Oliver Stone is best known for his portrayals of Vietnam in films. His films "Platoon" and "Born on the Fourth of July" won him the Oscar for best director. These films not only depicted the violence of war, but also the cultural and psychological problems that soldiers in these wars had to endure. Most of his early and best-known films focus on the Vietnam War. Oliver Stone's military experience gave him a special vision that made his films more authentic and convincing to audiences. These films portray the struggles that Vietnam War soldiers and veterans faced on and off the battlefield. Platoon is Oliver Stone's first cinematic portrayal of Vietnam. The film begins with the main character Chris Taylor (played by Charlie Sheen) arriving in Vietnam. A very important element of the character Chris Taylor is that he is a college student who dropped out by choice to join the war effort. This element helps contrast Taylor with the supporting characters as most of them are people who were drafted and came to Vietnam against their will. "Mr. Stone, himself a Vietnam veteran, observes the war through the brief focus of a single infantry platoon, fighting somewhere near the Cambodian border in 1967." (Vincent, "The Vietnam War in Stone's 'Platoon' ") Charlie Sheen's character recounts the platoon's journey and struggles through notes to his grandmother. “For all intents and purposes, Chris was Oliver Stone. «He was a stunt double. The alter ego Stone wrote similar letters to his grandmother, telling her of "my wishes, my desires." (Salewicz 21) The choice in the narrative tells the audience that Taylor may have a closer relationship with her grandmother than with her real parents. There... in the center of the paper... adaptation of Ron Kovic's best-selling autobiography. Both of these films depict real-life accounts of how war can change people both physically and emotionally. America is approaching the fiftieth anniversary of the Vietnam War. Today's students are too young to remember this time in society. While textbooks contain a lot of information about this time period, they do not have the emotional impact conveyed by these films. In a case of life imitating art, Stone's films are the voice of a generation. Works Cited Canby, Vincent. “The Vietnam War in Stone's 'Platoon'.” The New York Times 19 Oct. 1986: n. page The New York Times. Network. December 8, 2013.Salewicz, Chris. Oliver Stone. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1998. Print."Oliver Stone." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition (2013): 1. Literary Reference Center. Network. 09 December. 2013