Allegory is a figurative representation seen as a type of text which conveys a message through symbolism. It is a type of literary device; comparable to a metaphor or simile. Movies which are allegories use characters, settings, and events to portray a message to the viewer. Francis Coppola, director of APRN, uses the characters in his movie to symbolize his opinions on the Vietnam war; specifically Kurtz and Willard. Both together and separately, these two characters deliver Coppola’s anti-war and government message.
Willard can be viewed as a representation of the American-soldier side of the battle. His questionable journey to find Kurtz parallels that of the United State’s invasion of Vietnam. It doesn’t seem that Willard has any real grasp on the significance behind his mysterious journey, he just knows and obliges that it’s something he should do. This could also be said about the American government sending in 18 year old boys across the country, the soldiers they sent often had no clue or concern for the war. Both the soldiers sent and Willard seem to be bumbling along a path that they were told was right.
PTSD is a clearly relevant topic to the Vietnam War. Every text we’ve read or watched had some strong connection to PTSD, so did this movie. Willard is also the symbolic equivalent of PTSD and its effects on soldiers. Willard participates in all the standard PTSD practices; he falls into drinking and has a general sense of lost being. He is a representation of all the men who came back from the war completely changed from who they had been. Coppola uses Willard to show audiences the effects the war had on naïve teenagers; Willard becomes an anti-war slogan through his association with the mental torments of the war. “I was going to the worst place in the world and I didn't even know it yet.” He represents the trend of lost innocence, something also touched upon in every Vietnam text.
Willard’s character loosely defines a group of the population, while Kurtz’s character defines the heightening presence of insanity and raw violence in the war. He is the representation of all good qualities within socially rejected ideals. He is the one who questions everything the government says about war “We train young men to drop fire on people, but the commanders won't allow them to write ‘fuck’ on their airplanes because it's obscene!” Kurtz explains that it is the violent, ruthless players who succeed, despite societal pressures against their conduct. The Vietnam was said to bring out raw violence in men that they never believed existed. Kurtz is that raw violence; he is portrayed as one of the few men who stand in contrast to the mass of American regulated soldiers. He is the one who was labeled as crazy and becomes almost as much as an enemy as the North Vietnamese. Coppolla uses Kurtz to show tangibly what kinds of things war brings about.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is the direct influence of the plot of this movie. The two plot lines are almost identical except for their specific settings and characters. Their one major similarity though is the idea of anti-colonization. Neither story believes in the cause or effects of colonization, which is shown as excessive, destructive and ignorant.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Blog#8 RGV
Coppola's Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier (Redux) is allegorical of the United States' participation in the Vietnam War. An allegory uses symbolic, fictional characters and plot elements to convey underlying themes that are representative of characteristics present in the real world. These themes often deal with controversial moral, political, or social topics raised by momentous historical events. In his film, Coppola develops fictional characters such as Kurtz in a particular way in order to illustrate significant attributes of the Vietnam War. Some of the qualities of the war portrayed in this film are the transformations American soldier undergo, the utter confusion, and the atrocity of war.
The first scene of Apocalypse Now consists of the protagonist, Willard, laying on a hotel bed in Saigon commenting on his absence from the jungle. He talks of how every time he wakes up, he has to come to the realization that he is not in the field; he wishes to leave Saigon. When the camera pans to the rotating ceiling fan of the hotel room, Willard can only hear the spinning of helicopter blades. Before he is told of the mission that he is about to embark upon, Willard is seen chugging alcohol and practicing martial arts in a bloodied frenzy. These several opening scenes illustrate that the protagonist has suffered from the many hardships of war and is a changed man because of them. In addition, Willard's association of the ceiling fan with chopper blades, crazed practice of martial arts, and possible alcohol abuse indicate symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
When the protagonist is briefed on his upcoming mission, he is told to terminate Kurtz. Kurtz is an extensively decorated and highly commissioned officer who, at one time, represented the epitome of a United States military success story. He is an excellent representation of a soldier who lost his innocence and sense of normalcy to the war, though, and at the time of the film can be found in the heart of Cambodia acting as the demi-god over a group of natives. The US military has deemed Kurtz insane and in need of elimination, but it has told Willard that this mission "does not exist." As Willard begins his journey to find Kurtz, he remarks on the difference between the six Vietnamese men he has previously killed and their difference from his new target, an American officer.
The concept of an American killing another American who is superior in military rank as a part of a mission is largely representative of the confusion present in the Vietnam War. Willard does not fully comprehend the purpose of his mission, Kurtz's background, or how Kurtz came to assume the role he currently occupies in Cambodia. Typically, a military mission is rather straightforward and consists of group of men eliminating an enemy target, collecting intelligence, or capturing an objective. The idea of a traditional enemy is completely distorted in this case, though, because Kurt is an American officer. Therefore, the content of the mission creates no clear moral or logical motivation for all those involved in it similar to the missions undertaken by American soldiers in the Vietnam War.
The "nonexistence" of Willard's assignment to locate and terminate is also symbolic of the lack of knowledge and general confusion felt by the American people. Throughout the war, Americans received mixed messages as to the reason for their country's military presence and progress in Vietnam due to the United States' need to promote a positive image of the war. In the film, the US military's desire to keep the secrecy of Willard's mission is symbolic of the methods the government used during the Vietnam War to prevent the public from knowing of its negative aspects. Despite the US government's best efforts, events like the MyLai massacre were publicized, reached the public, and swayed the people's opinion of the war. If the objective of Willard's mission were to be released to the public, the American people would most likely view the war signficantly more unfavorably. They would wonder how capable American soldiers were in a war so ugly that it transformed one of America's finest, Kurtz, into a savage demi-god.
The protagonist's boat journey down the river in Cambodia to complete his mission is an ongoing theme that is symbolic of the transformation a soldier goes through due to the horror of war. As Willard travels further and further down the river, he finds himself more directly exposed with the hardships of war. In addition, as Willard experiences more of the war, his group of men are considerably transformed by the death that constantly surrounds them. This transformation symbolizes the concept that the more time a soldier spent in the war, the more different he became in relation to the man he was when he entered the war. When Willard reaches his destination, he finds the savage display that is Kurtz's civilization and the height of all the cruelties of the film. Willard finally kills Kurtz, but as he dies, he says softly, "The horror...the horror." Kurt's final words are an excellent representation of how horrible the war was and, as a consequence, how greatly it could change even the strongest of men.
The first scene of Apocalypse Now consists of the protagonist, Willard, laying on a hotel bed in Saigon commenting on his absence from the jungle. He talks of how every time he wakes up, he has to come to the realization that he is not in the field; he wishes to leave Saigon. When the camera pans to the rotating ceiling fan of the hotel room, Willard can only hear the spinning of helicopter blades. Before he is told of the mission that he is about to embark upon, Willard is seen chugging alcohol and practicing martial arts in a bloodied frenzy. These several opening scenes illustrate that the protagonist has suffered from the many hardships of war and is a changed man because of them. In addition, Willard's association of the ceiling fan with chopper blades, crazed practice of martial arts, and possible alcohol abuse indicate symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
When the protagonist is briefed on his upcoming mission, he is told to terminate Kurtz. Kurtz is an extensively decorated and highly commissioned officer who, at one time, represented the epitome of a United States military success story. He is an excellent representation of a soldier who lost his innocence and sense of normalcy to the war, though, and at the time of the film can be found in the heart of Cambodia acting as the demi-god over a group of natives. The US military has deemed Kurtz insane and in need of elimination, but it has told Willard that this mission "does not exist." As Willard begins his journey to find Kurtz, he remarks on the difference between the six Vietnamese men he has previously killed and their difference from his new target, an American officer.
The concept of an American killing another American who is superior in military rank as a part of a mission is largely representative of the confusion present in the Vietnam War. Willard does not fully comprehend the purpose of his mission, Kurtz's background, or how Kurtz came to assume the role he currently occupies in Cambodia. Typically, a military mission is rather straightforward and consists of group of men eliminating an enemy target, collecting intelligence, or capturing an objective. The idea of a traditional enemy is completely distorted in this case, though, because Kurt is an American officer. Therefore, the content of the mission creates no clear moral or logical motivation for all those involved in it similar to the missions undertaken by American soldiers in the Vietnam War.
The "nonexistence" of Willard's assignment to locate and terminate is also symbolic of the lack of knowledge and general confusion felt by the American people. Throughout the war, Americans received mixed messages as to the reason for their country's military presence and progress in Vietnam due to the United States' need to promote a positive image of the war. In the film, the US military's desire to keep the secrecy of Willard's mission is symbolic of the methods the government used during the Vietnam War to prevent the public from knowing of its negative aspects. Despite the US government's best efforts, events like the MyLai massacre were publicized, reached the public, and swayed the people's opinion of the war. If the objective of Willard's mission were to be released to the public, the American people would most likely view the war signficantly more unfavorably. They would wonder how capable American soldiers were in a war so ugly that it transformed one of America's finest, Kurtz, into a savage demi-god.
The protagonist's boat journey down the river in Cambodia to complete his mission is an ongoing theme that is symbolic of the transformation a soldier goes through due to the horror of war. As Willard travels further and further down the river, he finds himself more directly exposed with the hardships of war. In addition, as Willard experiences more of the war, his group of men are considerably transformed by the death that constantly surrounds them. This transformation symbolizes the concept that the more time a soldier spent in the war, the more different he became in relation to the man he was when he entered the war. When Willard reaches his destination, he finds the savage display that is Kurtz's civilization and the height of all the cruelties of the film. Willard finally kills Kurtz, but as he dies, he says softly, "The horror...the horror." Kurt's final words are an excellent representation of how horrible the war was and, as a consequence, how greatly it could change even the strongest of men.
Blog 8 ABM
The film Apocolypse Now is an allegory for Coppola's feelings of the Vietnam War. According to dictionary.com, an allegory is a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms or figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another. Simply put an allegory is taking an abstract idea like using a character or event to represent it.
The main focus of the film is Captain Willard hunting down Kurtz, a renegade Green Barret. The allegory that is the underlying meaning of the this is how pointless the war is. Kurtz is a very efficient killer that hunts down and kills North Vietnamese in ruthless and grotesque way. However, he is deemed insane by higher ups in the army so he must be killed because his they cannot control him and his actions reflect poorly on the United States. This is ridiculous because in Kurtz is helping win the war. Meanwhile there are commanders like Big Duke who go into a village and order his men to go surfing. This shows just how there are double standards and how insane the war makes people.
Another section was how waste full the war is. Kurtz quotes in a letter using his methods that the war could be won with one fourth the men and much less casualties and he probably is right. Most of the men in the movie are constantly goofing off and not taking their roles seriously. Also, another example of how wasteful the war is, is when Captain Willard and the boat reach the bridge in the middle of the night while it is under attack. The soldiers explain that the bridge has been under constant construction for months but it keeps getting attacked and they just keep rebuilding it. Also, it shows a leaderless soldier firing rounds of ammo at a single target at night that he can't even see or hit. There is no method or efficiency at all when it comes to the war and it is portrayed as a huge waste.
One more example is that is portrayed in the film is that the war is anarchy. In almost every battle scene depicted in this movie there is constant confusion and disorder. It is only by superior fire power that the Americans manage to hold of the North Vietnamese. Captain Willard multiple times stops at various outposts and asks who is the commanding officer and gets no response or some sort of story about how he stepped on a land mine two months back. This shows how the war had no order and no discipline. It was just a bunch of soldiers going on vacation and shooting back when they were shot at.
The climax of the movie did the best job at describing the Vietnam War. After Captain Willard is cut free he is given a machte and goes and kills Kurtz. As Kurtz lies dying on the floor he explaims "The horror, the horror." That I feel is the most effective way to describe the Vietnam War. It was shear horror. From the disorganization to the waste of lives and resources to the lawlessness and grotesue murders it was simply horrible.
The main focus of the film is Captain Willard hunting down Kurtz, a renegade Green Barret. The allegory that is the underlying meaning of the this is how pointless the war is. Kurtz is a very efficient killer that hunts down and kills North Vietnamese in ruthless and grotesque way. However, he is deemed insane by higher ups in the army so he must be killed because his they cannot control him and his actions reflect poorly on the United States. This is ridiculous because in Kurtz is helping win the war. Meanwhile there are commanders like Big Duke who go into a village and order his men to go surfing. This shows just how there are double standards and how insane the war makes people.
Another section was how waste full the war is. Kurtz quotes in a letter using his methods that the war could be won with one fourth the men and much less casualties and he probably is right. Most of the men in the movie are constantly goofing off and not taking their roles seriously. Also, another example of how wasteful the war is, is when Captain Willard and the boat reach the bridge in the middle of the night while it is under attack. The soldiers explain that the bridge has been under constant construction for months but it keeps getting attacked and they just keep rebuilding it. Also, it shows a leaderless soldier firing rounds of ammo at a single target at night that he can't even see or hit. There is no method or efficiency at all when it comes to the war and it is portrayed as a huge waste.
One more example is that is portrayed in the film is that the war is anarchy. In almost every battle scene depicted in this movie there is constant confusion and disorder. It is only by superior fire power that the Americans manage to hold of the North Vietnamese. Captain Willard multiple times stops at various outposts and asks who is the commanding officer and gets no response or some sort of story about how he stepped on a land mine two months back. This shows how the war had no order and no discipline. It was just a bunch of soldiers going on vacation and shooting back when they were shot at.
The climax of the movie did the best job at describing the Vietnam War. After Captain Willard is cut free he is given a machte and goes and kills Kurtz. As Kurtz lies dying on the floor he explaims "The horror, the horror." That I feel is the most effective way to describe the Vietnam War. It was shear horror. From the disorganization to the waste of lives and resources to the lawlessness and grotesue murders it was simply horrible.
Blog 8 SN
An allegory, is a way to take a literal meaning and use symbolism through characters and theme's to drive home an underlying issue that is at hand. Many times, lessons can be learned through allegory although they are not prevalent. In the film Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier (Redux) Francis Cappola is able to use the characters and the events in the film to symbolize many powerful ideas highlighted in the Vietnam War. Some of these are innocence and youth, destruction, corruption, and the idea of hell.
When Willard is first aboard the boat that will take him down the river, he meets clean, who is a sailor of the navy and a part of the boat. He looks very young, and come to find out he is only seventeen. When under fire, he shows his fear when he warns the commander of the ship as though to have the commander give a sense of security. Also, when they are fired upon entering Cambodia, Clean is killed. It shows his innocence because he is closely listening to tape of his mom telling him to stay safe as though he is going to play in the yard. The death shows the loss of youth in the war and how war has no discrepancy on age. Also, when they search the boat and kill the people, it is over a dog. There was no need for the death of the people, just a misunderstanding by a young kid with a gun.
Secondly, there was massive destruction in Vietnam. Some examples are when Willard is with Kilgore's unit. They napalm the forest, burn all the houses, and shoot civilians. There was no need for them to do this, but Kilgore just wanted to surf with Lance, who is famous for surfing. This destruction is unnecessary in the main idea of the war, but they do it anyway. Kilgore mentions how he loves the smell of napalm and he prides himself on the fact that when napalm is used, no one survives, and they all burn. Napalm just destroys the earth, and all Kilgore cares about it killing and surfing.
Third, there is the corruption throughout the war. A perfect example is right at the beginning of the film when Willard is given the assignment. He is not given a concrete answer for why Kurts should be killed, but he accepts the mission anyway because that is his job as a soldier. Also, they mention that the mission never happen and was never assigned because it is a corrupt mission. Even though Willard knows this, he still accepts the mission because as he says, what else was he supposed to do.
Lastly, there is the idea that Vietnam is hell, and that people are only trying to survive out there. A perfect example of this is when they are just about to cross the bridge into Cambodia, and another officer is there to give Willard and update on his assignment. When the officer leaves, he says that this place is the asshole of the world. There is destruction all around the bridge, and they mention how the bridge is rebuilt everyday to say that it works, just to be blown up every night. That, plus the possibility of gunfire at any point is an exact synopsis of hell from my perspective.
This is such a complex film that there are so many more ideas that are portrayed that it would take a full length paper just to write about all of them. Within each idea there is hundreds of examples as well. The great part of this film is how all the themes tie into each other like the destruction and the sense of hell, along with the innocent deaths and corruption. This is a very unique film and gives great insight on some of the problems and themes associated with the Vietnam War.
When Willard is first aboard the boat that will take him down the river, he meets clean, who is a sailor of the navy and a part of the boat. He looks very young, and come to find out he is only seventeen. When under fire, he shows his fear when he warns the commander of the ship as though to have the commander give a sense of security. Also, when they are fired upon entering Cambodia, Clean is killed. It shows his innocence because he is closely listening to tape of his mom telling him to stay safe as though he is going to play in the yard. The death shows the loss of youth in the war and how war has no discrepancy on age. Also, when they search the boat and kill the people, it is over a dog. There was no need for the death of the people, just a misunderstanding by a young kid with a gun.
Secondly, there was massive destruction in Vietnam. Some examples are when Willard is with Kilgore's unit. They napalm the forest, burn all the houses, and shoot civilians. There was no need for them to do this, but Kilgore just wanted to surf with Lance, who is famous for surfing. This destruction is unnecessary in the main idea of the war, but they do it anyway. Kilgore mentions how he loves the smell of napalm and he prides himself on the fact that when napalm is used, no one survives, and they all burn. Napalm just destroys the earth, and all Kilgore cares about it killing and surfing.
Third, there is the corruption throughout the war. A perfect example is right at the beginning of the film when Willard is given the assignment. He is not given a concrete answer for why Kurts should be killed, but he accepts the mission anyway because that is his job as a soldier. Also, they mention that the mission never happen and was never assigned because it is a corrupt mission. Even though Willard knows this, he still accepts the mission because as he says, what else was he supposed to do.
Lastly, there is the idea that Vietnam is hell, and that people are only trying to survive out there. A perfect example of this is when they are just about to cross the bridge into Cambodia, and another officer is there to give Willard and update on his assignment. When the officer leaves, he says that this place is the asshole of the world. There is destruction all around the bridge, and they mention how the bridge is rebuilt everyday to say that it works, just to be blown up every night. That, plus the possibility of gunfire at any point is an exact synopsis of hell from my perspective.
This is such a complex film that there are so many more ideas that are portrayed that it would take a full length paper just to write about all of them. Within each idea there is hundreds of examples as well. The great part of this film is how all the themes tie into each other like the destruction and the sense of hell, along with the innocent deaths and corruption. This is a very unique film and gives great insight on some of the problems and themes associated with the Vietnam War.
Blog 8 FY
An allegory is usually a story or narrative told in such a way that symobism is used to express some greater meaning. In Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now allegory is used extensively to send a message to the viewer about the Vietnam war.
The general theme in the movie is the growing insanity and animal nature of the war as it progressed. I think Colonel Kurtz is a perfect representation of this notion. At first he was a rising star in the military; he did extraordinary things at an early age which made him a great military asset. He was so great that Captain Willard even said that, had he wanted to, Kurtz could have risen to the rank of army general. Kurtz is, however, a very troubled soul we soon find out. He deserts the army and accuses some soldiers on the Americans side of the War as being double agents. He said he and his team gathered information on them for months and the army ignored it and labeled him a murderer after he took matters into his own hand and killed them. This action brings up the question: Is there such a thing as murder in a war? How can someone be charged with murder when everyone else around them is also killing without restraint. In war are there still laws or is it lawless? I think that war does have some laws despite the popular saying "All's fair in love and war". After all it would not be okay to go around shooting your allies in a war just because everyone else is also killing people. Which is what we are informed Kurtz basically did. When Willard reaches Kurtz its clear that he has gone insane. He lives in a grand structure almost like a palace with the Cambodian natives around him worshiping him like a god. There are dead bodies scattered all over the grounds of the area and many human heads laying about. He preaches nonsensical rhetoric to those around him. I think this is a symbol of the war and how it just got out of hand and became a crazy, almost lawless affair where people's morals were so skewed that they could justify the killing of women, children, and helpless villages. Although, like Kurtz, the war did not start out as crazy, the environment got a hold on everyone's minds to the point where they could never adjust back to normal life.
More specifically I think Kurtz can be likened to America. He started off being a good military man but soon was changed by the war and by Vietnam. Like the Americans he took the war too far and started killing without discrimination, which is shown by his shooting of the soldiers he believed to be traitors. His saying reminds me of the American propaganda that Kurtz even shows Captain Willard. It did not make any sense and was just used to justify the actions of the Americans and gain support for the war. In the same way Kurtz's teachings made little sense and yet he received massive support from the natives who could not even understand him and a strange journalist. Willard represents all the double crossing the US participated in during the war. Despite the fact that a war was going on and resources could be spent in a much better way the government wanted Willard and his crew to track down and kill someone who was essentially on our side. This action brings up questions of whether or not the US could have utilized its soldiers in a more effective way. As one of the character said instead of blowing up a bridge or one of the strategic outposts of the enemy the army wanted to kill someone of little importance to the outcome of the war from our own side. In the end of the film its also clear that Willard has embraced his animal nature and in a way been tainted by the insanity of Kurtz. When he is finally able to assassinate the colonel he does so fully painted in camouflage and moves expertly around the area like he was one with the jungle. This falls in line with what the French women said about Willard, he had one part of him that was there to love and another half that was completely animal instincts. It seems when he needed to kill Kurtz he finally fully embraced his animal nature.
Another theme that is present in the movie is the soldiers loss of innocence. I think this is most seen with the former surfer from California Sam Bottoms. At first Sam seems like he is completely inexperienced in warfare and has never fired a gun before. He just seems like a young surfer kid that was out of place in the war. However, eventually he starts taking large amounts of drugs and is completely unfazed by his environment. There is a particular scene where takes some acid and just stares out in awe at his environment uncaring about all the death and explosions around him, that could have just as easily been fatal for him. Then by the end of the movie he is a completely changed person. He is no longer even recognizable. He seemed to idolise Kurtz almost as much as the journalists and was dancing along with the natives with dead bodies all around them. By the end of the movie he reminded me of Jim Morrison, whose music was used in this movie, because they looked very similar and acted in similarly crazy ways. Also I thought Lt. Kilgore showed how badly the soldiers wanted to go back home, yet home would never be the same. Lt. Kilgore had outdoor grills with beer set up for his soldiers to enjoy at night almost as if they were back in the US. Also he was a huge fan of surfing and in an act of lunacy attacked an entire enemy compound almost solely because it was near a beach with great waves for surfing. The scene where he makes his soldiers surf while bombs are falling around them show how crazy he was and how badly he wanted to be at home. I think the only reason he had his soldiers surf in these deadly conditions was to be reminded of home and ignore the brutality around him. He could look over and imagine he was at a beach at home in the US. Yet the bombs dropping and killing set up all around this scene show how they were not back home and "home" would never be the same again after all the horrors these soldiers experienced in Vietnam.
The general theme in the movie is the growing insanity and animal nature of the war as it progressed. I think Colonel Kurtz is a perfect representation of this notion. At first he was a rising star in the military; he did extraordinary things at an early age which made him a great military asset. He was so great that Captain Willard even said that, had he wanted to, Kurtz could have risen to the rank of army general. Kurtz is, however, a very troubled soul we soon find out. He deserts the army and accuses some soldiers on the Americans side of the War as being double agents. He said he and his team gathered information on them for months and the army ignored it and labeled him a murderer after he took matters into his own hand and killed them. This action brings up the question: Is there such a thing as murder in a war? How can someone be charged with murder when everyone else around them is also killing without restraint. In war are there still laws or is it lawless? I think that war does have some laws despite the popular saying "All's fair in love and war". After all it would not be okay to go around shooting your allies in a war just because everyone else is also killing people. Which is what we are informed Kurtz basically did. When Willard reaches Kurtz its clear that he has gone insane. He lives in a grand structure almost like a palace with the Cambodian natives around him worshiping him like a god. There are dead bodies scattered all over the grounds of the area and many human heads laying about. He preaches nonsensical rhetoric to those around him. I think this is a symbol of the war and how it just got out of hand and became a crazy, almost lawless affair where people's morals were so skewed that they could justify the killing of women, children, and helpless villages. Although, like Kurtz, the war did not start out as crazy, the environment got a hold on everyone's minds to the point where they could never adjust back to normal life.
More specifically I think Kurtz can be likened to America. He started off being a good military man but soon was changed by the war and by Vietnam. Like the Americans he took the war too far and started killing without discrimination, which is shown by his shooting of the soldiers he believed to be traitors. His saying reminds me of the American propaganda that Kurtz even shows Captain Willard. It did not make any sense and was just used to justify the actions of the Americans and gain support for the war. In the same way Kurtz's teachings made little sense and yet he received massive support from the natives who could not even understand him and a strange journalist. Willard represents all the double crossing the US participated in during the war. Despite the fact that a war was going on and resources could be spent in a much better way the government wanted Willard and his crew to track down and kill someone who was essentially on our side. This action brings up questions of whether or not the US could have utilized its soldiers in a more effective way. As one of the character said instead of blowing up a bridge or one of the strategic outposts of the enemy the army wanted to kill someone of little importance to the outcome of the war from our own side. In the end of the film its also clear that Willard has embraced his animal nature and in a way been tainted by the insanity of Kurtz. When he is finally able to assassinate the colonel he does so fully painted in camouflage and moves expertly around the area like he was one with the jungle. This falls in line with what the French women said about Willard, he had one part of him that was there to love and another half that was completely animal instincts. It seems when he needed to kill Kurtz he finally fully embraced his animal nature.
Another theme that is present in the movie is the soldiers loss of innocence. I think this is most seen with the former surfer from California Sam Bottoms. At first Sam seems like he is completely inexperienced in warfare and has never fired a gun before. He just seems like a young surfer kid that was out of place in the war. However, eventually he starts taking large amounts of drugs and is completely unfazed by his environment. There is a particular scene where takes some acid and just stares out in awe at his environment uncaring about all the death and explosions around him, that could have just as easily been fatal for him. Then by the end of the movie he is a completely changed person. He is no longer even recognizable. He seemed to idolise Kurtz almost as much as the journalists and was dancing along with the natives with dead bodies all around them. By the end of the movie he reminded me of Jim Morrison, whose music was used in this movie, because they looked very similar and acted in similarly crazy ways. Also I thought Lt. Kilgore showed how badly the soldiers wanted to go back home, yet home would never be the same. Lt. Kilgore had outdoor grills with beer set up for his soldiers to enjoy at night almost as if they were back in the US. Also he was a huge fan of surfing and in an act of lunacy attacked an entire enemy compound almost solely because it was near a beach with great waves for surfing. The scene where he makes his soldiers surf while bombs are falling around them show how crazy he was and how badly he wanted to be at home. I think the only reason he had his soldiers surf in these deadly conditions was to be reminded of home and ignore the brutality around him. He could look over and imagine he was at a beach at home in the US. Yet the bombs dropping and killing set up all around this scene show how they were not back home and "home" would never be the same again after all the horrors these soldiers experienced in Vietnam.
Blog 8 CJ
Coppola’s Apocalypse Now portrays a grotesque view of the Vietnam War by using Conrad’s Heart of Darkness as an allegory. According to Merriam-Webster, an allegory is a symbolic representation. Willard of Apocalypse Now is trapped between his connection to the jungle and his desire to return home. Similarly, Joseph Conrad’s character from Heart of Darkness, Marlow, journeys through the jungle of savages and imperialistic take over, while finding analogous circumstances to Willard’s feelings. In Apocalypse Now, themes from Conrad’s Heart of Darkness are portrayed through Captain Willard’s struggle of finding a place in either the jungle or his home, compared to Marlow’s similar struggle shown through paralleling cross fade images; both protagonists are trapped in an imperialistic struggle to colonize a savage society shown by montages of helicopters and imperialistic images. In both Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now the characters see the colonization of people living in the jungle in which Coppola uses to represent the American takeover of Vietnam.
In the opening scene of the movie, Willard is in a hotel room in Saigon. Willard narrates how the jungle has control over his mental state, just as many veterans still feel this connection to the combat area. Willard says, “Each time I looked around the walls moved in a little tighter.” Willard feels the effects of being displaced from the jungle and he cannot adapt to civilization. This is used to show how many American soldiers suffered similarly after the war. As Willard becomes dependent on the jungle, the signs of imperialism shine through. The camera is zoomed onto Willard’s face as he is lying on his back. The images of helicopters and burning forests are seen cast over his face. Coppola uses cross fade imagery to not only portray how imperialism is instilled upon Willard, but also to show the injustice and destruction caused by the Americans during the war.
Kurtz, a character in Apocalypse Now, believes that the idea of the Vietnam War is a lie. Kurtz says, “There is nothing I detest more than the stench of lies.” Kurtz truly believes that the Vietnam War, in context to colonization, is full of lies and empty promises. Along with believing the war is full of dishonesty, he also believes that the United States government tries to justify the war through the deceitfulness. Because of his disbelief, he develops his own kingdom where he is the ruler feeding the people ideas of the terror that is Western rule. Willard faces these same tormenting questions as he enters Cambodia and sees what Kurtz has established. After killing Kurtz, Willard stands on the steps over the people. The people bow down to him and it appears that he could become their new leader. He instead throws down the knife that he uses to kill Kurtz, symbolizing rejecting the power that is presented to him. The last scene of the movie shows a large stone head representing Kurtz. Willard’s head is cross faded over the stone head along with helicopters, representing the imperialistic struggle both men encountered. Willard’s face then disappears and only the stone head remains, but it soon fades to black. This shows Willard’s rejection of imperialism and that Kurtz is only a memory of the struggle that will always plague Willard’s life.
Coppola rejects the Vietnam War. He shows the idea of colonization by using Heart of Darkness as an allegory to Apocalypse Now. Coppola displays how the Americans colonized Vietnam through their use of force and terror. Coppola also illustrates the disorganization of the war though scenes such as the G.I show and the idea of surfing during the war. Through Willard’s character and his inability to never truly leave the jungle, Coppola shows the struggle of soldiers to leave the war behind. The character of Kurtz is used to show the idea of lies and misleading reasons for the war. Kurtz takes his idea to the extreme when he is worshiped in Cambodia by a group of people.
In the opening scene of the movie, Willard is in a hotel room in Saigon. Willard narrates how the jungle has control over his mental state, just as many veterans still feel this connection to the combat area. Willard says, “Each time I looked around the walls moved in a little tighter.” Willard feels the effects of being displaced from the jungle and he cannot adapt to civilization. This is used to show how many American soldiers suffered similarly after the war. As Willard becomes dependent on the jungle, the signs of imperialism shine through. The camera is zoomed onto Willard’s face as he is lying on his back. The images of helicopters and burning forests are seen cast over his face. Coppola uses cross fade imagery to not only portray how imperialism is instilled upon Willard, but also to show the injustice and destruction caused by the Americans during the war.
Kurtz, a character in Apocalypse Now, believes that the idea of the Vietnam War is a lie. Kurtz says, “There is nothing I detest more than the stench of lies.” Kurtz truly believes that the Vietnam War, in context to colonization, is full of lies and empty promises. Along with believing the war is full of dishonesty, he also believes that the United States government tries to justify the war through the deceitfulness. Because of his disbelief, he develops his own kingdom where he is the ruler feeding the people ideas of the terror that is Western rule. Willard faces these same tormenting questions as he enters Cambodia and sees what Kurtz has established. After killing Kurtz, Willard stands on the steps over the people. The people bow down to him and it appears that he could become their new leader. He instead throws down the knife that he uses to kill Kurtz, symbolizing rejecting the power that is presented to him. The last scene of the movie shows a large stone head representing Kurtz. Willard’s head is cross faded over the stone head along with helicopters, representing the imperialistic struggle both men encountered. Willard’s face then disappears and only the stone head remains, but it soon fades to black. This shows Willard’s rejection of imperialism and that Kurtz is only a memory of the struggle that will always plague Willard’s life.
Coppola rejects the Vietnam War. He shows the idea of colonization by using Heart of Darkness as an allegory to Apocalypse Now. Coppola displays how the Americans colonized Vietnam through their use of force and terror. Coppola also illustrates the disorganization of the war though scenes such as the G.I show and the idea of surfing during the war. Through Willard’s character and his inability to never truly leave the jungle, Coppola shows the struggle of soldiers to leave the war behind. The character of Kurtz is used to show the idea of lies and misleading reasons for the war. Kurtz takes his idea to the extreme when he is worshiped in Cambodia by a group of people.
Blog 8: DW
An allegory is a representation of abstract ideas or principles by character, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form. Apocalypse Now is one big allegory for the Vietnam War because characters and events in the movie represent more than just their simple role in the plot.
Kurtz is a main focus of the movie, but especially of Willard. Willard is assigned to terminate Kurtz's command because the U.S. army officers believe that he has lost his mind and become insane. Kurtz is taught about the power of fear and evil in life and in war when his special ops platoon vaccinates the children of a village. They are brought back to the village shortly after leaving to find all of the vaccinated children had their arms cut off by the North Vietnamese. He began to understand that atrocities and extreme consequences were the only way to get anything done. He said that if he had a whole platoon of men like those at the village, they would have accomplished a lot more in Vietnam. He knows what he has done is wrong, but war has taught him that it is the only way to achieve victory.
Captain Willard is assigned the task of hunting down Kurtz and killing him. Willard doesn't know what he is going to do when he actually finds him, but he becomes driven to find him. He wanted to talk him and just talk to him to find out what made him change. He won't let anything stop him from finding Kurtz and when he does he still doesn't know what to do. It takes Kurtz himself to tell Willard to kill him to get him to do it. Willard also shows the struggles that soldiers will have to face after the war. He is constantly drinking and suffers from flashbacks. He also doesn't know where he belongs. The movie begins with him in his hotel room and he says that when he was in Vietnam, he just wanted to go home and when he was home, he just wanted to go back to Vietnam. Later at the French plantation, the woman asks him if he will go back to America after the war and he says no. He doesn't know where he belongs anymore because he has lost himself and doesn't know what to do when he's not at war.
The members of the boat crew illustrate many different aspects about the war. Chef and Lance exemplify the very strong reliance on drugs as a coping mechanism. They both rely very heavily on drugs to keep them calm and relatively sane in the face of extreme situations that they are put into. Clean represents the youth that naively enter the war. He is only seventeen years old and doesn't seem to fully understand the severity of the war. When Willard shoots the woman the entire boat crew, but especially clean, is astonished, shocked, and disgusted. Chief is in charge of the boat and keeps his cool in every situation, except for when clean dies. This shows that no matter who you are, the war will break you down and get to you eventually.
Kurtz is a main focus of the movie, but especially of Willard. Willard is assigned to terminate Kurtz's command because the U.S. army officers believe that he has lost his mind and become insane. Kurtz is taught about the power of fear and evil in life and in war when his special ops platoon vaccinates the children of a village. They are brought back to the village shortly after leaving to find all of the vaccinated children had their arms cut off by the North Vietnamese. He began to understand that atrocities and extreme consequences were the only way to get anything done. He said that if he had a whole platoon of men like those at the village, they would have accomplished a lot more in Vietnam. He knows what he has done is wrong, but war has taught him that it is the only way to achieve victory.
Captain Willard is assigned the task of hunting down Kurtz and killing him. Willard doesn't know what he is going to do when he actually finds him, but he becomes driven to find him. He wanted to talk him and just talk to him to find out what made him change. He won't let anything stop him from finding Kurtz and when he does he still doesn't know what to do. It takes Kurtz himself to tell Willard to kill him to get him to do it. Willard also shows the struggles that soldiers will have to face after the war. He is constantly drinking and suffers from flashbacks. He also doesn't know where he belongs. The movie begins with him in his hotel room and he says that when he was in Vietnam, he just wanted to go home and when he was home, he just wanted to go back to Vietnam. Later at the French plantation, the woman asks him if he will go back to America after the war and he says no. He doesn't know where he belongs anymore because he has lost himself and doesn't know what to do when he's not at war.
The members of the boat crew illustrate many different aspects about the war. Chef and Lance exemplify the very strong reliance on drugs as a coping mechanism. They both rely very heavily on drugs to keep them calm and relatively sane in the face of extreme situations that they are put into. Clean represents the youth that naively enter the war. He is only seventeen years old and doesn't seem to fully understand the severity of the war. When Willard shoots the woman the entire boat crew, but especially clean, is astonished, shocked, and disgusted. Chief is in charge of the boat and keeps his cool in every situation, except for when clean dies. This shows that no matter who you are, the war will break you down and get to you eventually.
Blog 8, S. R.
The definition of Allegory means the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions and truth or generalizations about human existence; like a symbolic representation of something bigger. In ties with the movie Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier (Redux) by Coppola the allegory represented is the images shown in the movie that show the horror and violence of the war, how it connects to the corrupted governments and the loss of ones innocence because of all of this.
The American soldiers had to do combat with the south vietnamese in the war, but they also allied with the north Vitenamese. Considering that the north and south vietnamese looked very similar it was hard for the american soldiers to trust the north vietnamese because they werent always positive that they were on their side. In the movie the two allies confront each other but since there isnt hundred percent trust on both sides, both groups take a long time to lower their guns just in case one was to shoot, the other would be ready for it. This made it easy for instance if a south vietnamese wanted to pretend to be on the american soldiers side as a war tactic it could work because of the similarities in apperance with the north vietnamese. This was one of the struggles of the war and it this probably not being the biggest. Knowing that it makes you think how worse could things get for both the american and vietnam soldiers.
Captain Willard starts off the movie struggling with his nightmares of his past experience being in the war. It shows images of bombs and you can hear helicopter sounds to signify that he is currently in the war. He wakes up and he is still in Saigon. Being in the war Willard, experiences the stresses of the war. He relieves himself through drinking alchohol, whiskey especially and it is suppose to help him cope with the war. There is also a strong possibility that he has Post tramactic stress disorder. Throughout the movie, Captain Willards biggest stress is completeing his mission which is to assassinate Kurt who is the new leader for the south vietnamese. Colby who is another american soldier cant handle the pressure and ends up joing the the south vietnamese leaving his old family behind.
The american soldiers end up figuring out that they are fighting a pointless war and that it is a joke. They werent there to help the people of vietname. They were just there killing them and making their lives harder than it already was. The movie showed this and how the goals of what the soldiers were actually there for were distracted by all the horrible things that were going on there.
The last scene sums up the movie where Captain Willard finally completes his mission and kills Kurtz. The last words that Kurtz says is "the horror, the horror" which explains the war at a whole. It explains the horror of thinking about going to the war in the first place, the horrors of being in the war and the horrors of what the war does to you as an individual after. Willard trys to leave the community after he kills Kurtz and it is ironic how the community looks at Willard as a hero which in im opinion shows how pointless the war was.
The American soldiers had to do combat with the south vietnamese in the war, but they also allied with the north Vitenamese. Considering that the north and south vietnamese looked very similar it was hard for the american soldiers to trust the north vietnamese because they werent always positive that they were on their side. In the movie the two allies confront each other but since there isnt hundred percent trust on both sides, both groups take a long time to lower their guns just in case one was to shoot, the other would be ready for it. This made it easy for instance if a south vietnamese wanted to pretend to be on the american soldiers side as a war tactic it could work because of the similarities in apperance with the north vietnamese. This was one of the struggles of the war and it this probably not being the biggest. Knowing that it makes you think how worse could things get for both the american and vietnam soldiers.
Captain Willard starts off the movie struggling with his nightmares of his past experience being in the war. It shows images of bombs and you can hear helicopter sounds to signify that he is currently in the war. He wakes up and he is still in Saigon. Being in the war Willard, experiences the stresses of the war. He relieves himself through drinking alchohol, whiskey especially and it is suppose to help him cope with the war. There is also a strong possibility that he has Post tramactic stress disorder. Throughout the movie, Captain Willards biggest stress is completeing his mission which is to assassinate Kurt who is the new leader for the south vietnamese. Colby who is another american soldier cant handle the pressure and ends up joing the the south vietnamese leaving his old family behind.
The american soldiers end up figuring out that they are fighting a pointless war and that it is a joke. They werent there to help the people of vietname. They were just there killing them and making their lives harder than it already was. The movie showed this and how the goals of what the soldiers were actually there for were distracted by all the horrible things that were going on there.
The last scene sums up the movie where Captain Willard finally completes his mission and kills Kurtz. The last words that Kurtz says is "the horror, the horror" which explains the war at a whole. It explains the horror of thinking about going to the war in the first place, the horrors of being in the war and the horrors of what the war does to you as an individual after. Willard trys to leave the community after he kills Kurtz and it is ironic how the community looks at Willard as a hero which in im opinion shows how pointless the war was.
Blog eight- LdT
An allegory is a form of a long metaphor in which objects, persons and actions in a narrative are connect with the meanings that lie outside the narrative. The film Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier (Redux) by Coppola is an allegory for the Vietnam War because throughout the movie there is a wealth of symbolism, which is used to represent the war.
One symbol that can be seen throughout the movie is the idea of the loss of innocence. Colonel Kurtz can be seen as representing Americas’ loss of innocence. Kurtz is an American soldier who is seen as leading a group of Vietnamese fighters. Benjamin Willard is on a mission to take down Kurtz. When Willard finally does find Kurtz he is not able to kill Kurtz right away. This is because Willard does not really understand why he has to kill another American, but because he was told to do so, he has to do it. This also goes along with another symbol that is seen throughout the movie, the reason America was fighting in this war.
Another analogy that is seen throughout the movie is, one that is seen in many war stories and war literature, is the idea of war just being hell. The viewer sees this in Apocalypse Now because throughout the movie we hear about entering or going or being in hell. Colby is sent on the same mission, as Willard to assassinate Kurtz but Colby is not ale to handle the existence and goes insane. In a letter to his wife he talks about how she should move on and forget about him. Saying that he is not going to be able to come home, home is crossed out and he writes back. The idea of his home still being the same when he gets back is gone. His life is becoming the War. Many soldiers were holding on to their home life to get through the war, thinking it would be the same when they get back. But Colby, who is considered to be going insane, actually understands the wretchedness of the war versus the men who are killing ruthlessly in order to get back home.
Both the Americans and the French want to have control over the land and the people. Kurtz also goes after achieving this, and when he does gain control over the Vietnamese people and beings leading them, he does not feel the satisfaction that he was hoping he would achieve. When Willard is seen as the new leader, he again cannot handle the pressure that is put on him and has to leave. The United States involvement with Vietnam lacked, among other things, respect for the land and people. The United States went in very naively, thinking that it would be a fast war. With such a lack of respect, they did not understand what the country of Vietnam was going to bring. The soldiers were not fighting for democracy, they were fighting to survive and to pass the time. The viewer is shown scenes were there is ruthless and unneeded killing. Killing where villages are wiped out in order for the soldiers to ride a few waves.
One symbol that can be seen throughout the movie is the idea of the loss of innocence. Colonel Kurtz can be seen as representing Americas’ loss of innocence. Kurtz is an American soldier who is seen as leading a group of Vietnamese fighters. Benjamin Willard is on a mission to take down Kurtz. When Willard finally does find Kurtz he is not able to kill Kurtz right away. This is because Willard does not really understand why he has to kill another American, but because he was told to do so, he has to do it. This also goes along with another symbol that is seen throughout the movie, the reason America was fighting in this war.
Another analogy that is seen throughout the movie is, one that is seen in many war stories and war literature, is the idea of war just being hell. The viewer sees this in Apocalypse Now because throughout the movie we hear about entering or going or being in hell. Colby is sent on the same mission, as Willard to assassinate Kurtz but Colby is not ale to handle the existence and goes insane. In a letter to his wife he talks about how she should move on and forget about him. Saying that he is not going to be able to come home, home is crossed out and he writes back. The idea of his home still being the same when he gets back is gone. His life is becoming the War. Many soldiers were holding on to their home life to get through the war, thinking it would be the same when they get back. But Colby, who is considered to be going insane, actually understands the wretchedness of the war versus the men who are killing ruthlessly in order to get back home.
Both the Americans and the French want to have control over the land and the people. Kurtz also goes after achieving this, and when he does gain control over the Vietnamese people and beings leading them, he does not feel the satisfaction that he was hoping he would achieve. When Willard is seen as the new leader, he again cannot handle the pressure that is put on him and has to leave. The United States involvement with Vietnam lacked, among other things, respect for the land and people. The United States went in very naively, thinking that it would be a fast war. With such a lack of respect, they did not understand what the country of Vietnam was going to bring. The soldiers were not fighting for democracy, they were fighting to survive and to pass the time. The viewer is shown scenes were there is ruthless and unneeded killing. Killing where villages are wiped out in order for the soldiers to ride a few waves.
Blog 8 ARB
The term allegory is derived from the Greek word "allos" meaning other and is defined as a figurative action that conveys a specific meaning or message other than the literal way of showing that message. Apocalypse Now: Redux, is an allegory of the Vietnam war that represents the attitudes of the soldiers, the corruption of the government in charge, and the overall feeling about what and what it does to people.
The soldiers in Vietnam underestimated the strength and strategy that the Vietnamese soldiers and the Viet Cong contained. They went into the war thinking they would own the place and go home, but it was drastically different. This is clearly represented in the film when a squad goes and attacks a Viet Cong village so they can use the beach to surf. While there is chaos, death, and injured Americans, the commanding officer has one concern, seeing Lance surf the six foot cliffs that are crashing on that side of the beach. Secondly this is represented by the distraction of the Playboy Bunnies that come to give them entertainment, which truly end up being a distraction and as part of the allegory to show how much of a joke Americans though the war was. They shouldn't be trying to get with playboy bunnies when they could be killed at anytime while int eh jungle. Lastly, you can see their attitudes a not in a serious manner when they reach the bridge that is close to Cambodia and a soldier has music playing and he just decides that he will turn it down before he blows him up. They were in a battle zone and he has time to turn down a radio?
Another part of the allegory is the lack of leadership and corruption in the government. This is clear when they have a Colonel run off to Cambodia and can't be controlled by the American government so they have to send out one of their own to go kill them. You can also see corruption represented when the Patrol boat comes across and village boat that has food and animals and because they woman runs after Chef, they kill everyone on the boat. This a representation of how the American government felt about the Vietnamese people especially the civilians and that this wasn't a war the Americans should be fighting because they didn't fight like Americans, they fought like savages because Vietnam was truly a place of hell.
Hell brings us to the final part of the allegory and that is simply war is nothing but hell. The whole trip that Willard goes on represents him going into hell, and going head to head with the devil. He is sent on what some could argue a suicide mission to find someone that has been corrupted by the war and to kill them. In the film a soldier says "This is the asshole of the world", not better way to describes the lowest place on earth, hell, which has always been characterized to be in the fiery depths of the earth. I think the length of the film contributes to the whole journey for it is a long journey to hell and when he finally gets there, Willard realizes that he doesn't have to do it for the government anymore, but to do it for himself so he can confront this place that he has been sent to and to complete his mission and to realize that he no longer needed to be in the jungle like he expressed at the beginning of the film.
The soldiers in Vietnam underestimated the strength and strategy that the Vietnamese soldiers and the Viet Cong contained. They went into the war thinking they would own the place and go home, but it was drastically different. This is clearly represented in the film when a squad goes and attacks a Viet Cong village so they can use the beach to surf. While there is chaos, death, and injured Americans, the commanding officer has one concern, seeing Lance surf the six foot cliffs that are crashing on that side of the beach. Secondly this is represented by the distraction of the Playboy Bunnies that come to give them entertainment, which truly end up being a distraction and as part of the allegory to show how much of a joke Americans though the war was. They shouldn't be trying to get with playboy bunnies when they could be killed at anytime while int eh jungle. Lastly, you can see their attitudes a not in a serious manner when they reach the bridge that is close to Cambodia and a soldier has music playing and he just decides that he will turn it down before he blows him up. They were in a battle zone and he has time to turn down a radio?
Another part of the allegory is the lack of leadership and corruption in the government. This is clear when they have a Colonel run off to Cambodia and can't be controlled by the American government so they have to send out one of their own to go kill them. You can also see corruption represented when the Patrol boat comes across and village boat that has food and animals and because they woman runs after Chef, they kill everyone on the boat. This a representation of how the American government felt about the Vietnamese people especially the civilians and that this wasn't a war the Americans should be fighting because they didn't fight like Americans, they fought like savages because Vietnam was truly a place of hell.
Hell brings us to the final part of the allegory and that is simply war is nothing but hell. The whole trip that Willard goes on represents him going into hell, and going head to head with the devil. He is sent on what some could argue a suicide mission to find someone that has been corrupted by the war and to kill them. In the film a soldier says "This is the asshole of the world", not better way to describes the lowest place on earth, hell, which has always been characterized to be in the fiery depths of the earth. I think the length of the film contributes to the whole journey for it is a long journey to hell and when he finally gets there, Willard realizes that he doesn't have to do it for the government anymore, but to do it for himself so he can confront this place that he has been sent to and to complete his mission and to realize that he no longer needed to be in the jungle like he expressed at the beginning of the film.
Blog 8 DRS
An allegory aims to teach a lesson through metaphor and symbolism. The lessons extends beyond its literal representation, and can ultimately hold different meanings for different people. Coppola's Apocalypse Now: the Complete Dossier (Redux) is an allegory--each person and event represents something much deeper than the plot would allude to. The film is adapted from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, a novella which toys with the ideas of the duality of human nature and the capacity for evil in man. Fittingly, these ideas find their way into the film, along with other themes reminiscent of a Vietnam War film: loss of innocence, corruption, and survival to name a few.
The protagonist, Captain Willard, begins the film grappling with the horrors of his war experiences. He has nightmares of bombing raids, and the whooshing of a ceiling fan brings up memories of helicopter sounds. When he wakes up, he laments that he is still only in Saigon. These initial images introduce Willard as a soldier who has already experienced the harshness of war, and may even be combating feelings of PTSD. He is also a drunk, drinking whiskey out of the bottle "bottoms-up," suggesting that he has, like many soldiers of Vietnam, resorted to alcohol as a coping mechanism.
Throughout the film Willard is consumed with his mission, and never really succumbs to the distractions and events that occur while traversing upstream. This devotion to the mission gradually escalates, resulting in the killing of the woman on the farm boat, and the ultimate deaths of several crew members. As the crew continues upstream, the events that unfold become more chaotic, and the film itself becomes further shrouded in darkness and fog, suggesting the obscurity of the events, the mission, and ultimately the war itself. The further they travel down the river, the further they are venturing into 'the heart of darkness.' Willard's experiences along the river and his imprisonment by Kurtz almost cause him to succumbs insanity, but he wrests himself from that fate by movie's end, and is able to fulfill the mission.
The members of the boat crew, as well as people Willard encounters before taking off down the river, represent some aspect of the war. Willard encounters Lieutenant Kilgore on VC controlled beach. The name Kilgore foreshadows the lieutenants mentality. Kilgore is a sort of 'gung-ho' leader, who either is unaffected by the horrors around him, or has been desensitized to all the occurrences by his war experiences. This is made clear when in front of several cowering soldiers he says (enthusiastically) "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." The members of the boat crew also represent some unique aspect of the war. The crew sets of enthusiastically on this mission, only for them all to reach a point of insanity. Clean represents the naive youth of the war. The name Clean is ironic, since there is hardly anything in the war that is "clean," from their clothes to their conscience. His turning point occurs with the shooting of the farming boar. Chef is conspicuously less grounded than the other crew, and relies on marijuana as a coping mechanism. He breaks down after an encounter with a tiger in the jungle. Lance's experiences causes him to become more introverted, and turn him to drugs. By film's end he becomes part of Kurtz's crazed community, but is 'saved' in the end by Willard. Chief is the C.O. of the boat, and clearly the most grounded, but even he breaks down after Clean's death.
Colonel Kurtz, the subject of Willard's mission, has been driven to insanity by the horrors of war and by the corruptive influence of power. He fully embraces the horrors and atrocities of war, and he has accepted them as a necessary aspect of the human condition. Kurtz embodies man's capacity for evil, and the war has driven him to this state of mind. However by film's end, Kurtz seems to come to terms with what he's done, and sees his death delivered at the hands of Willard as a sort of way out. His final words are"the horror, the horror!", showing an acknowledgment of all the horrible atrocities he has experienced and committed. The slaughter of the water buffalo during the killing of Kurtz represents the type of insanity that war and lack of moral restrictions fosters.
The film portrays the war as violent and absurd theater. Near the beginning of the film, as Willard was just entering the war, there was a camera crew and cameraman yelling for him to not look at the camera; the Vietnam War almost takes on an entertainment value, with expectations of excitement and violence from the viewers. Such violence, confusion, and absurdity fosters insanity and, ultimately, more violence and absurdity. For instance, at every stop the boat made, none of the soldiers' campsites had a clear commanding officer. One encampment was in perpetual conflict with a dubious enemy in the forest, which is no doubt partially caused by lack of leadership. This lack of a clear leadership and lack of a clear mission propelled the war into an absurd, violent, and futile debacle.
The protagonist, Captain Willard, begins the film grappling with the horrors of his war experiences. He has nightmares of bombing raids, and the whooshing of a ceiling fan brings up memories of helicopter sounds. When he wakes up, he laments that he is still only in Saigon. These initial images introduce Willard as a soldier who has already experienced the harshness of war, and may even be combating feelings of PTSD. He is also a drunk, drinking whiskey out of the bottle "bottoms-up," suggesting that he has, like many soldiers of Vietnam, resorted to alcohol as a coping mechanism.
Throughout the film Willard is consumed with his mission, and never really succumbs to the distractions and events that occur while traversing upstream. This devotion to the mission gradually escalates, resulting in the killing of the woman on the farm boat, and the ultimate deaths of several crew members. As the crew continues upstream, the events that unfold become more chaotic, and the film itself becomes further shrouded in darkness and fog, suggesting the obscurity of the events, the mission, and ultimately the war itself. The further they travel down the river, the further they are venturing into 'the heart of darkness.' Willard's experiences along the river and his imprisonment by Kurtz almost cause him to succumbs insanity, but he wrests himself from that fate by movie's end, and is able to fulfill the mission.
The members of the boat crew, as well as people Willard encounters before taking off down the river, represent some aspect of the war. Willard encounters Lieutenant Kilgore on VC controlled beach. The name Kilgore foreshadows the lieutenants mentality. Kilgore is a sort of 'gung-ho' leader, who either is unaffected by the horrors around him, or has been desensitized to all the occurrences by his war experiences. This is made clear when in front of several cowering soldiers he says (enthusiastically) "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." The members of the boat crew also represent some unique aspect of the war. The crew sets of enthusiastically on this mission, only for them all to reach a point of insanity. Clean represents the naive youth of the war. The name Clean is ironic, since there is hardly anything in the war that is "clean," from their clothes to their conscience. His turning point occurs with the shooting of the farming boar. Chef is conspicuously less grounded than the other crew, and relies on marijuana as a coping mechanism. He breaks down after an encounter with a tiger in the jungle. Lance's experiences causes him to become more introverted, and turn him to drugs. By film's end he becomes part of Kurtz's crazed community, but is 'saved' in the end by Willard. Chief is the C.O. of the boat, and clearly the most grounded, but even he breaks down after Clean's death.
Colonel Kurtz, the subject of Willard's mission, has been driven to insanity by the horrors of war and by the corruptive influence of power. He fully embraces the horrors and atrocities of war, and he has accepted them as a necessary aspect of the human condition. Kurtz embodies man's capacity for evil, and the war has driven him to this state of mind. However by film's end, Kurtz seems to come to terms with what he's done, and sees his death delivered at the hands of Willard as a sort of way out. His final words are"the horror, the horror!", showing an acknowledgment of all the horrible atrocities he has experienced and committed. The slaughter of the water buffalo during the killing of Kurtz represents the type of insanity that war and lack of moral restrictions fosters.
The film portrays the war as violent and absurd theater. Near the beginning of the film, as Willard was just entering the war, there was a camera crew and cameraman yelling for him to not look at the camera; the Vietnam War almost takes on an entertainment value, with expectations of excitement and violence from the viewers. Such violence, confusion, and absurdity fosters insanity and, ultimately, more violence and absurdity. For instance, at every stop the boat made, none of the soldiers' campsites had a clear commanding officer. One encampment was in perpetual conflict with a dubious enemy in the forest, which is no doubt partially caused by lack of leadership. This lack of a clear leadership and lack of a clear mission propelled the war into an absurd, violent, and futile debacle.
Blog 8: SJC
The film Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier (Redux) by Coppola is an allegory for the Vietnam War because of the abundant symbolism present in the film. This symbolism is present through visual images as well as through the actions of the characters. Some of the ideas that are presented and symbolized in the film are loss of innocence, control, and the American government's view on the war as well as the corruption within the government.
The idea of a loss of innocence, is symbolized in several different ways. One way this can be seen is through Colonel Kurtz who has apparently gone insane due to the war and settled in Cambodia with a group of devoted follows composed of Vietnamese as well as Americans. Colonel Kurtz has lost his innocence because he has been transformed by the war in such a way that his life is forever changed. He is no longer fazed by many of the things that go on in the war and now has very different views of humanity which is shown through the murders he has been accused of. Kurtz brings to life the horrors and tragedies of the American intervention in Vietnam through his descent into madness and shows the futility of the American's goals in the war by pushing his actions to the extreme.
Another way that the film shows what war does to soldiers is through Willard at the end of the movie when he is preparing to kill Kurtz. He states that he will be promoted for his actions but that it doesn't matter because he is no longer part of their army. Willard has changed at this point because he has seen how corrupt the military is through his mission and has seen what war itself can do to a soldier through Kurtz's madness.
Control is a major idea in the film as well since the film revolves around the fact that the military is looking to kill one of their own men, Kurtz, who happens to be highly decorated . They are looking to kill him for his misdeeds and to prevent him from showing the true face of the war to the public even though the majority of his actions have benefited the military. This also shows the corruption within the military and the government because Willard's mission to kill Kurtz, along with several other missions he completed in the past, do not exist and never will exist. Control can also been seen in the scene where Willard and the men are visiting with the French families after Clean's death. The French state that "We fight for our ground but you Americans fight for nothing." This line implies that while the French families have a reason to stay and fight, the Americans are there so they can eventually shape Vietnam to their liking and for their purposes.
The American government's attitude towards the war can been seen through Kilgore's words and actions. The American's believe they are superior and cannot be defeated which is evidenced through Kilgore's fearlessness upon landing on the beach during a fight. The American's poor values can also be seen through Kilgore in that he refuses to transport the boat upriver until he hears that a famous surfer is on board and is then willing to do anything and everything to help the surfer, Lance, out. He is even willing to launch a full attack with napalm where the boat needs to go as long as Lance goes surfing with him. We can also see his poor values when he tells his men to 'surf or fight' during the attack so that he can have a better sense of the waves. In all, Kilgore depicts America's belief that they are superior which allows them to act carelessly regardless of the situation.
The idea of a loss of innocence, is symbolized in several different ways. One way this can be seen is through Colonel Kurtz who has apparently gone insane due to the war and settled in Cambodia with a group of devoted follows composed of Vietnamese as well as Americans. Colonel Kurtz has lost his innocence because he has been transformed by the war in such a way that his life is forever changed. He is no longer fazed by many of the things that go on in the war and now has very different views of humanity which is shown through the murders he has been accused of. Kurtz brings to life the horrors and tragedies of the American intervention in Vietnam through his descent into madness and shows the futility of the American's goals in the war by pushing his actions to the extreme.
Another way that the film shows what war does to soldiers is through Willard at the end of the movie when he is preparing to kill Kurtz. He states that he will be promoted for his actions but that it doesn't matter because he is no longer part of their army. Willard has changed at this point because he has seen how corrupt the military is through his mission and has seen what war itself can do to a soldier through Kurtz's madness.
Control is a major idea in the film as well since the film revolves around the fact that the military is looking to kill one of their own men, Kurtz, who happens to be highly decorated . They are looking to kill him for his misdeeds and to prevent him from showing the true face of the war to the public even though the majority of his actions have benefited the military. This also shows the corruption within the military and the government because Willard's mission to kill Kurtz, along with several other missions he completed in the past, do not exist and never will exist. Control can also been seen in the scene where Willard and the men are visiting with the French families after Clean's death. The French state that "We fight for our ground but you Americans fight for nothing." This line implies that while the French families have a reason to stay and fight, the Americans are there so they can eventually shape Vietnam to their liking and for their purposes.
The American government's attitude towards the war can been seen through Kilgore's words and actions. The American's believe they are superior and cannot be defeated which is evidenced through Kilgore's fearlessness upon landing on the beach during a fight. The American's poor values can also be seen through Kilgore in that he refuses to transport the boat upriver until he hears that a famous surfer is on board and is then willing to do anything and everything to help the surfer, Lance, out. He is even willing to launch a full attack with napalm where the boat needs to go as long as Lance goes surfing with him. We can also see his poor values when he tells his men to 'surf or fight' during the attack so that he can have a better sense of the waves. In all, Kilgore depicts America's belief that they are superior which allows them to act carelessly regardless of the situation.
APNR RGL
An allegory is the representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through a story. Essentially, this is a story with an underlying meaning, or other story, being told. Coppola's film Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier is an example of such.
Many ideas, and notions of the Vietnam war may be drawn from the film. For instance, one theme which occurs through most works on the war is the loss of innocence. This is seen in this film as well. An example of this is the character of Kurtz. It is obvious the war has claimed his innocence. The war has transformed him to such a point where he has been consumed by his madness. Furthermore, he is the embodiment of how even the elite, such as he special forces can fall.
In addition to the loss of innocence, the immaturity of the soldiers is seen through the soldier who agrees to the transport when he realizes he may surf. Generally, one would not expect a soldier to be keen on surfing. This demonstrates how the soldiers fighting here are young for the combat that they face. After this scene, we here one of the soldiers claim to love the smell of napalm, and that it smells like victory. This is reminiscent of the idea that American's believed they would win the war by simply bombing the country over and over again. This depicts the idea that the American's believed they were totally superior, and would win easily. Overall this film possessed several clear allegories.
Many ideas, and notions of the Vietnam war may be drawn from the film. For instance, one theme which occurs through most works on the war is the loss of innocence. This is seen in this film as well. An example of this is the character of Kurtz. It is obvious the war has claimed his innocence. The war has transformed him to such a point where he has been consumed by his madness. Furthermore, he is the embodiment of how even the elite, such as he special forces can fall.
In addition to the loss of innocence, the immaturity of the soldiers is seen through the soldier who agrees to the transport when he realizes he may surf. Generally, one would not expect a soldier to be keen on surfing. This demonstrates how the soldiers fighting here are young for the combat that they face. After this scene, we here one of the soldiers claim to love the smell of napalm, and that it smells like victory. This is reminiscent of the idea that American's believed they would win the war by simply bombing the country over and over again. This depicts the idea that the American's believed they were totally superior, and would win easily. Overall this film possessed several clear allegories.
Blog 8 - QMC
An allegory is an extended metaphor, in which the people or actions in a narrative have other meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. There is an underlying meaning which is usually moral, social, or political and the characters are personifications of abstract ideas.
The film Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier (Redux) is an allegory for the Vietnam War. Coppola uses Kurtz as a symbol of the American loss of innocence. Kurtz was an established colonel of the United States Special Forces, but presumably went insane, forming a group of followers who treated him as a sort of demi-God and are settled in Cambodia, at the end of the Nung River. The fact that Captain Willard was sent on a mission to ‘terminate’ Kurtz’s authority by the American government is a symbol of how corrupt and secretive the government was during the occupation in Vietnam. The two intelligence officers that assign Willard to the mission, Corman and Lucas, told Willard that his assignment ‘didn’t exist’ if anyone was to ask.
After Willard joins the PBR, the crew stumbles upon Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore of the Air Force, who is supposed to transport the boat to the Nung River. Kilgore is symbolic of American attitudes and poor moral values. Kilgore refuses to transport the boat, until he learns that a famous surfer is part of the PBR crew. When Kilgore heard this news, a man was lying dead in front of Kilgore, and Kilgore was acting interested and helping him by letting the man drink out of his canteen, but he immediately stopped and was completely interested in Johnson. In the midst of an air raid, Kilgore made his soldiers ‘surf or fight’. The visual of American soldiers surfing while bombs and gunshots are going off is ironic and symbolic; it depicts America’s carelessness and self interest during Vietnam. Kilgore also represents America in the sense that he never flinched when attacked, even if other soldiers were ducking for cover. This represents that America appeared fearless and ignorant towards the Vietnamese, as if nothing could ever defeat us, or even harm us. When Kilgore said, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning… smells like victory,” he was representing America’s aggressive, ‘destroy everything’ attitude.
The women in this film also symbolize the American loss of innocence. When the Playboy bunny was talking to Johnson, she was telling him how the magazine made her do things she didn’t want to and thought she went too far in pictures. This is parallel to how the young soldiers were drafted into the war, and they were forced to do things they didn’t want to, like killing to keep themselves alive.
Also, the scene in which PBR lands on a French plantation parallels to the movie Indochine, because there is a French family living in Vietnam. Willard asks when the family is moving, and the family gets upset and claims that Vietnam is their home, and that America didn’t learn from the France’s mistake. Willard sits at the table, silent, while one of the family members argued that they are fighting for their land, but America is fighting for ‘a huge nothing’. Roxanne, a widower in the family, shares a night with Willard and tells him that, ‘there are two of you… One that kills, and one that loves”. This represents the duality of the soldiers in the war, that although they are trained to kill, they are not machines and still have the ability to love.
Kurtz’s camp symbolizes the Vietnamese jungle and the warfare that took place there. There are dead bodies being completely ignored by the citizens, and severed heads all around. The camp is complete anarchy, chaos and insanity, just as the Vietnamese jungle is.
Willard was let go out of his capture and given a machete by a villager, which meant that Kurtz wanted Willard to kill him like a soldier, as Willard narrates, ‘standing up’. Kurtz’s killing symbolized that American soldiers had seen horrifying things in Vietnam that no one should ever see. Kurtz’s last words were ‘the horror… the horror,” which correlates to the story of the Vietnamese children whose arms were cut off that he was telling Willard right before his death. Kurtz’s represented the American defeat in Vietnam.
The film, like many pieces of literature and film about the Vietnam War, expresses the issue that there is no good or evil in war, war is simply hell. No one truly won or lost the war, but the war changed everyone, and even caused insanity.
AZ Blog 8
An allegory is a figurative mode that is used to teach a lesson through symbolism.It often serves as a metaphor for a literary piece of work. Coppola uses the movie "Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier (Redux)" as an allegory to represent the atrocities and hypocrisy of the Vietnam War fought by the United States. He based the movie on Joseph Conrad's book "The Heart of Darkness", which tells of a characters journey up the Congo river to meet Kurtz, a leader who has gone mad and insane as a result of the war and his power. Kurtz symbolizes an evil genius and serves as an example of what happens when an individual experiences too much horror and then gains too much power.
In the movie the main character Willard is living in Saigon after his first mission in the war and having a hard time dealing with his life. He has turned to alcohol and drugs and is suffering from PTSD. He narrates throughout the movie and in the very begining he states that the following "story is a confession". When he is given the mission by the Special Operations Unit to go up the river to Cambodia and "terminate without prejudice" Kurtz, he reasons in his mind and says "I took the mission. What the hell else was I suppose to do?". This shows how lost and detatched Willard was after fighting in the war and how he was not prepared to deal with normal life. This situation of not being able to handle home again after the war was also expressed in the movie when Willard saw a note from Captain Richard Colby. Colby, like Willard, was sent on the same mission to assassinate Kurtz. Unfortunately Colby could not handle the horrifying experience of the mission and was transformed like Kurtz to the evil, insane side. In a note to his wife Colby wrote "Sell the House, the can, the kids, find someone else, forget it, I'm never coming home (home is then crossed out and written over by the word back), forget it!". This note is ironic because most American soldiers were fighting to stay alive and return home, but here, Colby fought so much that it took over him and he couldn't even write the word home. After the war,there was no place that felt safe and comfortable like a home.
The movie represents how U.S. involvement in the war was a joke. They were not there to help civilians and represent the true values of America. They were there acting like they owned the country and destroying everything they came into contact with. Instead of helping the innocent Vietnamese, they were killing unnecessarily. This was shown in the scene were the captain basically wipes out an entire village with napalm in order to surf a few waves. The film also suggests that the priorities of the American soldiers were tainted. For example they only cared about playboy bunnies, rock n roll, surfing, and entertainment.
This idea of the American army fighting for the wrong reasons is also expressed while they are on their way up the river, and stop at a French plantaion. There, at dinner they have a big discussion about the war and one of the older French men say "You Americans fight for the biggest nothing in history".
Another aspect of hypocrisy that the film suggests is that the whole mission of Willard and his crew is to kill one of America's own members. It is ironic that they are wasting all this time, money and energy in Vietnam in order to fight themselves.
The river that they are riding also serves as a metaphor for the individual soldiers themselves. The journey up the river represents the journey that the soldiers enter and go through physically, mentally, and psychologically throughout the war. As they go deeper and deeper up the river, their self darkens and gets closer and closer to being taken over by evil and insanity. This is physically shown through the massive amounts of fog they go through and darkness they encountour along their way. This is also shown by the transformations that the characters undergo as they go further and further up the river. Lance's image gradually changes from a pretty, Californian surfer boy carrying an innocent puppy, to a savage looking native with his face masked in war paint and body covered in sweat and blood. Chef transforms after his first encountour with the tiger. Clean's name represents his original clean, innocent image and how it is gradually destroyed by the evil's of war after he shoots and kills all the innocent Vietnamese on the boat.
Another one of the main themes expressed in this movie is the idea of evil and the lesser of two evils. Williard is faced with the question of how can standards and morals be used when judging evil? Kurtz slowly influences Willard and makes Willard see his point of view. Kurtz says in order to have a successfull army you "have to have men who are more able to utilize their primortal instincts to kill without passion and judgement because it is judgement that defeats us". After a observing Kurtz, Willard becomes a little hesitant to kill him. Willard becomes close to breaking and almost giving himself up to the evil side but at the last minute after seeing Chefs decapitated head in his lap and obtaining a machetti from one of the civilians, he realizes that he must kill Kurtz.
The scene were Willard kills Kurtz occurs at the same time that the community is killing the buffalo. Kurtz's last words were 'the horror, the horror'. These words summarize everything about the movie and the war. The war was so horrifically unimaginable and had such power that it consumed everything and everyone. After Willard kills Kurtz, he finds Kurtz manuscript which has a note on it that says "Drop the bomb, exterminate them all". This message shows that there was no hope for anything. All sides and everyone involved was doomed. After reading this Willard realizes that he must leave the community at once. While he is leaving, the community recognizes him as their hero and new leader.
Over all this movie serves as an allegory to represent the hypocrisy and atrocity that war can create. It suggests that war can give rise to such a hostile environment that it will eventually lead to pure evil. The movie also expresses that there was no real reason or purpose for all the horror and evil that took place. The killing and fighting was pointless and unjustified.
In the movie the main character Willard is living in Saigon after his first mission in the war and having a hard time dealing with his life. He has turned to alcohol and drugs and is suffering from PTSD. He narrates throughout the movie and in the very begining he states that the following "story is a confession". When he is given the mission by the Special Operations Unit to go up the river to Cambodia and "terminate without prejudice" Kurtz, he reasons in his mind and says "I took the mission. What the hell else was I suppose to do?". This shows how lost and detatched Willard was after fighting in the war and how he was not prepared to deal with normal life. This situation of not being able to handle home again after the war was also expressed in the movie when Willard saw a note from Captain Richard Colby. Colby, like Willard, was sent on the same mission to assassinate Kurtz. Unfortunately Colby could not handle the horrifying experience of the mission and was transformed like Kurtz to the evil, insane side. In a note to his wife Colby wrote "Sell the House, the can, the kids, find someone else, forget it, I'm never coming home (home is then crossed out and written over by the word back), forget it!". This note is ironic because most American soldiers were fighting to stay alive and return home, but here, Colby fought so much that it took over him and he couldn't even write the word home. After the war,there was no place that felt safe and comfortable like a home.
The movie represents how U.S. involvement in the war was a joke. They were not there to help civilians and represent the true values of America. They were there acting like they owned the country and destroying everything they came into contact with. Instead of helping the innocent Vietnamese, they were killing unnecessarily. This was shown in the scene were the captain basically wipes out an entire village with napalm in order to surf a few waves. The film also suggests that the priorities of the American soldiers were tainted. For example they only cared about playboy bunnies, rock n roll, surfing, and entertainment.
This idea of the American army fighting for the wrong reasons is also expressed while they are on their way up the river, and stop at a French plantaion. There, at dinner they have a big discussion about the war and one of the older French men say "You Americans fight for the biggest nothing in history".
Another aspect of hypocrisy that the film suggests is that the whole mission of Willard and his crew is to kill one of America's own members. It is ironic that they are wasting all this time, money and energy in Vietnam in order to fight themselves.
The river that they are riding also serves as a metaphor for the individual soldiers themselves. The journey up the river represents the journey that the soldiers enter and go through physically, mentally, and psychologically throughout the war. As they go deeper and deeper up the river, their self darkens and gets closer and closer to being taken over by evil and insanity. This is physically shown through the massive amounts of fog they go through and darkness they encountour along their way. This is also shown by the transformations that the characters undergo as they go further and further up the river. Lance's image gradually changes from a pretty, Californian surfer boy carrying an innocent puppy, to a savage looking native with his face masked in war paint and body covered in sweat and blood. Chef transforms after his first encountour with the tiger. Clean's name represents his original clean, innocent image and how it is gradually destroyed by the evil's of war after he shoots and kills all the innocent Vietnamese on the boat.
Another one of the main themes expressed in this movie is the idea of evil and the lesser of two evils. Williard is faced with the question of how can standards and morals be used when judging evil? Kurtz slowly influences Willard and makes Willard see his point of view. Kurtz says in order to have a successfull army you "have to have men who are more able to utilize their primortal instincts to kill without passion and judgement because it is judgement that defeats us". After a observing Kurtz, Willard becomes a little hesitant to kill him. Willard becomes close to breaking and almost giving himself up to the evil side but at the last minute after seeing Chefs decapitated head in his lap and obtaining a machetti from one of the civilians, he realizes that he must kill Kurtz.
The scene were Willard kills Kurtz occurs at the same time that the community is killing the buffalo. Kurtz's last words were 'the horror, the horror'. These words summarize everything about the movie and the war. The war was so horrifically unimaginable and had such power that it consumed everything and everyone. After Willard kills Kurtz, he finds Kurtz manuscript which has a note on it that says "Drop the bomb, exterminate them all". This message shows that there was no hope for anything. All sides and everyone involved was doomed. After reading this Willard realizes that he must leave the community at once. While he is leaving, the community recognizes him as their hero and new leader.
Over all this movie serves as an allegory to represent the hypocrisy and atrocity that war can create. It suggests that war can give rise to such a hostile environment that it will eventually lead to pure evil. The movie also expresses that there was no real reason or purpose for all the horror and evil that took place. The killing and fighting was pointless and unjustified.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Blog 8 AKB
An allegory is a symbolic representation of something abstract or spiritual. Often times, an allegory serves to teach a lesson. The film Apocalyse Now: The Complete Dossier (Redux), is an allegory for the Vietnam War. The film uses a number of visual images to portray ideas about the War, such as that enemies were not clearly distinguishable, that there was no "right" or "wrong" side in the war, and that the benefits of controlling the Vietnamese were not as satisfying as they seemed.
Throughout the film, it is very difficult for the Americans to distinguish who their enemies are. Even when they realize the soldiers they are confronted with are supposed to be their allies, they still cannot let their guard up and trust the other soldiers. An example of this is when the small American troop that the main character Benjamin Willard is travelling with encounters a larger group of French soldiers, the men are still uneasy with the confrontation and are slow to lower their weapons, as are the French. The American soldiers have an extremely difficult time distinguishing the South Vietnamese from the North Vietnamese, as well. Again, even when they realize that the Vietnamese are supposed to be their allies, they are unable to decipher whether they will be hostile or not. These examples show just how confused the line between allies and enemies was.
From the beginning of the film, Willard is on a secret mission to find Colonel Walter Kurtz, a former American soldier who now controls and leads a large group of hostile Vietnamese fighters. However, when he finds Kurtz, he is unable to kill him right away. This is because he somewhat understands where Kurtz is coming from, so to speak. A seasoned soldier, Willard knows how war can affect a person, and how "horror," as Kurtz puts it, can drive a person mad. This is why Willard hesitates in killing Kurtz, since he sees a part of himself in the older man. This symbolizes how there usually is not a definite "evil" side in war, because people have reasons, although not always justified, for why they do horrible things. However, Willard does eventually kill Kurtz, most likely because he sees the part of himself that he resents in Kurtz.
Another symbol within the film is the effect of having control over people. The Americans and French seek control over the land, and in essence the Vietnamese people, throughout the War. However, when Kurtz finally achieves this through becoming a spiritual as well as military leader for the Vietnamese, he still does not find true happiness. Likewise, when Willard kills Kurtz and the Vietnamese accept him as their new leader, the thought visibly sickens him and he leaves the encampment before he can get sucked into the power offered by the Vietnamese.
Throughout the film, it is very difficult for the Americans to distinguish who their enemies are. Even when they realize the soldiers they are confronted with are supposed to be their allies, they still cannot let their guard up and trust the other soldiers. An example of this is when the small American troop that the main character Benjamin Willard is travelling with encounters a larger group of French soldiers, the men are still uneasy with the confrontation and are slow to lower their weapons, as are the French. The American soldiers have an extremely difficult time distinguishing the South Vietnamese from the North Vietnamese, as well. Again, even when they realize that the Vietnamese are supposed to be their allies, they are unable to decipher whether they will be hostile or not. These examples show just how confused the line between allies and enemies was.
From the beginning of the film, Willard is on a secret mission to find Colonel Walter Kurtz, a former American soldier who now controls and leads a large group of hostile Vietnamese fighters. However, when he finds Kurtz, he is unable to kill him right away. This is because he somewhat understands where Kurtz is coming from, so to speak. A seasoned soldier, Willard knows how war can affect a person, and how "horror," as Kurtz puts it, can drive a person mad. This is why Willard hesitates in killing Kurtz, since he sees a part of himself in the older man. This symbolizes how there usually is not a definite "evil" side in war, because people have reasons, although not always justified, for why they do horrible things. However, Willard does eventually kill Kurtz, most likely because he sees the part of himself that he resents in Kurtz.
Another symbol within the film is the effect of having control over people. The Americans and French seek control over the land, and in essence the Vietnamese people, throughout the War. However, when Kurtz finally achieves this through becoming a spiritual as well as military leader for the Vietnamese, he still does not find true happiness. Likewise, when Willard kills Kurtz and the Vietnamese accept him as their new leader, the thought visibly sickens him and he leaves the encampment before he can get sucked into the power offered by the Vietnamese.
Blog 7 - JWE
In the book "Dien Cai Dau", the author Yusef Komunyakaa uses poems to illustrate the war. Major themes in his poems include race because he was African-American and also visual imagery that m akes you believe you are right there with him.
The first poem I choose to discuss was "Tunnels" on page 5. I choose this poem because tunnels where such a huge part of the war for the Vietnamese and such a downfall for the American soldiers who were fighting the VC. Yusef's imagery is astounding in this poem and he makes it feel like you are down there with the soldier. He makes me feel the same fear and anxiety the soldier felt as he inched throught the tunnel. "Every concerned shadow has a life to bargain with" is a very powerful line in this poem. It really just shows how these soldiers were not worrying about bugs or roots or even the darkness but all they worried about was leaving the tunnel alive. "Loving the weight of his shotgun" shows how much they relied on their weapons for survival and how they knew it was the only thing keeping them alive.
The second poem I choose is "Thanks" on page 44. It really shows how all the soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War thought that the nature around them saved their lives. In the poem he thanks the tree for stopping a bullet and a butterfly for pointing out a mine and usually people take these things for granted. The soldiers believed that something like "mother nature" was watching over their every move and keeping them alive. The soldiers realize how frail their life is and how little they have done to deserve it. The theme of giving thanks to nature is prevalent in most of the other literature we have read about the Vietnam War.
"A Greenness Taller Than Gods" is the third poem I choose from the book, found on page 11. The most appealling thing about this poem is the sensory imagery and the fact that Yusef makes the reader feel like they are walking through the jungle. Also, the quote "unaware our shadows have untied from us, wandered off & gotten lost" is very typical of war stories. It shows how the soldiers lose part of them once they begin to fight and most soldiers will never "find their shadows" after the war. They lose their innocence along with their shadows in the jungles of Vietnam. The poem also includes "torch birds" which could be looked at as a symbol for helicopters dropping napalm on the Vietnamese.
Through all of Yusef's poems, a broader sense of the war can be realized than just reading one poem. The each tell their own tale and each teach us a different lesson.
The first poem I choose to discuss was "Tunnels" on page 5. I choose this poem because tunnels where such a huge part of the war for the Vietnamese and such a downfall for the American soldiers who were fighting the VC. Yusef's imagery is astounding in this poem and he makes it feel like you are down there with the soldier. He makes me feel the same fear and anxiety the soldier felt as he inched throught the tunnel. "Every concerned shadow has a life to bargain with" is a very powerful line in this poem. It really just shows how these soldiers were not worrying about bugs or roots or even the darkness but all they worried about was leaving the tunnel alive. "Loving the weight of his shotgun" shows how much they relied on their weapons for survival and how they knew it was the only thing keeping them alive.
The second poem I choose is "Thanks" on page 44. It really shows how all the soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War thought that the nature around them saved their lives. In the poem he thanks the tree for stopping a bullet and a butterfly for pointing out a mine and usually people take these things for granted. The soldiers believed that something like "mother nature" was watching over their every move and keeping them alive. The soldiers realize how frail their life is and how little they have done to deserve it. The theme of giving thanks to nature is prevalent in most of the other literature we have read about the Vietnam War.
"A Greenness Taller Than Gods" is the third poem I choose from the book, found on page 11. The most appealling thing about this poem is the sensory imagery and the fact that Yusef makes the reader feel like they are walking through the jungle. Also, the quote "unaware our shadows have untied from us, wandered off & gotten lost" is very typical of war stories. It shows how the soldiers lose part of them once they begin to fight and most soldiers will never "find their shadows" after the war. They lose their innocence along with their shadows in the jungles of Vietnam. The poem also includes "torch birds" which could be looked at as a symbol for helicopters dropping napalm on the Vietnamese.
Through all of Yusef's poems, a broader sense of the war can be realized than just reading one poem. The each tell their own tale and each teach us a different lesson.
Blog 7 sr
In the book Dien Cai Dau, Yosef tells his story about his experience in the war through a series of poetry. Dien Cai Dau is translated to mean "crazy" which is what the Vietnamese men use to call the American Soldiers. This shows the connection between Yosef and the Vietnamese and how they both look at the American Soldiers in a negative light. Just how previous wirters expressed their stories through novels and short stories, this authors takes a different direction and illustrates these poems through the character of Yosef.
The first poem I wanted to talk about was "Toys in the field". The author of the book shows children playing on a old gun mound sourrounded by helicopter remains instead of a original scene like a playground where one would suspect children to be playing in because of the saftey and innocense of a place like the playground. The games that the children play is similiar to how the soldiers live their life in the field. This takes away the innocence of the children and compares it to a violent action, something that would be more related to soldiers, not children. The author discribe playful actions as silent. "Their play is silent as distant rain". Children playing shouldnt be silent majority of the time, but it was a connection to how soldiers walked through the fields of Vietnam so they wouldnt be noticed in combat or just to hide themselves from danger.
The next poem I looked at was "Thanks". This poem just showed the gratitude of the ability of the soldiers being able to stay alive through the war. It shows different situations where the soldiers are saved from dying because of nature. In one situation, a soldier was saved by grass just because he was able to hide in it. The soldiers had to use their surroundings alot because they werent as skilled of soldiers like the americans so they were already at a disadvantage but using their home land as a war tatic helped them survive. Komunyakaa talks about how the American soldiers should have learned from the vietnam but they were to hard-headed to do so.
The final poem I looked at was "Roll Call". This poem paid a tribute to all the dead soldiers and brothers that Komunkayaa lost in the war and whats left of one. This poem goes in detail imagery wise on the horrors of death and the efffect that it had on the soldiers. "those five pair of boots" which reconized the five dead soldiers. Its shows how difficult it is for being a soldier and sleeping on your bunk bed and not seeing the man sleeping on the bed beside you anymore because he died in combat. Its crazy because he woke up with you that morning and your never going to wake up next to him again.
The first poem I wanted to talk about was "Toys in the field". The author of the book shows children playing on a old gun mound sourrounded by helicopter remains instead of a original scene like a playground where one would suspect children to be playing in because of the saftey and innocense of a place like the playground. The games that the children play is similiar to how the soldiers live their life in the field. This takes away the innocence of the children and compares it to a violent action, something that would be more related to soldiers, not children. The author discribe playful actions as silent. "Their play is silent as distant rain". Children playing shouldnt be silent majority of the time, but it was a connection to how soldiers walked through the fields of Vietnam so they wouldnt be noticed in combat or just to hide themselves from danger.
The next poem I looked at was "Thanks". This poem just showed the gratitude of the ability of the soldiers being able to stay alive through the war. It shows different situations where the soldiers are saved from dying because of nature. In one situation, a soldier was saved by grass just because he was able to hide in it. The soldiers had to use their surroundings alot because they werent as skilled of soldiers like the americans so they were already at a disadvantage but using their home land as a war tatic helped them survive. Komunyakaa talks about how the American soldiers should have learned from the vietnam but they were to hard-headed to do so.
The final poem I looked at was "Roll Call". This poem paid a tribute to all the dead soldiers and brothers that Komunkayaa lost in the war and whats left of one. This poem goes in detail imagery wise on the horrors of death and the efffect that it had on the soldiers. "those five pair of boots" which reconized the five dead soldiers. Its shows how difficult it is for being a soldier and sleeping on your bunk bed and not seeing the man sleeping on the bed beside you anymore because he died in combat. Its crazy because he woke up with you that morning and your never going to wake up next to him again.
Blog Seven- LDT
Yusef Komunyakaa is a veteran from Vietnam and the author of Dien Cai Dau. Dien Cai Dau is translated into meaning “crazy”, which the Vietnamese used to describe the American soldiers. Having the title mean “crazy” suggests that Komunyakaa agrees with the Vietnamese in that the Americans were crazy for going in and fighting the war. The poems in this collection, tell about experiences that many war veterans experienced.
In the poem “Night Muse and Mortar Round”, Komunyakaa is describing the girl that is in every war story. She is the one that all men think of at night and is used to keep the men sane. “She shows up in every war. Basically the same…”(21) The women back home are not going to actually be there for the men, but the men still try and hold on to her. The idea that holding on to a women can save you, is seen in the last few lines where Komunyakaa describes what could have happened. “ Then you hear the blast rocks the trees and stars where you would’ve been that moment.” This idea was very helpful for men to escape the harsh realities of the war and dream with a woman just for a little bit.
In "Toys in a Field" the poem depicts Vietnamese children playing with the forgotten weapons and machinery left behind by American soldiers. Komunyakaa is using the children who are playing with the left machinery to symbolize how the many of the soldiers who went into war were just children themselves. Lines such as "Suspended in doorways of multimillion-dollar helicopters" and "they imitate vultures landing in fields” are used to show how the men fighting the battles and jumping into war scenes with no real sense of what is going on. The poem does a great job of showing how the men fighting did not feel like they were prepared for what came, and they were not prepared when they left for the life back home. This can be seen from the countless number of Veterans who have not been able to adjust back to life.
In “Thanks”, the poem shows the struggle it was for every soldier to just stay alive. Komunyakaa demonstrates the exertion through the use of nature imagery in describing different life saving situations. Throughout each situation the soldier finds himself in, they are saved by nature. In one scene a soldier is saved, by the grass revealing a hidden soldier, so the soldier can save his life. The Vietnamese had a lot of respect for the nature and environment they were in, and even though the Vietnamese were not as well “trained” and did not have as many supplies, but because they respected the nature they were in they were able to win. I think what Komunyakaa is doing is showing that the Vietnamese were right. The Americans should have listened learned from the Vietnamese, and the Americans should not have been so naive.
In the poem “Night Muse and Mortar Round”, Komunyakaa is describing the girl that is in every war story. She is the one that all men think of at night and is used to keep the men sane. “She shows up in every war. Basically the same…”(21) The women back home are not going to actually be there for the men, but the men still try and hold on to her. The idea that holding on to a women can save you, is seen in the last few lines where Komunyakaa describes what could have happened. “ Then you hear the blast rocks the trees and stars where you would’ve been that moment.” This idea was very helpful for men to escape the harsh realities of the war and dream with a woman just for a little bit.
In "Toys in a Field" the poem depicts Vietnamese children playing with the forgotten weapons and machinery left behind by American soldiers. Komunyakaa is using the children who are playing with the left machinery to symbolize how the many of the soldiers who went into war were just children themselves. Lines such as "Suspended in doorways of multimillion-dollar helicopters" and "they imitate vultures landing in fields” are used to show how the men fighting the battles and jumping into war scenes with no real sense of what is going on. The poem does a great job of showing how the men fighting did not feel like they were prepared for what came, and they were not prepared when they left for the life back home. This can be seen from the countless number of Veterans who have not been able to adjust back to life.
In “Thanks”, the poem shows the struggle it was for every soldier to just stay alive. Komunyakaa demonstrates the exertion through the use of nature imagery in describing different life saving situations. Throughout each situation the soldier finds himself in, they are saved by nature. In one scene a soldier is saved, by the grass revealing a hidden soldier, so the soldier can save his life. The Vietnamese had a lot of respect for the nature and environment they were in, and even though the Vietnamese were not as well “trained” and did not have as many supplies, but because they respected the nature they were in they were able to win. I think what Komunyakaa is doing is showing that the Vietnamese were right. The Americans should have listened learned from the Vietnamese, and the Americans should not have been so naive.
NR Blog 7
"The Dead at Quang Tri" (12) is one of the many poems in the collection focused around death. This one, however, brings to light the soldiers’ recognition of their beliefs. While there are no quotation marks, most of the poem reads like a conversation. First, there is a portrayal of immeasurable amounts of pointless death as “trying to count stones on a path to nowhere”. Then there’s talk of a Buddhist boy who surely ended up dead. One yells that he won’t stay dead, bringing light to the Buddhist belief in reincarnation. When I read “The grass we walk on won’t stay down”, I picture Vietnamese soldiers still standing tall for their country, even as reincarnated blades of grass.
We’ve read about it in all the novels and we read about it again in Dien Cai Dau. "We Never Know" (26) is about a Vietnamese soldier shot down by G.Is. I am reminded of Kien and the soldier in the crater when this narrator “falls in love” after finding the photograph. We’ve already read how newer soldiers would look through the bodies of those they’d killed in an effort to see what their lives may have been like. This is just another example. Before leaving, the narrator returns the dead man’s wallet and flips him over as a gesture of respect.
"Prisoners" (35) is full of vivid imagery. The poem is set in the Chu Lai airbase. It should be noted that the base was involved in Operation Starlight in August of 1965, where Marines launched a surprise attack and prevented what would have been a Viet Cong ambush on the base. “I think some must be laughing under their dust-colored hoods, knowing rockets are aimed at Chu Lai- that the water’s evaporating and soon the nail will make contact with metal”. The narrator goes on debating the existence of a loving God while he looks at the frail prisoners. He also comments how they carry the weight of their country’s future on their shoulders. “The old ones are the hardest to break”, he says. No matter what sort of beating they’re dealt, they will not give in. Interrogators know that killing them is the only solution when the prisoners begin to pray. The narrator remembers how he found himself bowing the prisoners walking in at one point. The poem ends with a picture of a group of dead prisoners hanging from trees, looking like “marionettes hooked to strings of light”.
We can determine what Yusef thinks of the war by looking at the book’s title in english, Crazy. The three poems featured bring to light a sort of respect for the dead, a respect that bewilders American troops. They recognized that these Viet Cong were fighting their hearts out for their country, one that the Americans weren’t invited to. From walking through a field of reincarnated soldiers, to discovering the now ended life of another human, to looking up at branches bending from the weight of dead men; it’s no wonder why so many vets suffer from PTSD. They experience in real life what the rest of us see in horror films.
We’ve read about it in all the novels and we read about it again in Dien Cai Dau. "We Never Know" (26) is about a Vietnamese soldier shot down by G.Is. I am reminded of Kien and the soldier in the crater when this narrator “falls in love” after finding the photograph. We’ve already read how newer soldiers would look through the bodies of those they’d killed in an effort to see what their lives may have been like. This is just another example. Before leaving, the narrator returns the dead man’s wallet and flips him over as a gesture of respect.
"Prisoners" (35) is full of vivid imagery. The poem is set in the Chu Lai airbase. It should be noted that the base was involved in Operation Starlight in August of 1965, where Marines launched a surprise attack and prevented what would have been a Viet Cong ambush on the base. “I think some must be laughing under their dust-colored hoods, knowing rockets are aimed at Chu Lai- that the water’s evaporating and soon the nail will make contact with metal”. The narrator goes on debating the existence of a loving God while he looks at the frail prisoners. He also comments how they carry the weight of their country’s future on their shoulders. “The old ones are the hardest to break”, he says. No matter what sort of beating they’re dealt, they will not give in. Interrogators know that killing them is the only solution when the prisoners begin to pray. The narrator remembers how he found himself bowing the prisoners walking in at one point. The poem ends with a picture of a group of dead prisoners hanging from trees, looking like “marionettes hooked to strings of light”.
We can determine what Yusef thinks of the war by looking at the book’s title in english, Crazy. The three poems featured bring to light a sort of respect for the dead, a respect that bewilders American troops. They recognized that these Viet Cong were fighting their hearts out for their country, one that the Americans weren’t invited to. From walking through a field of reincarnated soldiers, to discovering the now ended life of another human, to looking up at branches bending from the weight of dead men; it’s no wonder why so many vets suffer from PTSD. They experience in real life what the rest of us see in horror films.
Blog 7 MW
In his book Dien Cai Dau, Yusef Komunyakaa writes about the atrocities and horrors of the Vietnam War. He emphasizes certain themes that are common throughout most war novels we’ve read so far, including, the fear of the unknown, death, and loss of innocence.
The poem “Tunnels” reminds me a lot of one of the chapters in O’Brien’s book. Komunyakaa tells of a soldier, usually the smallest one in the platoon, crawling through a tunnel and describes the feeling of fear and of the unknown. “He moves as if trying to outdo blind fish easing toward imagined blue, pulled by something greater than life’s ambitions. He can’t think about spiders or scorpions mending the air, or care about bats upside down like gods in the mole’s blackness.” He describes that the soldier can’t worry about little things such as spiders or scorpions because what lay ahead may be even worse. Death could be around any corner. This is what the soldiers had to deal with every day, the unknown. They had no idea what was going to happen then tomorrow, the day after or even the next week.
The next poem I read was “Roll Call.” This poem is honoring 5 fallen soldiers who died in the war. They’re symbolized by their “M-16 propped upright between a pair of jungle boots, a helmet on its barrel as if it were a man.” Death is something that is seen every day throughout the war, the soldiers are accustomed to it. They don’t recognize each soldier individually, but rather pay tribute to them as a group.
The last poem I read was “Thanks.” In this poem, the soldier is praying to a higher power. In all the other novels we’ve read, religion is a common theme. The soldiers thank God or some other spiritual being for their survival. I noticed that the soldier is giving thanks for the simplest of things, things that a civilian wouldn’t normally give thanks for. He give’s thanks to the monarch that was sitting on the booby trap, he gives thanks to the hills and the tree that moved only when he moved.
The poem “Tunnels” reminds me a lot of one of the chapters in O’Brien’s book. Komunyakaa tells of a soldier, usually the smallest one in the platoon, crawling through a tunnel and describes the feeling of fear and of the unknown. “He moves as if trying to outdo blind fish easing toward imagined blue, pulled by something greater than life’s ambitions. He can’t think about spiders or scorpions mending the air, or care about bats upside down like gods in the mole’s blackness.” He describes that the soldier can’t worry about little things such as spiders or scorpions because what lay ahead may be even worse. Death could be around any corner. This is what the soldiers had to deal with every day, the unknown. They had no idea what was going to happen then tomorrow, the day after or even the next week.
The next poem I read was “Roll Call.” This poem is honoring 5 fallen soldiers who died in the war. They’re symbolized by their “M-16 propped upright between a pair of jungle boots, a helmet on its barrel as if it were a man.” Death is something that is seen every day throughout the war, the soldiers are accustomed to it. They don’t recognize each soldier individually, but rather pay tribute to them as a group.
The last poem I read was “Thanks.” In this poem, the soldier is praying to a higher power. In all the other novels we’ve read, religion is a common theme. The soldiers thank God or some other spiritual being for their survival. I noticed that the soldier is giving thanks for the simplest of things, things that a civilian wouldn’t normally give thanks for. He give’s thanks to the monarch that was sitting on the booby trap, he gives thanks to the hills and the tree that moved only when he moved.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Dien Cai Dau Malini_Samtani
In Dien Cai Dau, author Yusef Komunyakaa brings forward his experiences during the Vietnam war through poetry. Komunyakaa served as an editor for the military newspaper in Vietnam. Dien Cai Dau is the Vietnamese word for "crazy" and is also the phrase the Vietnamese soldiers used to refer to American soldiers. Just as in the other books we have read, the American soldiers in the war come out so traumatized that they literally go crazy.
The most evident theme in this book is the role of racism in the war. Komunyakaa was an African American serving in the war. In his poem "Tu do Street", Komunyakaa talks about white and black soldiers at a brothel. He regresses into childhood memories when everything was segregated. There were signs for whites and colored. He then notices that in the eyes of the Vietnamese prostitutes nothing has changed because they still ignore the black soldiers and try to get the attention of the white soldiers. These Vietnamese prostitutes probably believe that they will get more money out of the white soldiers than from the black soldiers so racism and prejudice is even evident in the war. He then explains the black soldiers and white soldiers as a unified force against the Vietnamese. He also talks about the prostitutes that actually connect the black and white soldiers because they touch the same women.
In "the one legged stool", Komunyakaa describes use of divide and rule strategies among the black and white soldiers. In this poem, the enemies namely the Viet Cong try to break down Komunyakaa by telling him his white comrades are not on his side and are making fun of him. Of course, Komunyaa refuses to crack under this pressure but this poem goes to show that the Viet Cong had a means to separate the American comrades. Towards the end of the poem, he talks about his experiences of racism in southern U.S.A. He compares his treatment by the Viet Cong to the treatment he received from the rednecks in the U.S.A. He explains that the Vietnamese treat him even worse than the rednecks and that he has nothing to lose by going back to the rednecks because they cannot be worse than the Vietnamese.
In "Report from the Skull's Diorama", the author once again emphasizes the role of racism in the war and the strategy of Divide and Rule on Vietnam's part. He writes " but the red-bordered leaflets tell us VC didn't kill Dr. Martin Luther King". This, once again, I believe is an effort on the part of the Viet Cong and the rest of the communist armies to gain the support of the black American soldiers.
Other issues evident in the book are the ubiquotous prostitution in the Vietnam war as it is referred to in many of the poems in Dien Cai Dau.
The most evident theme in this book is the role of racism in the war. Komunyakaa was an African American serving in the war. In his poem "Tu do Street", Komunyakaa talks about white and black soldiers at a brothel. He regresses into childhood memories when everything was segregated. There were signs for whites and colored. He then notices that in the eyes of the Vietnamese prostitutes nothing has changed because they still ignore the black soldiers and try to get the attention of the white soldiers. These Vietnamese prostitutes probably believe that they will get more money out of the white soldiers than from the black soldiers so racism and prejudice is even evident in the war. He then explains the black soldiers and white soldiers as a unified force against the Vietnamese. He also talks about the prostitutes that actually connect the black and white soldiers because they touch the same women.
In "the one legged stool", Komunyakaa describes use of divide and rule strategies among the black and white soldiers. In this poem, the enemies namely the Viet Cong try to break down Komunyakaa by telling him his white comrades are not on his side and are making fun of him. Of course, Komunyaa refuses to crack under this pressure but this poem goes to show that the Viet Cong had a means to separate the American comrades. Towards the end of the poem, he talks about his experiences of racism in southern U.S.A. He compares his treatment by the Viet Cong to the treatment he received from the rednecks in the U.S.A. He explains that the Vietnamese treat him even worse than the rednecks and that he has nothing to lose by going back to the rednecks because they cannot be worse than the Vietnamese.
In "Report from the Skull's Diorama", the author once again emphasizes the role of racism in the war and the strategy of Divide and Rule on Vietnam's part. He writes " but the red-bordered leaflets tell us VC didn't kill Dr. Martin Luther King". This, once again, I believe is an effort on the part of the Viet Cong and the rest of the communist armies to gain the support of the black American soldiers.
Other issues evident in the book are the ubiquotous prostitution in the Vietnam war as it is referred to in many of the poems in Dien Cai Dau.
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