Apocalypse Now as a Critique of Heart of Darkness

Achebe’s issue with Heart of Darkness is the racist intention woven into the narrative. It is clear how Conrad feels about the African natives (that they are savage brutes). And Kurtz’s breakdown into insanity is somehow tied to the African land as if the place itself can unravel a perfectly civilized European mind. I don’t think that this criticism relates to Apocalypse Now, because the unraveling of Kurtz’s mind in the film is tied to the chaos and dehumanization of war. The film itself is a critique on Heart of Darkness, because while it shows how desensitized the characters are to killing (especially Kilgore), it is framed in a way that seems absolutely ridiculous. Kilgore associates the smell of napalm in the morning with victory, but we audience members associate Kilgore with a crazy person. The American soldiers often treat the Vietnamese poorly, asserting their control over them. This is evident in the scene where Chief stops the little boat and Clean kills everyone on board. But this is a forced racism, caused by the war. Clean is jumpy because he learns from experience that even seemingly harmless natives can throw a grenade at a helicopter and bring it down. And this upsets us deeply, and is clearly intended to by the placement of the puppy in the basket. It points to the racism present in the war, but in a purposefully criticizing way.