MovieChat Forums > Tigerland (2001) Discussion > Colin's Real Role/Purpose

Colin's Real Role/Purpose

posted 19 years ago by m-dongle
8 replies | jump to latest

OK, maybe everyone who's seen Tigerland noticed this too....but Colin's role seems like he doesn't want to be there, however by the end of the movie, he managed to make sure that all the truly weak soldiers were gone. I thought that was the single most interesting part of this movie.

Here he is, playing aloof, but really ensuring that he went to Vietnam with the best group of men, also managing to become platoon sargeant along the way.

Any thoughts?

[–] warchild31 19 years ago

he would have been gone himself if johnson hadn't guilt ripped him into staying. Plus he had no way of knowing what Wilson would do at the end, he just saw a way to "save" Paxton and did it. Plus if he was just trying to weed out the weak, why get himself thrown in the stockade that's a pretty big risk of getting thrown out of the Army (even in wartime).
Arthur: Are all men from the future loud-mouthed braggarts?
Ash: Nope. Just me baby... Just me.

[–] m-dongle 19 years ago

The fact that he was about to scram out to Mexico does not really fit into my theory, you are right - but Paxton was getting weaker and weaker by the end of the movie. He kept complaining about being tired and worn down, etc. My guess is that Bozz would have found some other way, if that situation had not presented itself, indeed, Bozz helped to create that situation in the first place. Plus, it may not mattered to Bozz's plan that Wilson came back at the end, because at least Wilson was not going to be in Bozz's final squad.

Getting thrown in the stocks, you are right, is a big risk, but his behavior to that point was simply eating at his superiors. They did not want him out, because that is what he wanted (or at least pretended to want). They wanted to turn a "tree-hugger" into a soldier to teach him a lesson, and partly because, as they admitted, they saw the potential in him, if only he chose to apply it.

In the end, we will all have our own opinions - either way, this was a great flick, and I choose to think that this was all part of a sub-plot, that in the end may or may not even be there. It does make it more interesting however, especially the second time around, when you watch it and pick up on some more of the sub-texts.

[–] warchild31 19 years ago

It's an intersting theory I admit,but Bozz's actions affected more than just the soldiers he got out of the Army. Johnson admitted to feeling guilty about being in the Army and he was drafted. Admittedly Bozz was a natural leader and when he snubs his nose at the sysytem, regardless of his intentions, many otherwise "good" soldiers are going to start questioning the system, and with their doubts firmly in place a "weaker" unit would be going to war even without the *beep*

Arthur: Are all men from the future loud-mouthed braggarts?
Ash: Nope. Just me baby... Just me.

[–] m-dongle 19 years ago

TRU DAT....

but also think about this:

- when Bozz was chosen as squad leader, it seemed that more people were happy that he was their leader. That whole exchange with "you do your job, blah blah blah"...then the squad member said that no-one had talked to him that way since he had joined the army. I don't know the exact wording, but that is the jist. My point is that I think some (if not most) of the other soldier probably saw what was going on.

- Was it Johnson who tracked him down and prevented him from leaving? I think so....anyways, we can assume that at least he (Johnson) realized Bozz's value to the unit...

Anyway. You do bring up the valid point that those who do not realize what Bozz may (or may not) have been doing might end up disenfranchised with the army, weakening the unit...

Soooooo.....chew on that for a while.

[–] darko2525 19 years ago

I really don't see where you get that, dongle. He doesn't seem aloof, he seems to want the *beep* out. He's been in the stockade three times, i believe they say in the beginning, before he joins his new company.

To me, what happens to him is more that he kind of grows up. He comes to understand that there just isn't any way out, and also, maybe, that the guys he's with depend on him to an extent. He doesn't think the war is for him, or that he's in the right place. Still, at the same time, he's a natural leader. The men follow him without even thinking about it. He grows into the role. Also, don't forget, symbolically, he's taking Paxton's place.

*Spoilers*

This is a movie about friendship, to me. Pax says early on that the reason he can't go is because there's a place for him. THat someone would have to take that place if he didn't go. Boz hurts Pax, when Wilson wigs out and tries to kill him. When he does so, he's making a choice, metaphorically. Though he isn't specifically taking Paxton's spot, on a subtextual level, that is exactly what he is doing. He chooses to take the risk, because of the men, and because of Pax.

I don't have any idea where you get that he has some master plan. I studied Literature in college, and one of my professors, one of the better ones, told me that in my papers for him, and for any other professor, I should never be a parrot. Never tell him what he wants to hear. He wanted my ideas, original, and thoughtful. He said he didn't have to agree with my interpretations, and he welcomed dissent. But, he told me, back it up in the text. The text is everything. If it isn't in the text, it isn't there.

You're making things up, adding to the story. If you can't back up your interpretation with something that is in-frame, or even implied within the frame....it isn't there.

It's a good thought, but i just don't think it's right at all.

"You can disappear here without even knowing it."
---Bret Easton Ellis
Less Than Zero

[–] MajorMax 19 years ago

I always saw his actions more as a fifth columnist or an infiltrator who was using his time in the Army to make as much trouble as possible, because he was a "Barrack room Lawyer" who used his knowledge of regulations to get people out of the Army. I always thought that he definitly had an hidden motive to be in the Army because he could have deserted and gone to Canada if he wanted

Nil Illegetti Desperadum

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] 19 years ago

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