Apocalypse Now: The Moral Ambiguity Of War Film

Jarhead follows the journey of Anthony Swofford during his service in Middle East. Throughout his journey, Swofford presents a unique perspective on a variety of issues that indirectly affect American life and the “war” on terrorism. Some of the issues touched on include the mental stability and mentality of American soldiers, the influence of politics in the presentation of war, and the construction of a marine. Through these themes, along with the unique perspectives offered by the characters in the film, the audience is able to gain insight into the corruption and lies that are “war”. This insight ultimately helps the audience analyze the text deeper and enables them to draw the similarities in current events and dissect what they

What makes a film great to the viewer watching it? Is it the plot of the story? Maybe even the timing of the film? Possibly the special effects? The answer is all of it makes a movie great. You cannot just take in a few things to determine if the movie fulfills your standards of what makes a film good. There are a few things that really makes the movie Arrival stand out as one of the better films of 2016. I believe that Arrival is built on the foundation that all great movies have a relatable theme, show good acting, and brings out certain emotion that keeps us wanting more.

In his book, More Than a Movie: Ethics in Entertainment, F. Miguel Valenti examines nine “hot buttons” of violence – “creative elements that filmmakers use to manipulate viewers’ reactions to onscreen violence.” (99) These elements, posited by researchers conducting The National Television Violence Study (Valenti, 99) are “choice of perpetrator, choice of victim, presence of consequences, rewards and punishments, the reason for the violence, weapons, realism, use of humor, and prolonged exposure” (Valenti, 100) .

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

Many people returned from World War II with disturbing images forever stuck in their heads. Others returned and went crazy due to the many hardships and terrors faced. The protagonist in Slaughter-House Five, Billy Pilgrim, has to deal with some of these things along with many other complications in his life. Slaughter House Five (1968), by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., is an anti-war novel about a man’s life before, after and during the time he spent fighting in World War II. While Billy is trying to escape from behind enemy lines, he is captured and imprisoned in a German slaughterhouse. The author tells of Billy’s terrible experiences there. After the war, Billy marries and goes to school to

Saving Private Ryan is a theatrical masterpiece that incorporates many universal themes that almost all people can relate to. The movie follows a squad of U.S. soldiers as they battle through the trenches of World War II. Directed by the great Stephen Spielberg, the movie is claimed by many to be the most accurate presentation of war in any movie to date. The movie includes several themes that helps captivate the audience and truly help people understand just how horrible war is. The idea of losing loved ones frightens even the toughest of us, and being lost in a foreign land scares many others. Both of these themes are thoroughly explored and propelled onto the audience to experience. The extremely accurate depiction of war, the universal themes that everyone can relate to, and the film being a theatrical masterpiece are all reasons why everyone should watch Saving Private Ryan.

Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five; or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death is, as suggested by the title, a novel describing a crusade that stretches beyond the faint boundaries of fiction and crosses over into the depths of defogged reality. This satirical, anti-war piece of literature aims to expose, broadcast and even taunt human ideals that support war and challenge them in light of their folly. However, the reality of war, the destruction, affliction and trauma it encompasses, can only be humanly described by the word “war” itself. Furthermore, oftentimes this term can only be truly understood by those who have experienced it firsthand. Therefore, in order to explain the unexplainable and humanize one of the most

The Green Berets is would be classified as a pro-war film depicted in favor of the American troops. The Green Berets, contrasts the harshness and brutality of the Vietcong with the generosity and inherently good nature of the Americans in treatment od child, women and men. On the other hand, Apocalypse Now may be categorized as both a pro-war movie and an anti-war movie because the film both reveals and conceals political and national ambivalence towards the Vietnam War. Therefore this film is not overtly antiwar, but it takes pains to reveal the atrocities of a war fought by America in the name of democracy and freedom. For example, in the air strike, sampan, and bridge scenes, the film clearly depicts the death and destruction that result directly from U.S. involvement; instead of helping innocent civilians, American troops kill them. They are strangers in a strange land, yet they act as if they own it, staking out territory and firing without provocation. Also, while the Vietnamese are fighting for their homes, American troops are fighting to go home—and home, to them, is a combination of surfing, Playboy Playmates, and psychedelic rock. These values are

“The Tragedy of war is that it uses man’s best to do man’s worst” wise words from Henry Fosdick. When it comes down to the time where an individual hits rock bottom, a man either do its best or do its worst. Although, Man can do its best and do its worst at the same time. There are many reasons how man’s best can result to man’s worst. Henry Fosdick statement is both true and false.

This film was eye opening for me. As a psychology major I have heard about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and know that soldiers returning for war have been largely affected by it, however, I had never experienced the story being told from the perspective that it was shown in this film, incorporated footage from the events that the soldiers were describing with their personal accounts of the events. This combination allowed me to not only understand the feelings that the soldiers were describing, but also allowed me to feel along with them. Some of the gut feelings that I experienced while watching this film were sadness, empathy and a sense of loss. While I did not personally experience the loss that these soldiers felt, listening to them

“Charlie Wilson’s War” directed by Mike Nicholas is based on a true story of the early 1980s. This politically themed movie was released in the year 2007. The main components of the movie are politics, stubborn politicians, national leaders, war, international policies, national security and most importantly, funds. The movie depicts how funds are gathered through which Afghanis people acquired the weapons and required training to fight against the Russians. It is a story of a liberal democrat, a beautiful socialite, and a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent, who made a pact to conquer the Russians in the Afghanistan. The main characters were played by Tom Hanks as a Congressperson Charlie Wilson, Julia Roberts as Texas socialite Joanne Herring and Philip Seymour Hoffman as CIA Agent Gust Avrakotos. All three of them played an extraordinary role in shaping the history of Afghanistan.

Hacksaw Ridge is a historical non-fiction film that was made in 2016 by film writer and director Mel Gibson. Andrew Garfield plays the protagonist, Desmond Doss. Many of the events portrayed in the film are extremely similar to the real life events that took place, along with some differences. The film displays different side of Doss. They show him as a child, growing up with an abusive alcoholic father. Also as a child, Doss hurts his brother and puts him in critical condition unintentionally. The viewer shortly comes to notice that the reason Desmond Doss does not believe violence is the answer because of the things he has seen in his childhood. Doss does not want to be the person that takes the live of another human being that has the same

While watching this film you may find yourself experiencing some of the same emotions as the characters in the film this allows you to be in the movie letting you be a part of an important event in our history. This is what makes the film so unique. Its full of different scenarios that keep you wondering what is going to happen next. I think that this film is a very close representation of what WWII was really like.

2. Altieri, C. 2003. The particulars of rapture: An aesthetics of the affects, Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell University Press.

“The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”(Douglas MacArthur). Soldiers are the people who are the most adamant in praying for peace because they are the ones that fight and die. These scenes of death and bravery and desiring peace are displayed in a film by Mel Gibson titled Hacksaw Ridge. In the film, Hacksaw Ridge, director Mel Gibson kept some events from The Battle of Okinawa the same but changed some of the events leading up to the film in order to set the plot and create sympathy for the characters