Apocalypse Now (Video Three)
“… 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.
