Apocalypse Now: the dehumanization of American soldiers in the VietnamWar
going to end. ’
This small speech of Colonel Kilgore , along with the throwing of ‘death’ cards on the corpses of the Vietnamese, demonstrates disregard for human life, and yet his squadron share a sense of camaraderie and comfort that is in great contrast to the next stop.
The second stop on the descent into madness is the Playboy Bunny show at a US Army base. In this scene we see crowds of soldiers lined up to see what the US Army has to offer for entertainment – a
dance from three playboy bunnies – which of course sends the crowd wild. However, the performance quickly turns sour as soldiers clamber over each other to reach the stage, and this swiftly descends into a chaotic fight between the troops. These fights amongst themselves exhibits the soldiers ’ lack of empathy for anyone but
themselves, as well as their frustration concerning the fact that they are trapped in Vietnam. The Playboy Bunnies represent home and the fact that they are just out of reach is all the more infuriating to them and symbolic to the audience. The Playboy Bunnies dance sexually with army assault rifles, exciting the crowd still more. These converged ideas of sex and violence shows the soldiers’ skewed perception of the war and home, to a point where they are positively turned on by violence. Of course, Willard doesn’t take part in the stampede ; he sits watching from the side, always alone, always isolated. Vietnamese women and children are seen watching the show through the railings of the base. This image symbolizes the imprisonment of the native people in their own country, as well as the forcing of the strange American culture onto them. Colonel Kilgore and his men have no empathy for the enemy, but these men are one step further: they no longer care for anyone but themselves. Before the last stop on the river, the group come across a Vietnamese boat, carrying supplies. The murder of everyone on board soon follows, after a woman running to save her puppy is mistaken as hostile movement. The women is left alive but wounded and as the Chef and Chief try to save her, Willard shoots her without flinching, once again proving his unsparing nature. Lance becomes the puppy’s surrogate father, carrying the dog around in his uniform. The crews final stop along the river of dehumanization is Do Long bridge, an army outpost that seems to be under never-ending attack. The place is scattered with fairy lights, illuminated by flares and explosions. The men fighting there seem to be cemented in perpetual psychedelia. The madness and panic of the place, along with the eerie fairground music underscoring the visuals makes a circus out of the battleground, symbolizing how far down the river of insanity the men here are. In fact, when Willard and his crew arrive, soldiers jump
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