Matthew Winant - Apocalypse Now (2/28/2009)

I find that whenever I view Apocalypse Now the only image that sticks is Charlie Sheen's eyes. Throughout the entirety of the film, these are the focal point of the shot. I don't find it appropriate to call Kilgore insane, besides his “R & R” antics, his warfare strategy is a necessary response to the tactics of the Vietcong. Kilgore called in an air strike on people that were freely laying mortar free along the beach, and in the scene before Kilgore watched from a helicopter a woman throwing a grenade into a helicopter filled with wounded. Yes he wanted to surf, but this is his way to defuse a situation, and it was not the two men who went to surf before Kilgore were fine. The term 'insane' also cannot be used on Colonel Kurtz, he was a man who disagreed with the workings of the U.S. Military and decided to work rogue and be appreciated by Cambodians who respect his ability to restore order. While Captain Willard travels up the river to Cambodia, he sees the demoralization of the army through drugs, alcohol, or people working without constraints. I find that the reason that Willard decided to kill Kurtz was not because it was his mission, rather it was because he finally saw what Vietnam really was and was able to go home afterwards. The promotion promised to Willard soon becomes superficial when he sees what he is getting into. What I also notice is that even though in Kurtz writes in red on his book “Call in the bomb, kill them all”, what we can infer is that Willard ignores this message and just leaves with Lance.

David Godwin - Apocalypse Now

The aspect of horror in the film Apocalypse Now is an affective representation of mysterium tremendum. Everything about Kurtz and his perverted community of followers contains the awe-fullness of mystery. Kurtz himself is a character who evokes awe in his mysteriousness. He is intelligent, spiritual, powerful, and in fact rational. In class we discussed the “insanity” of both Kilgore and Kurtz, but I would argue that the reason why Kurtz is so frightening is because he is not insane at all. His tactics and methods are a well-reasoned, rational, and logical subversion of militaristic disorder. Kilgore, on the other hand, contributes to the decay of order in the jungle and makes judgments that are “unsound” and dangerous.
As our protagonist, Willard, continues up the river throughout the movie, we see more and more of this same decay of order. It isn’t until we meet Kurtz and his community that things become ordered again. But, the order here is frightening. Violence is mercilessly used to defend Kurtz’s vision of justice and fear of Kurtz’s power is the inspiration for obedience. This kind of power that Kurtz holds over the people elevates him to the level of a god. The people are so willing to surrender to him because he is the only source of order throughout the jungle. Up until this point, generals are themselves disordered (like Kilgore) or are not even present to maintain order (as we see when Willard gets to the bridge). But, Kurtz offers Cosmos in the surrounding Chaos.
This film lays bare the core foundation of religion in general. First, it shows us how chaos leads us to cosmos, just as chaos led Willard (and other soldiers) to Kurtz. Kurtz’s state of mind becomes like a religion to soldiers in the chaotic jungle because they have no other solid ground on which to stand. Second, the film shows how gods rely on fear to motivate obedience. Even in the Holy Bible’s book of Proverbs the author writes that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Apocalypse Now responds to this truth by asking, what if your God were evil? Most religions believe that their god is good or holistically balanced, but what if we didn’t have the luxury of serving a good god? Would we serve him anyway out of our fear and need for order in a world of chaos? The film asks these important questions and gives us its frightening answer.

The Jacket: Wilbert J Hill Jr.

This film was very interesting, I liked it a lot. I really like when he goes into the future and finds the family that he helped out in 1991. The mother and daughter were in stranded on the side of the road, there pickup truck had broken down. Jack helped them to start their truck again and the mother was ungrateful. As jack was taking his journey on the road he was reminded of the time he was shot dead in the war, and then came back to life. Jack narrates the movie and talks about the first time he died. Then he takes a ride from a criminal who sets him up. The criminal shoots the officer who stops him for a routine traffic stop, and jack gets hit by a bullet that the officer shot at the criminal. Then the criminal wipes the gun off and throws the gun on top of Jacks chest. From then on Jacks life spirrowed downward very fast. He was put in an insane assylum. In this insane assylum, Jack was put in a booth with a stray jacket on and was injected with a syrum to make him remenisnce about the horrible things he has gone through in his life. Through this process he realizes that the booth is a way to deliver and free him from the hell and disparity that he is going through. This is a great movie that metaphorically shows that no matter what you are going through in life you can still find hope and peace within the storm.

Nick Lynch - Apocolypse Now

I very much saw war and violence as being a religion for the majority of the characters in the film. It seemed to give much of them meaning and vigor in life much as Kilgour was languishing without a purpose in his hotel room. Until the M.P.s came to deliver his mission, he seemed ready to die, as if his life had lost all meaning without something to kill.
This theme was certainly apparent in the commander of the helicopter squadron, he ordered the execution of a good number of civilians so that he would be able to surf. Killing for him was a natural part of his job in which each death was an offering meant for the glory of his god which could arguably be death, America, or the military.
The ending involving Kilgour and Kurtz was obviously significant but I feel that we missed a good chunk of the information that was presented before their "showdown" to be able to comment accurately on it as it seemed the movie was constantly adding information involving Kurtz, his background, and so forth. Of what we did see it appeared that Kurtz had ascended into a godhood of death and Kilgour took that divinity into himself by killing Kurtz.

apocalypse now

I'll be blunt, I think I would have gotten more out of the movie if I had been able to watch it straight through. What I did get out of it was enjoyable. The most interesting part for me was colonel Kilgore and his helicopter team. That entire section of the film had a very surreal feel to it. I suppose Kilgore deals with war as well as anyone. Ignoring reality and trying to surf in a war zone is an amusing way to deal with the situation. I can't find anything wrong with it. If people spend too much time in that reality they really will go insane, so why not deny the reality?

Did anyone else pick up on the cow getting airlifted out and suspect it was somehow connected with the cow at the end of the film? I don't know what it means but I'm convinced that it's important.

-Patrick Ballard

Leandra- a soldier life in The Jacket

Leandra Jacobson
2/23/09

I find the toils of a soldier to be of importance in the film The Jacket. Soldiers can live an unappreciated day to day life, not thanked for the service they provide for the country. The returns in this lifestyle are not greater than what could potentially be given, a large sacrifice for a human. Jack almost gave his life for his country while away at war, injured and suffering from various mental problems. In his return from deployment, he crossed paths with citizens in need. As a good soldier would, he stopped to help the little girl Jackie and her mother fix their car. He was turned away angrily by the mother, receiving no appreciation for his work as soldiers can be ungraciously received. Not only does he risk his life and eventually his freedom, he has to walk away from the situation completely removed of his concern for the girl’s safety. In this, a soldier has to exist in a detached state in order to transcend above the horrors they have to experience.
His Good Samaritan act is returned by future-Jackie, a historical throwback to a soldiering life. In revolutionary America, homes would be made housing quarters for soldiers. This hospitality, although sometimes unwarranted, is part of American history. When soldiers returned home from Vietnam, they were not held as heroes. This is similarly seen with the soldiers returning at this present time from the War on Iraq. What has changed in America? Do you believe that there was also a message in this film concerning the role of a soldier, since it was the foundation of his character and the reason for the suspicion blackouts?

Kenneth Tappan - Koyaanisqatsi

Koyaanisqatsi was a very powerful film that used many powerful images that truly made the viewer think. During the movie again and again I was trying to make connections, I was trying to see the significance. While watching these series of images the music throughout the movie was very powerful. In the beginning it was solemn and kind of scary and at other times it was upbeat and seemed to very busy. The music combined with the images truly portrayed something powerful. I believe every individual who watched this film got something different from it. In my mind this film said to me that people and what we do are meaningless. During the film we are equated to hot dogs being packaged. This in my mind says how we have become something that we are not supposed to be. The other powerful scene was the beginning and the end. Koyaanisqatsi starts out showing the launching of a rocket. The beginning seems alien at first and it is a little scary, but when you realize what it is it becomes a very awe inspiring image combined with the music. At the very end we see the same rocket being destroyed in a fiery explosion. I took this scene as being so depressing. The rocket is at the forefront of modern day technology. Space is something that humans have not conquered and have not completely learned fully about, and to see something that is considered to be so great and so awe inspiring blown up in seconds says to me that what we do is meaningless. Here is something that is considered to be at the pinnacle of human technology and it could not defeat the laws of nature. Overall, this movie told me that people are corrupting the world but the world will have the last laugh.