redemption through political activism with other vets rallying against the war, you also feel Kovic finds closure through revealing his role in the death of Wilson, whom he shot during the war. Stone was able to make his statement in the movie without putting everything in dialogue, but also through Tom Cruise’s compelling performance. The film lives and dies by Cruise’s portrayal of Ron Kovic, and he shows the usual manic intensity that makes Tom Cruise an acting force to be reckoned with. Cruise received his first Academy Award nomination and won a Golden Globe for Best Actor, Stone also received an Academy Award for Best Director. The film’s success can also be seen through the strong use of editing and through the use of long dolly shots, POV shots during battle, and the sound editing that makes each scene really live and breath.
“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” JFK’s famous quote rings true in the story of Ron Kovic, a man who gave up everything, short of his life for what the film perceives as an unjust war. Kovic’s values and idealism do not serve him well as he realizes that he has been truly betrayed by the government he trusted so much.
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