When Ron Kovic was
a young boy he was filled with wonder, energy, and patriotism. Perhaps being born on the
Fourth of July somehow explains Ron’s love for his country. His parents were part of
the working class in Massapequa, Long Island. His father and his uncle were both World War
II veterans. Ron was an All-American boy. He joined the Marines with nothing but love for
his country only to find himself abused and finally neglected by the powers that be.
During the time period of the war (1960s and 1970s) the United States was going through a
time of grief, confusion, loss of family and friends, and neglect from the higher powers.
This put many in a position to be anti-war and anti-war veterans. One of these veterans
was Ron Kovic. Kovic was shot in action in his spinal cord and was paralyzed from the
waist down. He was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He was given poor
conditions in the hospitals that were for the soldiers wounded at war. He was given no
respect from his fellow U.S. citizens. Now Kovic was back and had the desire to change
both the attitude of society and the government. He shared his anti-war feelings and led a
movement to help the causes of the poor veteran’s hospitals, handicapped veterans,
and the strength to make sure a war like the Vietnam will never happen again. His story
was brought to the attention of the world in a film called BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY.
WORKS CITED
Kovic, Ron. Born on the 4th of July. Virginia: Mc Graw Hill Press, 1976
"Born on the Fourth of July" is based on the book that was based on Ron
Kovacs’ experiences in the Vietnam War. Although Kovac and the director of the film,
Oliver Stone, made a few changes in adapting the story from a book to film, the basic
story has remained the same. It is a story about an American boy who goes to war with high
hopes and lofty ideas and comes back a changed person with a whole new view on life and
the government he lives under.
"Born on the Fourth of July" is the second film of a trilogy directed by
Stone. The other two films of the trilogy include "Platoon", which was based on
Stone’s own experiences in the Vietnam War, and "Heaven on Earth." They
spent many years searching for the right actors. They came within days of filming the
movie with Al Pacino back in 1978 but the financing fell through.
Both Stone and Kovic survived the war but Kovic was left paralyzed from the chest down
in a wheelchair. Eventually both these men turned against the war. Kovac let his opinions
on the war be known publicly and this caused him to be kicked out of the 1972 Democratic
convention. He also gave a semi famous speech in 1976 against the war "that was the
equivalent of one of those recent breast beatings in the Supreme Soviet. We do apologize
for our mistakes in this country, but we let our artists do it instead of our
politicians." (Ebert)
Kovac came home from the war a cripple but it took a couple of years for the bitterness
and resentment to sink in. He moved to Mexico for a period and began to seek comfort in
drinking, drugs, and Mexican whorehouses. Something inside of him changed after living
that way and he eventually came back to America to put his life back together and this was
when he wrote the best-selling autobiography Born on the Fourth of July.
There were some surprising changes made in adapting the story to film version. In the
book Kovac specifically states that the biggest reason for him enlisting was
Hollywood’s glamorization of battles and war movies. He actually names the movies
"Sands of Iwo Jima" and "To Hell and Back" as the two biggest
culprits. The movie makes it seem as if he joined the war to make his parents happy,
especially his mother. This movie does not really make clear the reasons for Kovac turning
against the war. In his book Koavac makes it clear that his biggest reason was the
horrible hospital condition that he dealt with when he came back from the war. They were
not adequately staffed and he would sometimes go for hours suffering in pain before
someone in the hospital staff could get a chance to help him. He also talked of the
uncleanly conditions and the rats running around under his bed.
PLOT: Born on the Fourth of July is a movie based on the true story of Vietnam veteran
Ron Kovic. (Played by Tom Cruise) The plot and summary of the film tells the story of
Ron’s life from boyhood to becoming a man. It begins with the background of
Ron’s small town All-American life. He respects and loves his country. He excels in
high school sports, has a job at his fathers grocery store, and plenty of friends to go
around. The townspeople look at him as a good strong kid. His mother sees him going places
and "saying important things to important people." He leaves the family and the
high school sweetheart and joins the Marines. While fighting across seas Ron encounters
many tragedies. He accidentally shoots one of his own men. On Ron’s last shooting his
crew accidentally bombs a Viennese family. Ron is shot in the spinal cord during that rage
and is paralyzed from the chest down. Kovic is brought to a Veteran’s hospital where
the doctors are few and not very education. The physical therapy given to the veterans is
a joke. The full recovery chance for any of the victims is very dim. Kovic leaves the
hospital confined to a wheelchair and returns to his hometown. There he is surprised by
people’s thoughts of war. His high school sweetheart and his own family does not
understand him. He spends months drinking with other veterans before he sees the light on
the war and the government’s effect on it. He begins speaking at anti-war movements
and working for handicapped veterans. The movie ends with Ron giving an inspiring speech
at a political convention.
CRITIQUE: Oliver Stone’s direction of this film is outstanding. He takes his
viewers inside the war by showing on filed fighting. The fire scene is incredible for the
eye. The movie’ purpose is to keep the Vietnam War Veterans and what they fought for
alive forever. This movie does a fantastic job with keeping the flame lit.
Born on the Fourth of July