increased objectification and the idealization of
women’s bodies and faces, including the com-
mercial applications of the beauty industry.
Cole, Thomas R.The Journey of Life: A Cultural Histor y
of Aging in America.New York: Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, 1992. Analysis of American cultural be-
liefs about aging, including Western philosophi-
cal antecedents to these beliefs.
Haiken, Elizabeth.Venus Envy: A Histor y of Cosmetic
Surger y.Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1997. History of plastic surgery grounded
in American social history and evolving popular
perceptions of beauty.
Nelson, Adie, and Barrie W. Robinson. “Gender and
Aging.” InGender in Canada, edited by Adie Nel-
son and Barrie W. Robinson. 2d ed. Toronto:
Prentice Hall, 2002. Study of the differing experi-
ences and representations of aging in men and
women.
Susan J. Wurtzburg
See also Cher; Consumerism; Dallas; Diets;Dy-
nasty; Fashions and clothing; Feminism; Film in Can-
ada; Film in the United States; Jackson, Michael;
Medicine; MTV; Music videos.
Platoon
Identification American film
Director Oliver Stone (1946- )
Date Released December 19, 1986
Platoonwas the breakout film of director Oliver Stone, who
went on to make several of the most famous and controver-
sial films of the next few decades. The film chronicled an
American soldier’s experiences in Vietnam in 1968. It re-
sulted in a wider appreciation for the grunts of Vietnam, if
not for the war itself.
UntilPlatoon(1986) was released, American films
about the Vietnam War usually focused either upon
the wrongness of the war, upon the atrocities of the
war, or upon the psychological devastation wrought
upon veterans who returned from the war. Routinely
castigated by popular culture representations, few
veterans felt free to discuss openly their experiences
or to exorcise their own personal demons. Two
things madePlatoonnot only possible but also neces-
sary: the rebirth of American national pride and the
opening of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
For a decade following the end of American in-
volvement in Vietnam, the United States appeared
to suffer from what pundits referred to as “Vietnam
syndrome,” a hesitance to become embroiled in ma-
jor hostilities, lest earlier mistakes be repeated. The
Iranian hostage crisis (1978-1981) and the Soviet in-
vasion of Afghanistan (1979) showed a United States
incapable of effective response. Ronald Reagan won
the 1980 presidential election in part through his
platform of renewed American pride and a promise
to roll back Soviet adventurism. Meanwhile, without
any federal money, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Fund raised $8.2 million to build the Vietnam Vet-
erans Memorial, dedicated in 1982. A new apprecia-
tion for the military, an awareness of the sacrifice
made by so many young Americans, and a growing
realization of the unrecognized service of American
veterans meant that the time was right for a reinter-
pretation of the image of the American soldier who
served in Vietnam.
Oliver Stone had enlisted in the military and had
seen extensive combat in Vietnam in 1968. He both
wrote and directedPlatoonin order to reinterpret
the war for American audiences. The film’s story it-
self is not unusual: A platoon patrols, a village is de-
molished, a firefight erupts, and soldiers die in the
jungle. What madePlatoonimportant was Stone’s as-
sertion throughout that these were ordinary Ameri-
can kids inserted into a situation for which they were
ill-prepared. If they survived, they were changed—
but they were still Americans doing a job that their
country ordered them to do. Stone intentionally
mixed this literal message with a more thematic pre-
sentation, as the protagonist of the film finds himself
caught between two sergeants, who come to symbol-
ize a good father and a bad father as the narrative
progresses.Platoonwas the film of the year in 1986; at
the annual ceremony in 1987, it won the Academy
Awards for Best Picture and Best Director, as well as
Best Film Editing and Best Sound.Impact It was not uncommon to find Vietnam vet-
erans weeping at the conclusion of a viewing ofPla-
toon. More important, it was common to find them
comforted by those in attendance who had simply
not known what combat troops in Vietnam had
experienced.Platoonallowed Vietnam veterans to
articulate their feelings without remorse or fear of
being called “baby killers,” and it portrayed the hor-
rible complexities of a war in which one could beThe Eighties in America Platoon 761