Apocalypse Now - Presentation or Representation?

It’s been about a week since I first watched Apocalypse Now, and I still can’t seem to answer one of the most pressing questions: was it a film about presentation or representation? I know there’s no right or wrong answer to this, but I can’t seem to settle on one or the other. Would it be a cop out to say that it was both presentation and representation? I feel like it is. So here is what I’m thinking.

I first thought this film to be more of a representation of the Vietnam War. The emphasis on the characters and their inner struggles with sanity are what made me feel this way, in addition to the overall lack of actual war/battle scenes.

But then on last Wednesday night’s class we watched a clip from Hearts of Darkness where Coppola said something about how the film “is a film about Vietnam/War”….in other words, it was more of a presentation. As soon as he said that I thought, hey, he’s the director…maybe I should listen to him! And then it made me think about the fact that Vietnam was a war that led to insanity and uncertainty among the soldiers. It wasn’t just these select few that we watched – it was a widespread event. I mean, it has pretty much been established that Vietnam was a pointless and unjust war, so the emphasis on those brutal, and in my opinion unfair battles was not merely what Coppola wants us to think happen. It really did.

So which is it?! Since this is my blog, I’m going to go ahead and admit that I still haven’t settled on an answer. I’m also not going to apologize for the lack of commentary on the cinematography because I simply can’t get the presentation/representation battle out of my head!

Speaking of which, I will say that after reviewing cinematography of the last scene of the film on Wednesday definitely gave me a whole way of thinking about the film. It really was a fight of good against evil….and the war brought that out in people. It’s not just the soldier’s sanity that was being threatened, but their judgment of what is right in the world. The shadow that almost overcame Willard’s face showed me that he was *this* close to becoming what Kurtz had become, which caused me to actually sympathize for Kurtz.

All I can say is that I’m glad the film ended the way it did because it meant I didn’t watch “the horror” for two and half hours in vain!