Film Analysis: The Spectacle Of War

contemplating how he is unable to readjust back into civilian life. His voiceover illustrates this state of limbo between soldier and civilian:

When I was here I wanted to be there. When I was there, all I could think of was getting back into the jungle. I’m here a week now. Waiting for a mission, getting softer. Every minute I stay in this room, I get weaker. And every minute Charlie squats in the bush, he gets stronger. (Apocalypse Now)

He envies Charlie—military slang for the Viet Cong—for being on the battlefield because he associates combat with strength and rest with weakness. However, this statement merely sounds like a mechanical recitation of military ideals rather than a realization he arrived at on his own. In "The Spectacle of War and

“The End” by The Doors plays as he begins drunkenly mock fighting in his hotel room. The screen then fades from a shadowy close-up of Captain Willard looking over his bedpost, to a view of him in camouflage as he sets out to kill Colonel Kurtz toward the end of the film, seemingly looking back at the disturbed Captain Willard in the present. He looks into the ‘heart of darkness,’ encountering his inner, darkest self. The scene then fades to dark, barely discernible images lit up by the destruction of the jungle in the background, foreshadowing the events that are to come. The scene then fades back to Captain Willard fighting alone in his room. The pace of “The End” quickens, building up suspense, and eventually culminates when he punches the mirror, breaking it and injuring his hand. This symbolizes how he has rejected his personal identity—which is now foreign to him—and instead adopts military ideals. Although Captain Willard is shown crying and screaming in agony, the only sounds the audience hears is “The End.” This illustrates that although Captain Willard attempts to fight against his darkest instincts, he fails and is ultimately consumed by