Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now presents a question of morality to its viewers. The rules of human decency and integrity are retired and forgotten in times of war. In this film, war was used as a symbol for survival and serving of the self. In order to fight war, one has to rid themselves of moral principles and focus on the competition of battle. This is because the primary goal of war is to focus on becoming more strategic and evil than one’s enemy.
This need for suspended ethical beliefs is the most important difference between Colonel Kurtz and Kilgore. Viewers are more inclined to identify and sympathize with Colonel Kilgore because he loved his men and did not want them to be harmed. While these feelings and actions may seem ordinary in everyday life, they are in fact suffocating and detrimental in times of war. His ‘brotherly’ mentality is hurtful for his troops because he teaches them how to be weak, rather than strong and evil.
Colonel Kilgore, on the other hand, seems crazy to the average viewer because his fearlessness is misconstrued as carelessness. His mentality, however, is in face more helpful and constructive in times of battle.
This concept of suspending morality for a larger cause or reason is stemmed in Christianity. In my Vision of Christianity class, my professor discussed a certain instance in the bible where God’s orders and agendas seem to be lacking ethical standards. For example, God tells Abraham to kill his own son without giving a reason. This act seems extremely heartless and cruel, yet Abraham is willing to abide by God’s wishes. This same theme of setting morals aside for a bigger cause goes back to religious texts.