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The book I have chosen for my critical research project is The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. I read this book earlier this year for AP European History and was intrigued by some of the principles and ideas contained within the book. I will admit that it is not the easiest book to read and I would much rather read something easier, such as The Picture of Dorian Gray. For that reason I intially thought about reading either The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, or some other work of fiction that I had read before. However, I did not want to ruin my enjoyment of these great books by having to critically read and annotate them. I have no desire to ever return to Paradise Lost and I do not want that to happen to a work as great as those of J.R.R. Tolkien. With almost anything that could also be read for pleasure taken out of the picture I decided to search for something of literary merit that I had read before. Since what we have read in english classes were out of the picture the only viable option was The Prince.

While researching The Prince I noticed an interesting pop culture reference that I know Machiavelli could have never anticipated. The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory is the final album recorded by rap artist 2Pac before his death.

It was not released under 2Pac’s name, rather it was released under the name of Makaveli. The album was inspired by Machiavelli’s The Prince and The Art of War (also by Machiavelli) which 2Pac studied extensively while he was in prison. However, I highly doubt that this album will be of much use for me on the other parts of the research project.

 Sources: http://www.donkilluminati.com/lifeondeathrow.htm

“… It was very simple, and at the end of that moving appeal to every altruistic sentiment it blazed at you, luminous and terrifying, like a flash of lightning in a serene sky: ‘Exterminate all the brutes!’”

The scene in the third video is not a direct representation of a scene in Heart of Darkness. Rather, it is an added scene that serves to convey the message that is found in other parts of the book. The above quote is a fine representation of the message that the helicopter attack on the village represents. The American soldiers with their helicopters and missiles are working to civilize the “brutes”. These “brutes” are Vietnamese villagers, both armed and unarmed. Their lives are viewed less importantly than the lives of the Americans. This view is illustrated both by the emotionless slaughter of the Vietnamese villagers and the music that accompanies the scene. Richard Wagner’s “The Ride of the Valkyries” is not the sort of song one would associate with an attack on a village. It is an upbeat, happier song that clashes terribly with the action that it accompanies. However, that is the exact purpose of the musical choice, to echo the carelessness of the slaughter. Along with the scene where Willard’s boat inspects the small fishing vessel, the attack on the village is an excellant visual representation of the idea of civilization through extermination.