The 70th Essay: Born on the Fourth of July (1989, USA)
Ryoden Kouki Engineering Co., Ltd.
Company Newsletter Series: “How about Taking a Short Break?”
Born on the Fourth of July tells the story of Ron Kovic, a young man who serves in the Vietnam War and returns home paralyzed from the waist down. Driven by patriotism, he goes to war only to witness its brutal reality and return home deeply wounded.
Instead of being welcomed as a hero, he faces criticism of the war and a society that treats returning veterans with indifference. Eventually, drawing on his own experience, he becomes deeply involved in the antiwar movement.
The Aesop fable “The Horse and the Soldier” at the beginning of the film symbolizes a society that uses people when it needs them for war and abandons them when they are no longer useful.
War does more than destroy lives on the battlefield. It can also profoundly change the minds and lives of those who survive. The film raises important questions about patriotism, the state, war, disability, PTSD, and human dignity.
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