Abstract The paper shows how "Apocalypse Now" showcases the bureaucracy, hypocrisy and insanity of war seriously and realistically. The paper compares this movie to that of "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller and the movie "Dr. Strangelove" directed by Stanley Kubrick, which use comical exaggeration and irony to display the same points. The paper contends that the realism in "Apocalypse Now" has more of an impact and hits closer to home. The paper hopes that works such as "Apocalypse Now" will permanently impact the public's intellectual view of war and prompt a defiant stand from further acts of war.
From the Paper "War is one of the most absurd things in existence, and this isn't an opinion that is widely disputed. In fact, many filmmakers and authors have based entire works on such an opinion, lavishly satirizing the ridiculous aspects of war and how the military handles it. The movie Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Copolla, is one such work. Apocalypse Now is widely regarded as one of the best representations of the Vietnam War, as it faithfully depicts scenes of the war while satirizing it and the military at the same time."
The movie, "Apocalypse Now", is compared and contrasted with the book upon which it is based, "Heart of Darkness", discussing the effects of a "negative" environment on an individual.
Abstract The premise of the paper is to prove that the movie, "Apocalypse Now", does a better job of showing the effects of a "negative" environment on an individual than does the book, "Heart of Darkness", by Joseph Conrad. This paper discusses physical locations (Africa vs. Vietnam), events associated with the environment (ivory trading vs. war), effects from such events/environment (PTSD), and the benefit of visual and auditory stimuli. Two characters' changes are witnessed, and evidence of these changes is provided.
From the Paper "The viewer learns throughout the movie that Willard has been in this negative environment before, and thus was already affected by it. On more than one occasion he displays a "lack of feeling" that he has obtained from years spent in this environment. One such instance is while they were on the Nung River. During a routine inspection of one of the native's boats, the tension of the situation results in all but one of the natives being killed. While Chief is planning to take the wounded girl to the hospital, Willard walks over to her and shoots her. He then turns to Chief and says, "I told you not to stop" (Apocalypse Now, 1:21:20). Willard displays no hesitation or remorse in this action."
