day 2/block 1

Rating: 6/10 (15 May 2007)

#1. I think that the symbolism of the Russian Roulette scenes did not accurately portray the Vietnam War. It was supposed to symbolize that regardless how lucky or fortunate you may be throughout the war, eventually your luck would come to an end, and basically just wind up killing you. Similar to Russian Roulette, if you were to go into the Vietnam War it was technically a lose-lose situation. You may win some money and not get shot but you're never going to be completely safe. If you were a Vietnam soldier, you would either end up dead, or severely mentally or physically ill for the rest of your life. Nikki, for example was mentally and physically stable prior to playing Russian Roulette. However, after playing more games and not shooting himself, he became emotionally 'sick.' He didn't even recognize his life-long friend or want to return home. Russian Roulette, much like the war, had taken over his body and soul and he was never going to be the normal, sane individual that he once was.
I do in fact agree that Russian Roulette is very similar to the Vietnam War, however, I don't think that the majority of the film should have been based on this game. Although the three men suffered greatly from the war, the majority of their depression and anxiety was from the Russian Roulette game. If Russian Roulette was not truly played during the war, the director should not have made it the main theme, or idea of the film. It's harder to compare this game to the war if it was not actually played by the men at POW camps.