#1, The symbolism for the Russian Roulette sequences

Rating: Null/10 (11 December 2012)

The only options men had during the Vietnam War were to wait for the draft, volunteer for the military, or to flee the country, specifically to Canada, until the war was over. After the war, if they weren't able to escape the draft, there was no way to make it out unharmed in some way, much like Russian Roulette. If you play Russian Roulette enough times, eventually you're going to lose. While there were no reported instances of Russian Roulette being used as torture in POW camps during the Vietnam War, it is a very important symbol. Men would most likely return in one of three ways: unharmed physically but psychologically damaged, physically injured and permanently handicapped, or dead. Even if they survived, those who had been left at home insulted them, isolating them and accusing them of horrible things they had heard about on the news, even though joining the military had at the start of the war been considered incredibly patriotic and brave. Like with Russian Roulette, when they played for long enough during the long war, eventually they were going to lose. I think it's a very good way to portray the symbolism without flat-out saying it.