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p.s. how do you grade a Vietnam War movie on accuracy without having been there, I dont know.
No flame, but any movie based on any given situation in a war can only be judged by those that actually where in that situation.
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Wouldn't it then also be true that someone who was in 'nam--but who wasn't in that specific situation--couldn't judge the movie, either.
Furthermore, if we can't judge a movies realism, we can't judge the actions of those who were there.
We can't say that acted cowardly.
We can't say they committed attrocities.
We can't say they acted heroically.
We were not there, so we can't say anything about it.
I don't buy this.
Events such as criminal trials are based on the idea that we can determine facts without having been present when the actions occured. The same is true of historical research, and other fields of study. We can determine accuracy without having "been there".
As for [i]Platoon[/i], the details, special effects, and equipment appeared to be fine, but the plot, with Sgt. Good and Sgt. Evil, was plain silly. If you want the word of someone who was there, I know two Marines who served in WW2, Korea and as civilian defense contractors in 'nam (one killed a VC or NVA in front of his son, my roommate, during the Tet Offensive). They both thought [i]Platoon[/i] was garbage. They both liked the boot camp portion of [i]Full Metal Jacket[/i], but thought the Hue portion was garbage.