An Image of Africa Blog 5

An Image of Africa is the published and amended version of the Chancellor’s Lecture given by Chinua Achebe at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in February 1975. The text is considered to be part of the critical Postcolonial movement, which advocates that Europeans consider the viewpoints of non-European nations, as well as peoples coping with the effects of colonialism. Colonialism was an oppressive economic system that Europeans used to systematically undercut developing nations and their peoples. Achebe supports the idea that European nations have violently impeded the civil lives of many nations throughout the world, both with the use of trade and warfare, throughout An Image of Africa. Achebe’s objection to the Heart of Darkness is best exemplified when he states “Heart of Darkness projects the image of Africa as “the other world,” the atheists of Europe and therefore of civilization, a place where man’s vaunted intelligence and refinement are finally mocked by triumphant bestiality” (3 Chinua Achebe). The idea that colonialism has visible effects in a modern world is a theme also present in Apocalypse Now. Throughout Apocalypse Now there are images of warfare that show the unfavorable side effects that the war can produced, supporting the idea that the Vietnam War was a war of attrition and had no real purpose. In the scene where Willard arrives at camp and first meets the Colonel he joins the soldiers in their mission to destroy a Vietnamese town, specifically because that town is located on good surfing grounds. These soldiers exemplify childlike behaviors throughout the battle scene, such as playing music during their raid of the village, their whimsical behavior towards each other and their mission to take the village in order to surf. The irresponsible behavior of the soldiers demonstrates how these 'privileged' Americans have little regard for their actions and toy with warfare and its consequences, like a game. Although the soldiers are not colonial imperialists there are moments within Apocalypse Now where the viewer sympathizes with the locals that appear to be repressed under the might of the American military.