Matt Hobbs - Blog 8
Matt Hobbs
Essay #8
Leo Cawley, in his article The War about the War: Vietnam Films and American Myth, points out the message of all pro military Vietnam films have a “heavy reliance on a ‘war is hell’ message� (Cawley, 69). While this may be true of many films, Apocalypse Now comes across far more with a message that war is just plain bizarre. It is entirely correct to look at this movie in terms of mythology, and if you want to go that route, as Crawley clearly does, in term of the American Mythos of war films, and analyze the different aspects it has there. Far more interesting about the film is how it is able to stretch beyond simply American myth, and depicts it using the elements of literary myth.
When I first saw this picture I was struck by how closely it resembled the Greek myths and plays of old. And while this film closely follows many of the rules that Crawley sets out, it drastically differs from other points that Crawley holds central t the American myth war film. Most notably Crawley says war films “show how trapped the country is in the perception of WWI� (Crawley, 70) and that “Americans themselves are better, friendlier than other nationalities, and want nothing selfish in their relations with foreigners� (Crawley 70). Both of these statements are incorrect when evaluation Apocalypse Now. The Americans, especially the ones in the war when Sheen arrives, are not represented to be the all-caring individuals. Look no further then the general Willard who leaves death cards around his victims so ‘Charley’ would no exactly which unit killed them.
I said that this film most closely resembles Greek myth, not American myth, and what I mean by that is this film is not so much a large picture of a war but series of bizarre encounters. The director is clearly aware of this as each locale that is visited is given it’s own aesthetic look and feel. From the warmth of the French dinner, to the rain drenched destroyed outpost, and the almost amusement park looking transportation company complete with a playboy bunny halftime show. This film is one that has many different encounters for Sheen, each completely isolated from the other and broken up by boat travel.
The film Apocalypse now is considered ground breaking, and rightfully so among war movies. But this isn’t so much because it falls into the trappings of American war films, but instead because it presents war as too unknown to fully understand. Too bizarre, to crazy to make sense.