Apocalypse now redux is an American movie set during the Vietnamese War , directed by Francis Ford Coppola and first released in 1979. It is inspired by Joseph Conrad’s novel : Heart of Darkness. The movie takes place in Vietnam in 1970 and narrates the journey of Captain Willard up the river to find and kill Colonel Kurtz. In this essay the question : How and why is a social group represented in a particular way? will be analysed by looking at the depiction of the american troops in the first battle scene of the movie. The use of music , the atmosphere as well as of dialogues will be explored to show how those aspects contribute to this depiction. The scene opens with the bombing of a Vietnamese village led by Colonel Bill Kilgore and his helicopter troops. The use of music to convey a particular atmosphere is then outlined as Coppola made the arrival of the helicopter emphasized by the classical piece of Wagner ; “ the Ride of the Valkyries” . This choice …show more content…
This therefore reinforce the madness of the scene and of the war by outlining the immorality going on as the american soldiers going to the war are portrayed as both heroic but also lacking morality to justificate their act. This lack of morality is furthermore emphasized by Coppola’s choice of the reason of the bombing as Colonel Kilgore set the attack with the aim to find a surfing position . The dropping of napalm to create a surfing wave relates to the absurdity of modern warfare. However , Coppola did focus on the horror of the war coming from both sides which is outlined as a panicked soldier is shown being terrified by the sight of a wounded american.Coppola therefore also focussed on the horror resented by the American experiencing the
With unforgiving terrain and the seemingly never ending destruction, the environment of war can be the biggest challenge faced. The constant presence of death and the savage actions of men, the jungle and villages of Vietnam that was home to many families can become a nightmare within days. The book says, “I walked away. People were not supposed to be made like that. People were not supposed to be twisted bone and tubes that popped out at crazy kid’s-toys angles.
Readers, especially those reading historical fiction, always crave to find believable stories and realistic characters. Tim O’Brien gives them this in “The Things They Carried.” Like war, people and their stories are often complex. This novel is a collection stories that include these complex characters and their in depth stories, both of which are essential when telling stories of the Vietnam War. Using techniques common to postmodern writers, literary techniques, and a collection of emotional truths, O’Brien helps readers understand a wide perspective from the war, which ultimately makes the fictional stories he tells more believable.
In the film American Sniper directed by Clint Eastwood and the novel Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, both works exhibit depiction of war through the protagonist. However, each work is portrayed differently as they each show a representation with opposite depiction of war. While one decides to promote war, the other diminish it. In Eastwood’s adaptation of American Sniper, his insight appears as a promotion for pro-war propaganda, in contrast, Slaughterhouse Five depicts ideas that portray the war in a poor light. American Sniper retells the story of Chris Kyle, a Navy Seal who was reported to have 160 confirmed kills.
The three movies – Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, and The Green Berets – are all movies based on the same historical event – the Vietnam war and US’s involvement in it. Yet, they all presented us with different and narrative point of view and authority figures in order to paint their individual values. The movies’ most obvious differences lie within the choice of their narrative point of view. The Green Beret, the earliest one, was directed by John Wayne and he also starred in the leading role. Wayne’s authority and influence in the 1960s was similar to the influence of Tom Hanks in the 21st Century.
Chris Hedges, a former war correspondent, has a memory overflowing with the horrors of many battlefields and the helplessness of those trapped within them. He applies this memory to write War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, where he tutors us in the misery of war. To accomplish this goal, Hedges uses impactful imagery, appeals to other dissidents of war and classic writers, and powerful exemplification. Throughout his book, Hedges batters the readers with painful and grotesque, often first-hand, imagery from wars around the globe. He begins the book with his experience in Sarajevo, 1995.
The movie, The American President, depicts several reliable roles that the president performs, as well as, some of the aspects of our political system. It is a romantic comedy that takes place in the White House, during primary season. The president, Andrew Shepperd, is a widower, with a daughter, who is hoping to be reelected and pass two bills. One related to gun control and the other on fuel restrictions. While watching the movie, I noticed several key roles that the president played; all of which gave him the qualities of a realistic president.
George Orwell 's novel 1985, was adapted into a movie, directed by Michael Radford. The movie coincidentally came out in the year 1984 and starred John Hurt. The movie received a 7.2 out of 10 on IMDb, a popular movie rating site,which is a higher rating than most of today 's movies. Although the movie did do alright to the general public, the movie did have some flaws when compared to Orwell 's original writings. The movie did not include all of the same details, it went very quickly over many of the events and was difficult to get into and understand for those who haven 't read the book.
In 2013 when Viet Thanh Nguyen began to write The Sympathizer, it had been 40 years since the Vietnam War. It had been 40 years since French and American military involvement ravaged a once beautiful countryside and littered lush forests with napalm. It had been 40 years since 2 million people were displaced from their country and left to die in the Pacific Ocean. In those 40 years, many works were published about the Vietnam War. These stories came from many, contrasting, perspectives.
In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, the author retells the chilling, and oftentimes gruesome, experiences of the Vietnam war. He utilizes many anecdotes and other rhetorical devices in his stories to paint the image of what war is really like to people who have never experienced it. In the short stories “Spin,” “The Man I Killed,” and “ ,” O’Brien gives reader the perfect understanding of the Vietnam by placing them directly into the war itself. In “Spin,” O’Brien expresses the general theme of war being boring and unpredictable, as well as the soldiers being young and unpredictable.
While exploring this topic, I intend to consult Edward Said’s Orientalism, debates about “otherness,” scholarly interpretations of Apocalypse Now, historical evidence about Americans’ attitudes toward the Vietnam War, and biographical information about Francis Ford Coppola.
The film 13th directed by Ava DuVernay targets an intended audience of the Media and the three branches of the United States government with an emphasis that mass incarceration is an extension of slavery. It is intended to inform viewers about the criminalization of African Americans and the United States prison boom. 13th uses rhetorical devices in its claim to persuade the viewers by using exemplum in the opening seconds of the film. President Barack Obama presents statistics, saying “the United States is home to 5% of the world’s population but is home to 25% of the world’s prisoners.” Also the film uses a hyperbole in talking about the movie Birth of a Nation produced in 1915 which portrays a black man as a violent savage who will kill white women.
In the book “The Things They Carried”, Tim O’Brien admits to killing only one man during his war career, and relays it in the chapter “The Man I Killed”. In this chapter, O’Brien surveys the mangled body of the Vietnamese man he has just murdered, and desperately attempts to humanize the dead man as a coping method for his guilt. The chapter embodies a unique, and extremely detailed repetitive writing style which serves as a symbol of O’Brien’s scrutiny over his irrevocable action. The chapter begins with an exceptionally detailed description of the Vietnamese soldier’s body, as O’Brien surveys his destruction.
He then contrasts between the bomber’s view to the civilians’ view from the ground. The bombers view is recognized from a plane filled with ammunition. This suggests the bombers are carefree of their acts committed, but the civilians are petrified for the safety of their lives due to the uncertainty of the attack which is to occur. The effect on readers is that while reading the poem they begin to notice the different views of the bombers and civilians while experiencing war. Also, the readers tend to realize the savagery conveyed by the
By 1975 the Vietnam war had claimed over 5 million lives, many of which were civilians. This has made it a war that Americans have been ashamed of and tried to forget. W. S. Merwin was outspoken on how he felt about war, which he shows in “The Asians Dying.” He makes a statement on the inhumane way the Vietnam war took human lives. ” The Asians Dying” will shock readers with its gruesome imagery and force them to look at what war does.
Movies are not just the source for an entertainment they are also helpful for knowledge and research. There are many movies where they portrayed the real life scenario into the reel life, which is very informative to the human society. The movie “Contagion” is a medical thriller directed by famous director Steven Soderbergh. The movie is based on the active breakthrough of a destructive airborne virus which is known as Meningoencephalitis Virus One (MEV-1), as the spread of the disease grows rapidly the medical research group and the government finds ways to cure and rule out the deadly outbreak by removing horror in the society and ultimately developing a vaccine to stop the spread. The movie is encouraged from a real life event of a deadly