Apocalypse Now: An Example Of An Existential Film

The 1967 film, The Graduate is a classic film that is bound to stand the test of time. The fictional story revolves around Benjamin Braddock, a 21 year old graduate who returns home from college and is re-introduced to his father’s friend’s wife, Mrs. Robinson. Through enticing conversation and alluring conversation, Mrs. Robinson seduces Ben. After an affair that lasts weeks with Mrs. Robinson, Ben is introduced to and finds his heart to be with Elaine Robinson. Their relationship is strengthened and after trials of hardship and rejection, but the taBen and Elaine marry regardless of the wishes of their families. The film, directed by Mike Nichols, a German native, is riddled with Existentialist, Marxist, Feminist, and Archetypal scenes and perspectives. Approaching the film from the Existentialist lens, we find several examples throughout the film of when characters follow an Existentialist viewpoint or outlook. An Existentialist typically questions their true identity, the meaning of life, the meaning of their life, or the purpose of their life overall?

In both The Things They Carried and Apocalypse Now, transitional archetypical roles are used to show the degradation of innocence, as a result of the conflicts of war. In The Things They Carried, Mary Anne Bell, the young girlfriend of solider Mark Fossie, is brought to Vietnam in the heart of the war to be with him. In the beginning of her visit, Mary Anne is extremely soft, kind, and ignorant to the nature of the conflict taking place around her (O’Brien 91). Her relationship with Mark is one that appears as overly romanticized: “Mary Anne Bell and Mark Fossie had been sweethearts since grammar school. […] [someday] they would be married, and live in a fine gingerbread house near Lake Erie, and have three healthy yellow -haired children.

In the movie A Better Life, the Main Character Carlos Galindo is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who started working as a day labor worker when he first arrived in the country, however he has had steady work from Blasco Martinez who owns a gardening business which he tries to convince Carlos to buy from him as he says he is moving. The idea of being self employed is very appealing to Carlos but he knows he can never afford to do so and the risk of getting caught and deported is very high. Carlos has a son Luis who is reluctant to go to school on a daily basis and gets into trouble as he is influenced by his friends who are part of the

I have always enjoyed movies. But at some point I started to think of movies as more than just entertainment. I began to view them as a movie critic would, rather than just a casual viewer. Because of this perspective, I think of "Apocalypse Now" as one of the best American made movies I have ever seen. As a student of and an active participant in the late twentieth century media age, I feel justified in making this statement. In my lifetime of observation of American media, including fourteen months of intense movie watching in conjunction with my employment at a local video store, I have had an opportunity to observe a broad sampling of the films, and feel more than qualified to make this statement. By referring to

Perhaps one of the most meaningful maxims Emerson wrote would have to be "Insist on yourself, never imitate." This statement captures the total essence of transcendentalism; deny the will and aspirations of others, and follow your own heart.The movie Dead Poets Society begins by introducing the viewers to Todd Anderson, a very subdued and quiet young man. Todd has the average inferiority complex. He is a very bright young man with exceptional abilities. Todd is unwilling to speak his mind for fear of non-acceptance. Charles Dalton is a seemingly average student with a rebellious attitude. He has already realized that the students are being "brainwashed" into living a preordained life.

Theistic existentialism begins with acceptance of all the propositions of theism. It’s main differences concern human nature and our relationship to God and the cosmos.

In the movie, “Apocalypse Now” from 1979, we are shown, through the characters changing characterisation and the movies script, the horrors of the Vietnam war, and how the soldier fighting the war, is affected by it. We are given an idea of what it takes to fight and win a war.

When Joseph Conrad sat down to write Heart of Darkness over a century ago he decided to set his tale amidst his own country's involvement in the African Congo. Deep in the African jungle his character would make his journey to find the Captain gone astray. Over eighty years later Francis Ford Coppola's Willard would take his journey not in Afica but in the jungles of South Asia. Coppola's Film, Apocalypse Now uses the backdrop of the American Vietnam War yet the similarities between the Conrad's novel and Coppola's film remains constant and plenty.

American Beauty is a movie that sets in suburban America. The story is about Lester, whom is a middle-aged writer working in a magazine company. He was having a midlife crisis where he felt lonely and numbed by continuous unchanging routine of his everyday life. In the movie, his wife portrayed as a successful real estate agent, but she was also going through her own midlife crisis in both her career and personal life. Lester’s daughter, Jane Bumham had alienated her parents and was going through puberty. They have a new neighbor who is a U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Frank Fitts, and he has a son, Ricky Fitts, who is a drug dealer. Lester was going to get fired from his company that he had worked for fourteen

For this paper, both movies used to explain Existentialism are adapted from real stories. The first film is Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed and the second is into the Wild, starring Emile Hirsch as Christopher McCandless. In Sartre’s definition of existentialism, human existence precedes essence, therefore leading to meaning, purpose and identity. When Chris and Cheryl leave their family, friends and everything else they know from the society, they are attempting to find the meaning and purpose to their lives.

   Freedom and liberalism are catchwords that appear frequently in both philosophical and political rhetoric. A free man is able to choose his actions and his value system, to express his views and to develop his most authentic character. What this kind of idealistic liberalism seems to forget, however, is that liberty does not mean a better society, better life or humanistic values such as equality and justice. In his novel A Clockwork Orange (1962), Anthony Burgess portrays an ultimately free individual and shows how a society cannot cope with the freedom which it in rhetoric so eagerly seeks to promote.

In his play, No Exit, Jean-Paul Sartre examines basic themes of existentialism through three characters. The first subject, Garcin, embraces existentialist ideas somewhat. The second character, Inez, seems to fully understand ideas deemed existential. Estelle is the third person, and does not seem to understand these ideas well, nor does she accept them when they are first presented to her. One similarity amongst the three is that they all at some point seem to accept that they are in Hell for a reason.

Throughout the movie, The Notebook, there were many different aspects that corresponded with the material learned throughout the semester. There were times were you were able to pin point why each problem was faced based on different character backgrounds. As began to watch the movie, you start to understand the culture aspects of each individual by the way they talk and present themselves, which caused many situations to arise. Also, these many situations arise throughout the movie that affected the outcome of decisions made: biological, psychological, and social/environment. However, diversity played a magnificent role from the beginning to the end. So, therefore, throughout this paper you will have a better understanding of the analysis of this film, which should provide information about the movie.

For this paper, both movies used to explain Existentialism are adapted from real stories. The first film is Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed and the second is Into the Wild, starring Emile Hirsch as Christopher McCandless. In Sartre’s definition of existentialism, human existence precedes essence, therefore leading to meaning, purpose and identity. When Chris and Cheryl leave their family, friends and everything else they know from the society, they are attempting to find a meaning and purpose to their lives.

The play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett is famous for its cyclic storyline and non-existing plot. In the lines, Beckett incorporates themes of existentialism and the loss of hope. Throughout the two acts of the play, the main protagonists, Vladimir and Estragon, spend their days waiting aimlessly for a mysterious figure named Godot. While central in the play, Godot never makes an appearance in any act, and merely exists as a name. While Pozzo and Lucky, two other characters make their appearance in each act of the play, the boy is perhaps the most mysterious and intriguing. The boy, whom appears towards the end of each act, exemplifies the never-ending cycle of the search for hope that remains unfulfilled through the use of symbolism,