Question #1-Russian Roulette

Rating: 7/10 (18 December 2009)

The sequences of Russian Roulette in The Deer Hunter were the directors way of representing the no-win situation that those facing the draft for the Vietnam War encountered. If they avoided the draft, they were called unpatriotic cowards, and if they followed their orders, they were "baby-killers". In the short term, one could avoid these options, but, like in the game of Russian Roulette, you will eventually lose.
I agree with both the stylistic and ideological reasons behind using an unpredictable gun as a symbol for the horrible options placed before a generation. Although there are no documented records of American's being forced to play this deadly game, it does an excellent job of expressing the directors outlook on the Vietnam War without having to explicitly state them. Those views coincide with everything I have learned about the war, so I completely agree with the directors views. There were really no good options for those involved with the war.
As with any war, or time of crisis, there is an issue of what exactly patriotism means. In the Vietnam War, it meant following their given orders no matter what for some, and for others, it meant defying hollow edicts sent down by a temporary figure head in order to honor the more permanent values that the American Government was founded upon. As is probably evident from my language concerning the choice, I would agree with the latter position-that patriotism means upholding a set of pre-determined values, and not straying from those, even when our country is in a time of stress, like in the Vietnam war. Of course, not everyone holds similar views on the elusive definition of patriotism, and that is exactly why those up to be drafted could never win. No matter what they did, they would always be condemned by some large group, for there was no majority consensus on which option was the right thing for the country. It was a fatal game of chance, like playing Russian Roulette.