Conrad, Heart of Darkness, & Coppola, Apocalypse Now
Slides and video recording of lecture from Christina Hendricks’ lecture on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Derek Gladwin’s lecture on Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, January 11, 2016.
Apocalypse Now and Half-lit Faces
Coppola opens the film with a bang by dropping us right in the jungle. There are no opening credits; only darkness with the faint sound of helicopters approaching from the distance. The first image we see is that of a … Continue reading →
Apocalypse Now and Dostoyevsky
Apocalypse Now is a film that is steeped in references to other works of literary significance – it is directly inspired by Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, borrowing much of its subject matter and character names from it. However, I … Continue reading →
The Heart of Darkness…In Us
Between Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now, I find Heart of Darkness infinitely more disturbing than Apocalypse Now. The reason is simple. Apocalypse Now is a movie about war, or perhaps in the words of Coppola himself: “It is war.” … Continue reading →
Apocalypse now: an acid trip, a story about insanity, or both?
Apocalypse Now is probably one of my favourite movies of all time. Not only does it include countless moments where, even after watching it many times, I still am not sure about the intentions of the creators, but it also explores human boundaries and the limits of sanity and rationality. “Every man has a breaking point, […]
Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head
Dennis Hopper, one of the American countercultural icons to have featured in Apocalypse Now, had a checkered career in some the best and the worst that Hollywood had to offer. From a generation-defining role in Easy Rider, to playing the inimitably psychotic Frank … Continue reading →
Heart of Darkness
The first thing I noticed about Heart of Darkness is the unusual narrative. Although the story of Marlow is told through the lens of the narrator, it feels as though Marlow himself is the narrator. I then started to wonder the purpose of having Marlow narrating his own story in quotations; why not let the […]
Row, row, row your boat, gently down the AAAHH!!
Another depressing book, with no characters that are likeable and an ending that left me unsatisfied (just like Apocalypse Now!), leaving us with the sad image of a mourning widow being lied to. I’ve got to hope that Things Fall Apart is a light romant…
Humanity’s Heart of Darkness
Although I do see how could Conrad’s work be perceived as biased, principally due to what we would now consider as ethnocentrism (anthropology was still not a consolidated field at the time), I think Heart of Darkness is arguably one of the most powerful books written. Marlow’s descent into hell is representative of the rotten […]
Marlow’s Inconclusive Experiences
Two things have struck me when reading Heart of Darkness: (1) how much I’ve enjoyed it (maybe just because I can actually remember where my quotes are), and (2) how little I feel like I understand it. Having discussed it a year ago in English, I felt like I knew this book well enough – a slow moving and pointlessly despondent novel with colourful imagery that my teacher couldn’t let go of. Although a second reading has enhanced my opinion, I also feel a lot more confused by what I’ve…read more