In Oliver Stone’s, Born of the Fourth of July a pivotal scene portrays Ron Kovic, Vietnam War Veteran, fully clad in his dress uniform, waving to the crowd from the convertible marked with a banner saying “Welcome Home Ron Kovic.” The crowd is lined up on the streets, people are waving flags, and kids are sitting on Dads shoulders, ice cream, hot dogs, Americana in its absolute. However, Stone’s, Born of the Fourth of July is far from the optimistic, wholesome, feel-good movie of a by-gone era. The film’s dark capraesque quality, featuring the negative social effect disabled war hero, Ron Kovic, has on the crowd, draws attention to the the pitiful, bitter, and better-off-dead stereotypes of the cultural frame. This painfully illustrates to Kovic how he is perceived by America. A discussion of Stone’s use of the capraesque style of direction will allow for insight into Stone’s meaning in this scene.
Frank Capra,(1897 –1991) an American film director and a creative force behind a number of films of the 1930s and 1940s (Capra) brought to the movies a genre of films that depicted basic goodness in human nature, at a time when movie goers were looking for optimism and triumph over evil. The pre and post World War II era filmgoers wanted the reassurance of the American dream. “The belief in the kindness of the person next door, with a message of basic goodness of human nature, became known as a capraesque quality.” (Capra) This is most evident in one Capra movie in particular; It’s a Wonderful Life, that portrays a man contemplating his life and his significance in the world. In the movie, Capra shows the comparison of the main character’s happy life with one of corruption and lost innocence. In a dream sequence, or rather nightmare sequence, he sees his innocent world turned into a place of dance halls and pawn shops, where his neighbors and friends become selfish and desperate. He finally ‘awakens’ back to his life where neighbor cares for neighbor. “Capra introduces the realism of the destruction of his allegory of American happiness to carry the message that this questioning man really has, ‘a wonderful life.’”(Weems)
Stone uses this capraesque directing style to set up the image of Americana. The scene opens with the parade heading through town, with girls in majorette lines, floats boasting local merchants, and contemporary music to bring in the young. Then comes into view a convertible with the returning disabled war hero seated in the place of honor. The scene is accompanied by patriotic music to inspire respect and tribute. However, Stone positions Kovic low, in the back seat of the car, allowing only a limited view of him by the crowd. He looks stiff and uncomfortable, and while waving at the crowd he reacts to the sounds of fire crackers. The crowd responds to his rigid, yet flinching posture with dull stares. The crowd knows of his disability and war effort, but they do not understand Kovic; no one is smiling or waving to the returning hero. Some look on with pity, aversion and hate. Poignantly, what seems to be two elderly veterans of another war, look at Kovic while sympathetically shaking their heads. This is all set in a town that has turned sour. Like the dream sequence in It’s a Wonderful Life, the store fronts are now dilapidated, with head shops where there once were barber shops. Stone’s use of a darker interpretation of the capraesque directing style offers only the ugly comparison of the innocent town and its people. Stone’s film depicts the war hero, Kovic, remaining within the “nightmare.” His world is a place where he is hated, and pitied.
Stone’s need to make sense of Kovic’s disability draws on the pitiful, bitter, better-off-dead cripple stereotypes of the cultural frame. (Gabbard) Stone’s commentary regarding his directing style is, “I am hoping to get to some kind of collective conscious. You must accept the idea that life is a struggle. It always was, I mean evolution is a concept of struggle. But don’t come after me, I’m just the messenger.” (Stone) Stone’s comment implies that his message is that the film is a contemplation of struggle as elementary as evolution, or survival of the fittest. This scene offers the reaction to Kovic’s disability as abandonment by society; he is left behind and unwanted. Ironically, the message of abandonment by the people Kovic served is expressed through Stone’s application of the optimistic film style of this capraesque technique. However, Stone’s comment of wanting to start a collective conscious, without responsibility as he is merely “the messenger”, absolves him of the capraesque happy ending. Stone then takes the interpretation of the social / cultural model to a precarious level. Stone’s need for Kovic’s disability to “mean something” (Gabbard 2) finally loses Kovic to his disability.
Work Cited
“Frank Capra.” Wikipedia.com, 2010. Web. 29 Mar. 2010
Born on the Fourth of July. Dir. Oliver Stone. Prod. Oliver Stone. 1989. Universal Pictures, 1946. DVD
It’s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Prod. Frank Capra. 1946. Liberty Films, 1946. DVD
Weems, Erik “Frank Capra The Classic Fil Director from Hollywood’s Golden Age.” Eeweems.com, 2007. Web. 29 Mar. 2010
Stone, Oliver “Zurich Film Festival Tribute to Oliver Stone.” Youtube.com, 2007. Web. 29 Mar. 2010
Gabbard, Chris. Letter to the LIT 4093 class. 6 Mar. 2010.
Then, of course, I blogged 
April 12, 2010 at 6:17 pm |
Whitney, Great blog. This is one of my favorite scenes in the movie partly becuase of the look on Ron Kovic’s face when he realizes that he is not going to recieve the kind of reception that he had been wating months for. The concept of the returning war hero is very common and I like that Stone is giving a direct commentary on this American cultural event. I believe that Stone is also commenting on the conecpt of a “hero” in general and how our standards for what qualifies as heroic have changed drastically. In this scene, Stone is showing how Kovic’s flaw is that he believes he deserves to be a hero and this assumption on his part is what makes this scene, as well as Kovic himself, so tragic.