Apocalypse Now as nostalgia for the simplicity of violence. The psychological and anthropological interpretation Cover Image

Czas Apokalipsy jako nostalgia za prostotą przemocy
Apocalypse Now as nostalgia for the simplicity of violence. The psychological and anthropological interpretation

Author(s): Maciej Kopyciński
Subject(s): Media studies, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure , Psychoanalysis, Sociology of Culture, Film / Cinema / Cinematography, Social Norms / Social Control
Published by: Szkoła Wyższa Psychologii Społecznej
Keywords: popular culture; film; Apocalypse Now; nonlinear; antiwar; psyche; Zizek; Coppola; warrior; archaic; mental breakdown

Summary/Abstract: Frequently interpreted as a modernist movie, Apocalypse Now, breaks the rule of linear narra­tion for the sake of pageantry. The rejection of the realistic code of presentation keeps up with the anti­war message of the movie. In these terms, the journey into the heart of the jun­gle constitutes a metaphor of the journey in­ to the depth of human psyche. Nevertheless, completely different conclusions are drawn on the basis of the analysis involving the psycho­ analytical cinema theory by Slavoj Žižek. Then, Apocalypse Now appears as a work praising the archaic model of a warrior who is not famil­iar with mercy, but does not accept hypocrisy which rules in the modern army. Willard’s mis­sion of killing Kurtz allows him to overcome mental breakdown. Due to meeting the cruel colonel, Willard becomes a „fully constituted military subject”.

  • Issue Year: 36/2013
  • Issue No: 02
  • Page Range: 42-53
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: Polish