Russian Roulette #1

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2013)

Whether one likes to view The Deer Hunter as a drawn-out war film or a huge allegory to the dehumanization of a conflict that had the logical premise, the concept and action of Russian Roulette is a huge part of the film. Russian Roulette is a lose-lose situation. No matter how long you survive, you will die eventually. The first sequence of Russian Roulette was shown through Mike and Nick's perspective as they were forced to play against each other. It was eventually Mike's swift actions that allowed him and Nick to escape with Steve. The symbolism of Russian Roulette is exactly the same thing for the United States. If we went to war and we "won", we would lose so many lives in the process for the title of victor in a pointless war of attrition. If we lost, we would still lose many American lives in the process and the trust in the government from the pubic's perspective would heavily damaged. What the film was trying to depict was that Vietnam was a long drawn-out version of Russian Roulette, especially for the veterans. The veterans that sacrificed everything would be scolded and criticized for doing something they had no choice in. In both Russian Roulette and the Vietnam War, whether the prize is winning a war between Communism and Democracy, or in Nick's case-making money and getting high-there is no true victory; there is only loss.