Allegory is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than the literal. Allegory teaches a lesson through symbols. Coppola effectively uses allegory in the film apocalypse to depict the happenings of the Vietnam War. Through different characters, Coppola was able to symbolize many ideas that are related to Vietnam War. PTSD, corruption, loss of innocence, lack of leadership, were among the ideas that were prevalent in the film.
The film opens up with Captain Willard returning for a second tour in the Vietnam War. Willard returns to Vietnam to complete a top secret mission to assassinate Colonel Kurtz. Willard admits that he did not know what to do with his life, so he returned for a second tour. He claims that he became really quiet after his first tour, and the first time he talked was when his wife asked for a divorce. This shows that soldiers returning from Vietnam War suffered PSTD and were extremely unstable. Soldiers such as Captain Willard came back because they could not survive in civilian life. Colonel Kurtz also experiences an extreme case of PTSD. Kurtz has experienced immense brutality and morality in the war, which led him to lose his mind. Kurtz has a large following of Vietnamese people who claim that Kurtz has enlarged their minds through his language and they view him as a god. Kurtz claims that the war had taken a toll on his mind. Colonel Kurtz and Captain Willard are very similar characters because they have both experienced the brutality of the war and have lost all of their moral values.
Corruption also plays an integral part in this film. Colonel Kilgore was a prime example of a corrupt leader. Kilgore’s priority was not Vietnam or his men. Kilgore was oblivious of his surroundings, while in the middle of a war, bombs were being blown around him, all Kilgore wanted to see was Lance surf in the ocean. Kilgore abused his power and did whatever he wanted. This shows how corrupt the American leadership was during the Vietnam War. Men were abandoned by leaders and they had no sense of direction so they did whatever they wanted.
These 18-20 year old boys could not make basic life decisions on their own hence they were making decisions of killing people. When the men approached a Vietnamese boat full of supplies, they decided to search the boat. They ended up killing everyone on the boat and all they found on the boat was a small puppy. This shows how these boys who were so called men were not capable of making decisions on their own, especially decisions that involved taking another individuals life.
Coppola ends the film with Captain Willard killing Kurtz. This is scene is symbolic because it shows that Americans destroyed anyone who opposed their values and beliefs. Kurtz framed his own values and that was not accepted by the American. So they decided to assassinate him. As Captain Willard is leaving the plantation, all the Vietnamese people surround him and they recognize Willard as their new leader. However Willard recognizes that if he stays he may end up like Kurtz. Coppola effectively uses the different characters to show different aspects of the Vietnam War. It is evident that Americans lacked leadership in the war, so these young men did whatever they wanted and often killed innocent people. America left a bad image in Vietnam because American government failed to recognize how bad the situation was until many years later.
Allegory is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than the literal. Allegory teaches a lesson through symbols. Francis Coppola effectively uses allegory in his film Apocalypse Now Redux to depict the events in Vietnam War. Through different characters, Coppola was able to symbolize many ideas that are related to Vietnam War. PTSD, corruption, loss of innocence, lack of leadership, were among the ideas that were prevalent in the film.
ReplyDeleteThe film opens up with Captain Willard returning for a second tour in the Vietnam War. Willard returns to Vietnam to complete a top secret mission to assassinate Colonel Kurtz. Willard admits that he did not know what to do with his life, so he returned for a second tour. He claims that he became really quiet after his first tour, and the first time he talked was when his wife asked for a divorce. This shows that soldiers returning from Vietnam War suffered PSTD and were extremely unstable. Soldiers such as Captain Willard came back because they could not survive in civilian life. Colonel Kurtz has also experienced an extreme case of PTSD. Kurtz has experienced immense brutality and morality in the war, which has led him to lose his mind. Kurtz has a large following of Vietnamese people who claim that Kurtz has enlarged their minds through his language and they view him as a demigod figure. Kurtz claims that the war has taken a toll on his mind. Colonel Kurtz and Captain Willard are very similar characters because they have both experienced the brutality of the war and have lost all of their moral values.
Corruption also plays an integral part in this film. Colonel Kilgore was a prime example of a corrupt leader. Kilgore’s priority was not Vietnam or his men. Kilgore abused his power and did whatever he wanted. This shows how irresponsible and corrupt the American senior leadership was during the Vietnam War. Entire battalions of men were abandoned by leaders in the film. This is similar to how the United States government abandoned the soldiers in Vietnam.
These 18-20 year old boys could not make basic life decisions on their own hence they were making decisions of killing people without any leadership. A prime example of this situation was when the men approach a Vietnamese boat full of supplies. They decided to search the boat and end up killing everyone on the boat and all they find on the boat is a small puppy. This shows how these boys were not capable of making decisions on their own, especially decisions that involved taking another individuals life.
Coppola ends the film with Captain Willard killing Kurtz. This is scene is symbolic because it shows that Americans destroyed anyone who opposed their values and beliefs. Kurtz framed his own values and that was not accepted by the Americans. So they decided to assassinate him. This is similar to the Vietnam War. The United States opposed the communist views of the North Vietnamese so they decided to go to war and destroy them. Coppola effectively uses the different characters to show different ideas in the Vietnam War. It is clear that Americans lacked leadership in the war, so these young men did whatever they wanted and often killed innocent people. America left a poor image in Vietnam because the American government failed to recognize how bad the situation was until many years later.
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