Leeming's Monomyth in Regards to Apocalypse Now
John Jarvis
Mythology 211
October 1, 2012
Apocalypse Now Redux: Symbolically Mythology Nothing affixes attention, especially in literature and cinematic entertainment, more readily than a hero. Heroes and their journeys are the central focuses in many famous stories, either ancient or modern. The idea of the journey of a hero and their triumph is referred to as a monomyth, and there are a few approaches to determining if a story is or is not a monomyth. In his book Mythology: The Voyage of a Hero, David Adams Leeming proposes a method that involves eight steps or phases that coincide with the life and journey of the hero. Many of our culture’s most revered and acclaimed movies fit the description of a monomyth, including Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now Redux. The entire movie takes place during the Vietnam War and depicts the hero, Army Special Operations Captain Willard, on his quest up a river to kill a psychotic Army officer, Colonel Kurtz. Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now Redux coincides with David Adams Leeming’s method of a monomyth because Captain Willard symbolically undergoes every aspect of Leeming’s eight part process. Leeming’s system first starts off with the birth of the hero, and the first scene of the movie corresponds to this point perfectly. The scene begins with Captain Willard in a hotel drinking heavily, and he eventually makes a very gloomy aside. In his aside, Willard states that he is back in Vietnam and that when he is back in America he can’t stand the fact that he is not in Vietnam. Willard notions to the fact that now that he is back he feels like he has a purpose, and it becomes apparent to the audience that the war has consumed Willard’s life. Near the end of the hotel scene, two NCOs find Willard in an extremely drunken state and wash him in the shower in order to make him presentable enough to receive his next mission. While Willard is not literally being born, the act of the NCO’s washing him and making
Mythology 211
October 1, 2012
Apocalypse Now Redux: Symbolically Mythology Nothing affixes attention, especially in literature and cinematic entertainment, more readily than a hero. Heroes and their journeys are the central focuses in many famous stories, either ancient or modern. The idea of the journey of a hero and their triumph is referred to as a monomyth, and there are a few approaches to determining if a story is or is not a monomyth. In his book Mythology: The Voyage of a Hero, David Adams Leeming proposes a method that involves eight steps or phases that coincide with the life and journey of the hero. Many of our culture’s most revered and acclaimed movies fit the description of a monomyth, including Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now Redux. The entire movie takes place during the Vietnam War and depicts the hero, Army Special Operations Captain Willard, on his quest up a river to kill a psychotic Army officer, Colonel Kurtz. Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now Redux coincides with David Adams Leeming’s method of a monomyth because Captain Willard symbolically undergoes every aspect of Leeming’s eight part process. Leeming’s system first starts off with the birth of the hero, and the first scene of the movie corresponds to this point perfectly. The scene begins with Captain Willard in a hotel drinking heavily, and he eventually makes a very gloomy aside. In his aside, Willard states that he is back in Vietnam and that when he is back in America he can’t stand the fact that he is not in Vietnam. Willard notions to the fact that now that he is back he feels like he has a purpose, and it becomes apparent to the audience that the war has consumed Willard’s life. Near the end of the hotel scene, two NCOs find Willard in an extremely drunken state and wash him in the shower in order to make him presentable enough to receive his next mission. While Willard is not literally being born, the act of the NCO’s washing him and making
Cited: Apocalypse Now Redux. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Perf. Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall. 1979. Miramax Films, 2001. Film.