Apocalypse Now, made in 1979, was a film about the 1954-1975 Vietnam War, along with the psychological effects and how it’s caused a social issue. This war of “aerial bombing and small guerilla skirmishes” was a very “unpopular war”, as Eric Foner says in Give Me Liberty: Fourth Edition. It is also known that this war was America’s longest war lasting a little over 20 years. As shown in the film, it was a brutal, gruesome, and unwinnable war that only one couldn’t imagine. It is quoted in the the film that they would have “rather been in hell” then been there. The timeline, events and “the horror” was depicted greatly in this film, and gave a great picture of what it looked like to be there during the fighting of the Vietnam War.
The plot takes …show more content…
As presented in the film, many people lost their mental state and became paranoid, traumatized or simply reliant on drugs because they couldn’t handle “..the horror.” Three examples of this are present in Willard, Chef, and Lance. Willard is so paranoid from the war that he yearned to fight even when at home. His paranoia, and trauma from his first round of fighting drove him crazy and, like in the beginning of the movie, he often would have episodes where he would go crazy, and attack himself, reminiscing the sight of the battle. This is also present in Chef. Chef had constant break downs, and episodes throughout the voyage on the patrol boat, where he would grow angry, or very upset all in result of fear. To hide his fear, he would often rely on a drug to calm his nerves, and throw him into oblivion of how scared he actually is. This is present in Lance as well. Lance, like in the puppy seen, has a tendency to act unconsciously. When Chef was investigating the boat, Lance couldn’t control his fear and began continuously shooting the Vietnamese occupants of the boat. He switched back and forth between emotions in this scene, from killer to caregiver, after discovering that the occupant was only protecting and hiding an innocent puppy during the investigation. These are only three examples of the millions of soldiers who were affected psychologically during the Vietnam war. In result of this, PTSD was very common amongst Vietnam fighters. Because of such harsh effects, this has caused the social issue of dependency and overuse of drugs and alcohol. This again was present in Lance, Chef, and the other bunches of people who “needed a cigarette” on multiple occasion. Alcohol dependency was highlighted the most through Willard, and his constant spiking of his flasks, water cases, and canteens. Though it
The plot takes …show more content…
As presented in the film, many people lost their mental state and became paranoid, traumatized or simply reliant on drugs because they couldn’t handle “..the horror.” Three examples of this are present in Willard, Chef, and Lance. Willard is so paranoid from the war that he yearned to fight even when at home. His paranoia, and trauma from his first round of fighting drove him crazy and, like in the beginning of the movie, he often would have episodes where he would go crazy, and attack himself, reminiscing the sight of the battle. This is also present in Chef. Chef had constant break downs, and episodes throughout the voyage on the patrol boat, where he would grow angry, or very upset all in result of fear. To hide his fear, he would often rely on a drug to calm his nerves, and throw him into oblivion of how scared he actually is. This is present in Lance as well. Lance, like in the puppy seen, has a tendency to act unconsciously. When Chef was investigating the boat, Lance couldn’t control his fear and began continuously shooting the Vietnamese occupants of the boat. He switched back and forth between emotions in this scene, from killer to caregiver, after discovering that the occupant was only protecting and hiding an innocent puppy during the investigation. These are only three examples of the millions of soldiers who were affected psychologically during the Vietnam war. In result of this, PTSD was very common amongst Vietnam fighters. Because of such harsh effects, this has caused the social issue of dependency and overuse of drugs and alcohol. This again was present in Lance, Chef, and the other bunches of people who “needed a cigarette” on multiple occasion. Alcohol dependency was highlighted the most through Willard, and his constant spiking of his flasks, water cases, and canteens. Though it