Apocalypse Now & The Things They Carried

Apocalypse Now reveals many things about the psychology of soldiers in Vietnam. Perhaps most importantly being PTSD a psychological disorder that includes much paranoia, and reliving such a traumatic event. For example in the opening scene Army Captain Benjamin Willard played by Martin Sheen, the audience is able to be convinced of the impact of PTSD on the human mind as a result of war. The Captain is shown being reminded of war time helicopters by simply a moving ceiling fan in his hotel room, as well as expressing how he so badly wants “to get back to the jungle.” He also appears to have developed a drinking habit as a result of depression perhaps as well as describing that as time goes on “the walls cave in on him.” This is very typical of what soldiers suffered after being taken out of the battle field. The sort of feeling that you cannot return back to reality, this animalistic will to survive, as well as being triggered by simply day to day things, that may remind one of the traumatic events. This theme of PTSD and the ramifications of the disorder or how it affects the victims day to day events in the film Apocalypse Now are synonymous with Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. Characters like Norman Bowker are also seen showing signs of the disorder of PTSD. Disappointed in his failure to save his fellow soldier Kiowa from sinking in a Vietnamese “shit field” is shown as ruminating in his this same memory for months on end while he his home and back from war. The narrator describes Bowker as replaying the memory in his mind as he circles a lake in his pickup truck, deep down only wanting to vocalize his story and pain and failing to do so.