Apocalypse Now: Military Destruction And Horrors In The Vietnam War

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The Vietnam War remains one of the most controversial wars in the United States’ history. With a diverse military fighting the conflict, many different methods of coping with the destruction and horrors were developed by the soldiers. The movie Apocalypse Now depicts the Vietnam War in a way that shows the many mindsets of soldiers and how they cope with the constant conflict around them. From reminding themselves of home, taking drugs to mentally escape, caring for something or someone, focusing on winning/ending the war, and sometimes losing themselves in the jungle. The main characters of the movie exemplify certain types of Americans that fought in the war and how they responded to the conflict and carnage around them. The film follows Captain Willard along with the crew of a U.S. Navy riverboat tasked with transporting Willard to the stronghold where a rogue Colonel Kurtz has fortified and surrounded himself with a cult of followers. Willard’s Mission is to kill the Colonel. Along this trip north Willard and the Crew see the horrors of war first hand and begin to lose their sanity. Everyone on the boat represents a different type of mentality and group that served in the Vietnam…show more content…
Clean is a seventeen year old kid. Clean was drafted like twenty five percent of soldiers in combat roles were in Vietnam War; mostly all aged eighteen to twenty four (U of Michigan). Clean and many like him aren't old enough to vote, yet they’re given machine gun and sent to fight. They are new to military and most have never had responsibilities in their lives and now they are entrusted with the lives with the lives of their fellow soldiers. Sadly enough Clean is shot and killed while listening to a recording of his mother telling him what it's like back home and is also wishing for him to come home soon. Clean used thoughts of home as his emotional crutch. Clean wasn’t able to return home like many other young men that served before and after
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