Apocalype Now Overview and Themes

A detailed Summary of Apocalype Now Overview and Themes

Apocalypse Now is movie about a Vietnam soldier with a checkered past, and who goes on an Odyssey like mission to "terminate with extreme prejudice " an American army Colonel. Who has gone insane in the Cambodian jungle. It is not a movie that glorifies the struggle between righteous American's democracy versus an evil communist Vietnamese. In Apocalypse Now the line between good and evil is blurred. Apocalypse is a reflection of the anti-imperial and the general anti-war movement of the era, and that is reflected in others movies like Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, and Deer Hunter all display the unsavory side of the Vietnam War. The anti-war feelings displayed in these movies are results of American's negative stigma attached to the war, because of stories of people like John Kelley. There are no undertones that depict romanticized ideals of war in which there are clear-cut heroes and villains like in the World War Two epic Patton. Almost every scene explains more reasons why the Vietnam War was a mistake and questions whether Americans really were the "good guys."

"This film isn't about the Vietnam War. It is the Vietnam War," Francis Ford Coppola in Heart of Darkness: A Filmmake

Three overall themes emerge that reflect the anti-war sentiment that the movie attempts to convey; the references to the frontier "war" against the Indians, and the depicting of Americans as assassins.

"We were doing speed and alcohol and marijuana. We were bad." - Sam Bottoms who played Lance (quoted from Heart of Darkness)

Francis Ford Coppola purposely makes correlations between the frontier war against the Indians and the Vietnam War because they are both black eyes on America's foreign nation policy record. The Indian/Vietnam comparisons are metaphorically made through; Captain Kilgore's hat and the playboy bunnies each dressed as a cowboy, cavalry, and an Indian. The link between the two wars is apparent. Kennedy, Nixon, nor Johnson ever declared war even though 58,000 American's died (statistic from CaFC) and battles Wounded Knee and Little Big Horn against the Indians were considered police actions.

In Apocalypse, Americans are seen as assassins, not as soldiers making the world a safer place for democracy as shown in movies about World War Two during the 40s and 50s. The scene where the soldiers open fire on an innocent Vietnamese vessel killing all on the ship and

Some common words found in the essay are:
Vietnam War, Vietnam Willard, World War, , Colonel Kurtz, Heart Darkness, Filmmaker's Apocalypse, Offensive Americans, Offensive War, Martin Sheen, vietnam war, heart darkness, martin sheen, francis ford coppola, innocent vietnamese, american soldiers, ford coppola, captain willard, francis ford, frontier war indians, world war, tet offensive,

Approximate Word count = 800
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

join now Save Paper

Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

"Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
Jack M.
"With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
Brian P.
"I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
Sara J.
"I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
Rachel W.
"I love this site!!!"
Marie N.