Psychedelic soldiers and tragic surfers: John Milius’ “Apocalypse Now” (1969)

Gazi, J. 2022. Psychedelic soldiers and tragic surfers: John Milius’ “Apocalypse Now” (1969). Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media. 61 (Fall 2022).

TitlePsychedelic soldiers and tragic surfers: John Milius’ “Apocalypse Now” (1969)
TypeJournal article
AuthorsGazi, J.
Abstract

This article examines John Milius’ 1969, first draft, screenplay of Apocalypse Now. Submitted by American Zoetrope to Warner Brothers as part of their development deal aimed at creating films for the ‘youth market,’ Milius’ screenplay explores the Californian counterculture from an alternative perspective to that of his contemporaries. Pitching the countercultural thinking of hippies as a dangerous deviancy from American post-war values, the writer instead contrasts this attitude with the sanctioned rebellion afforded to the preceding generation of Californian youth: the surfers. This intergenerational conflict plays out in the milieu of the Vietnam war, where the savagery of Colonel Kurtz and his cult of psychedelic soldiers functions to reflect contemporary fears around the hippie culture as the sixties would come to a close. This article further provides an extended critical reflection on the study of the screenplay as an autonomous work of art.

JournalJump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media
Journal citation61 (Fall 2022)
ISSN0146-5546
Year2022
PublisherJump Cut Associates
Publisher's version
License
CC BY-NC-ND 2.5
File Access Level
Open (open metadata and files)
Web address (URL)http://www.ejumpcut.org/currentissue/JeeshanGazi/index.html
Publication dates
Published05 Sep 2022

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