Symoblism of Russian Roulette

Rating: Null/10 (14 December 2016)

Most likely, Russian Roulette was not used in prisoner of war camps during the Vietnam war. However, the danger and psychological damage the game represents were present. In Russian roulette, you either leave the game dead, physically scarred, or emotionally and psychologically scarred. The same occurred for those sent to war. One would either die at battle, become injured, or receive a lot of emotional and psychological damage such as Nick did during the film. Because the game continued throughout the film with Nick's continuation of it or Mike's use of it when he was angry at his friend, this might represent how the damage received during the war continued to follow the soldiers throughout their lives. I think it was smart to use the game as symbolism rather than trying to portray all of the events from the war. The scenes where they play are difficult enough to watch and add enough emotional discomfort to the viewer that an more would have turned the movie into a gore-filled action film rather than something that allows us to reflect on the impacts the Vietnam war had on the lives of Americans. Russian Roulette can also play another role in the film, the danger before deciding to fight. For most, college was not a feasible option and many were threatened with the impending draft. In a way, the draft was another game of Russian roulette. They could try to avoid going and either be drafted or put in jail, or they could go and possibly die or return home and be told that they probably shouldn't have fought that war.