[Stavros Piperis]

Each of these three sources contribute to a better understanding of the Vietnam War. Michael Herr describes the deeply destructive nature of the Vietnam war. The war destroyed in the sense that it devalued what it came into contact with: it treated people, places, and a nation with less dignity than deserved. Herr writes, “There has been no country here but the war. The landscape has been converted to terrain, the geography broken down into its more useful components…positions, objectives, fields of fire.” The treated Vietnam, and all it encompassed, as something lesser.
Ken Burns’ documentary also has the benefit of being a primary source. It helps by going directly to the war and letting it speak for itself–accounts from real soldiers and footage straight from the action helps to bring viewers close to what actually occurred in Vietnam, and how it felt to be there.
Apocalypse Now’s immediate contribution is another look into the action itself–the violence and chaos of Vietnam. It is most helpful, however, in its illustration of the psychological effects of war and violence. The film’s character portraits, especially those of Kurtz and Willard, show the madness that can result from such intensity and destruction.

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