Examine Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now as war porn Essay

Examine Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now as war porn - Essay Example The contrast between the misty green landscape and the penetrating force of the hi-tech war machines is emphasized through the soundtrack which uses Wagner’s â€Å"Ride of the Valkyries† to dramatic effect. Echoes of the Nazi use of this music for propaganda purposes are not lost on a modern audience who must view the lusty singing of the soldiers as an example of the glory and at the same time the moral bankruptcy of modern warfare. This is the paradox that lies at the heart of most war films dating from the Vietnam period onwards. Any attempt by a filmmaker to depict the horrors of war can be interpreted as an encouragement to develop anti-war feeling in the audience, or alternatively, and much more disturbingly as a celebration and glorification of killing. It has been observed, for example, that Apocalypse Now has a focus on bodies and weapons, even to the extent that the character Kurtz is portrayed in a highly sexualized manner: â€Å"Coppola frames the first sig ht of him in an erotic manner, letting us see Kurtz’s bald head bathed eerily in yellow light in a manner that literally suggests the head of a penis† (Eberwein, p. 116). ... This change is depicted as a kind of subversion of Lance Johnson’s sanity and maleness, and an abandonment of normative male sexuality (Eberwein, p. 117). In other words, the film shows a deviant kind of masculinity which rejects â€Å"normal† relationships with women in favour of a much darker sexuality connected with brutality and violence, leading to the death of all outsiders, whether they are Vietnamese or American. This is the horrible end point of the brutalizing force of war, showing a lawless group operating out of control, on a mission of gratuitous cruelty and destruction. It can be argued that other characters in the film, such as the uptight Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) represent a counterbalance to the wayward band of followers under Kurtz’s influence, promoting a patriotic use of force in defence of more positive and moral objectives. Willard survives the terror tactics of Kurtz and in the end brutally murders him, proving perhaps the necessity o f absolute force. Under such a reading of the film, there is no pornographic content, because the extreme conditions of war simply demand an equally extreme response. For other observers, however, the moral depravity of war makes Willard just as culpable as Kurtz in his use of covert tactics to achieve his mission objectives. Lance is saved from the fate of Kurtz’s men, but at what moral cost? In Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987) the very title of the film highlights the dehumanizing effect of war, or to be more precise, the systematic hardening up of soldiers that takes place in training courses designed to produce trained killers for military action. A large portion of the film

Medieval Roman Catholicism in Christianity Essay

Medieval Roman Catholicism in Christianity - Essay Example The contributions of two prominent popes in the medieval times paved the way for the conversion of Emperor Constantine in 312 who â€Å"legalized Christianity, promoted its interests, and took an active role in its institutional and doctrinal development† (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010). The name Christianity was coined from Jesus Christ. Christianity is the name given to that definite system of religious belief and practice which was taught by Jesus Christ in the country of Palestine, during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Tiberius, and was promulgated, after Jesus’ death, for the acceptance of the whole world, by certain chosen men among His followers. The role of medieval Roman Catholicism, therefore, is the promulgation of evangelization of various peoples all over the world. In addition, the church instigated roles of education, engaging in charitable activities, and promotion of the family as the sole unit of social and moral values. As revealed in the history of Roman Catholicism, â€Å"one of the most significant developments of the late ancient and early medieval periods—for Roman Catholicism and all forms of Christianity—was the emergence of Christian theology. During the late ancient and early medieval periods there was also a significant growth in monasticism, the origins of which are traditionally associated with the Apostles in Jerusalem† (Britannica, 2010). The teachings from the Apostles became the basis for their compilations of the Bible. As indicated in the article on Roman Catholicism stating that â€Å"the churchs role in mediating salvation has been emphasized more than in other Christian traditions. Supernatural life is mediated to Christians through the sacraments administered by the hierarchy to whom obedience is due† (Roman Catholic Church, 2010). The origins of Roman Catholicism were instrumental in proffering the existence of God, as proven in five ways, to wit: from motion, from the nature of efficient cause,