Notion anglais power : to what extent can pictures have a form of power?

        Today we will focus on the notion of power. It will not come as a big surprise that I will start by giving a definition of this key word.

        It is a very wide notion. It can stretch from an individual ability to a broader scope. It is synonym of influence. It goes hand in hand with the notion of leadership or control. At its utmost, power can bear on events, mentalities and the course of history. Power can change history for the best or the worst.

        Power can resort to various tools to influence the world, be it military strenght, economical power, political influence, fashion, merchandising, advertising.

        To tie all these definitions together, we decided to focus on a specific period, the period of the Vietnam war. Indeed, during this time there was a tug-of-war between hard power and soft power.

        Hard power is the use of military and economic means to influence the behaviour or interest of others. Soft power comes from culture and history. During the Vietnam war soft poxwer became a counter-power to the political and military power of the USA.

        The key-question we tried ton answer is the following, to what extent can pictures have a form of power?

        The first document I am going to present is the first scene of the film Apocalypse Now by Francis Ford Coppola.

If you allow me, I will sum it up in a few words so you can visualise it. The film opens on a jugle which burns up in flame. It turns to ashes. Then, the camera shows the face of a GI lying on a bed in a hotel room in Saigon. We understand that the picture of the jungle in flame are in fact the memories of the soldier. We see what is going on in his head.

        Everything in this scene, be it the movement of cameras, the music or the small details are highly symbolical. We will try to spot and understand these symbols.

        The first part with the exploding jungle illustrates the hard power of the U.S army. Coppola shows napalm, weapons in particular 4 helicopters. Coppola didn’t decide to show 4 helicopters at random. It’s a reference to the 4 Knights of Apocalypse. The 4 Knights are supposed to be death, famine, conquest and war. By drawing this parallel, Coppola puts the blame on American GI.

        For Coppola, far from being angels of liberty and freedom GI’s become responsible for the scourge of the earth.

        Once the face of the soldier appears, it is upside down. The world has gone crazy. The values are reversed. Good has become evil and the other way round.

        Moreover, the soldier is lying on his bed with his eyes open. This conveys the idea of insomnia. The soldier feels guilt and remorse.

        Throughout the scene, there is a repetitive pattern. You have circles everywhere :

- The fan on the ceiling

- The blades of the choppers

-The helicopters go round in circles

-Above all the very first words are the lyrics « This is the end ». The beginning of the film starts with an end. This creates a circular structure. It is a metonymy for the vicious circle of war.

        When the soldier is in the hotel room, you can notice a lot of details in the setting. Indeed, there are many objects for instance on the side table : a photo, a letter, a lighter, a glass of alcohol and a spoon. In this context, the objects take a symbolical scope and convey feelings.

-Firstly, the letter and the photo of a woman convey the impression of homesickness. The GI misses his wife and feels homesick.

-On top of that, the lighter, the alcohol and the spoon are three references to addictions. He is a chainsmoker. He is an alcoholic and a drug addict insofar as the spoon is a reference to heroin. Indeed, historically speaking many GI’s resorted to drugs. During the Vietnam war, soldiers took LSD. Many became addicts.

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