Ashley Mbualungu

English 105

Professor Timmons

10/22/10

Apocalypse Now

            Heart of Darkness written by Joseph Conrad and "Apocalypse Now" a movie directed by Francis Coppola are two works that parallel one another. One of the many similarities between Heart of Darkness and "Apocalypse Now" is race. Joseph Conrad and Francis Coppola both use white men as the characters that have dominance. Conrad uses his character Marlow, while Coppola uses his character, Willard, to both look at the natives as though white men are the civilized culture and the native people are the savage culture (Franklin). We can find examples of this and one of them being Marlow and the doctor from the novella. Marlow’s skull was compared presently to his skull upon returning to the Congo and when Marlow tries to find out his results the doctor mentions that there are none because not one civilized person has returned from the jungle.  From the movie an example of this is when Willard faces a dilemma, whether or not to complete his soldierly mission of killing Kurtz. We are shown that if he completes his missions he is still civil, however, if not, he is left to be conquered by the Vietnam jungles.

            In 1979, Francis Ford Coppola used his directing ability to transform Heart of Darkness such that they could be appreciated by a 20th century audience. By changing the setting, plot and characters he was able to do so. Vietnam’s gory war settings are parallel to the setting of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness geographically and the battlefields contrast well with the novella’s style which is why Coppola probably felt the need to use Vietnam as a depiction for the 20^th century viewers.

            Kurtz’s character played by Marlon Brando was played very well utterly because he basically became Kurtz. His performance was so real and believable and his message would not have gotten across without his powerful tactics. Brando’s eerie ways and ability to get into character and become Kurtz is what made him so terrifying but captivating to watch.

            Willard’s mission is to find and kill Kurtz however along the journey, similar to Marlow’s, he is contemplated over the thought of killing him or joining him. In the scene where Willard emerges from the water ready to kill Kurtz, Willard stabs Kurtz several times killing him. Willard has fulfilled his mission and by doing so he is still civilized. After he leaves the temple, he is basically given the choice to return to civilization or not. The choice is up to him but overall, he gave himself the opportunity to go back to a civilized world. 

following a current issue

Ashley Mbualungu

Professor Timmons

English 105

October 6, 2010

  

                                                            Bullfighting in Spain

                Bullfighting, a current issue that is being faced in Spain, is the traditional sport associated with art, culture, and aspects of bravery, that pit a bull against men who wield a variety of lethal weapons. For the past decade it has been very much admired as a sport and courageous Medators have been seen as heroes for defeating a bull. Bullfighting is Spanish tradition that, in reality, has been looked down upon for its murderous vicious bloodbath and has lost a lot of its popularity in the last decade through international objection from surrounding countries. A lot of objection also comes from the younger generations who feel that Spain is now living under the dark ages. The Canary Islands were the first Spanish region to ban bullfighting in 1991 and anti-bullfighting groups are working to get this completely banned. Bullfighting is an important issue because it mainly deals with animal cruelty. Most fights last for about 15 minutes and the weapons used are meant to cause intense pain, and cause great blood loss to weaken the bull. The lethal weapons used consist of swords, daggers, spikes and spears where the bull is repeatedly stabbed. After the 15 minute period of suffering, the Medator finally kills the dying bull. Nearly 35,000 bulls are killed each year in bullfights. Another issue needed stating is the fact that prior to the bullfights, the bull is limited in vision by petroleum jelly, its strength is also diminished by tranquilizers, and it is given beatings to the kidneys.

Over the past several months anti-bullfighting groups have been working to ban bullfighting. In late July, a debate has been launched by lawmakers in Catalonia voting weather to ban bullfighting weighing two significant things: protecting animal rights or maintaining a years of tradition and culture in Spain. Once this debate began its process, protests occurred outside of parliament and bullfighting opponents carried posters and some were in English, “Stop animal cruelty, No more blood” (par. 3) A week prior to July 28, 2010, Wednesday’s vote in the Catalan parliament prohibited bullfighting beginning in 2012. Despite the fact that the animal activists wanted to extend the ban at this time, there was no significant movement to do away with bullfighting in Spain. The Catalonia region, which includes Barcelona, banned bullfighting in the final days of July, but many other bull-related traditions in which the animals are not killed continue there. A significant event that occurred in August due to the bullfighting issue was the realizing of Ernest Hemingway’s fascination of the traditional bullfighting and Artist Goya who incorporated bullfights in some of his most famous paintings. Because of this, leading opposition parties in Spain want to enshrine bullfights and wanted to stop all efforts in ever the banning culture and heritage. Recently, in late September there has been question as to why it has been approved that bullfighters can now run with bulls, stick fireworks on bulls, and put flaming wax on their horns but cannot kill him. It is approved in the same region that banned bullfighting in the first place.

Despite the fact that bullfighting is clearly animal cruelty which is an issue, there are people of higher positions who felt that it should not have been banned. The proposal stated that Spain’s government has to protect bullfighting for it is their culture. President of Spain's leading bullfighting industry association and bull breeder, Eduardo Martin-Penato, said “Cultural heritage would provide bulletproof protection. Under the Constitution the government is obliged to protect culture” (par. 7) Mimi Bekhechi, the anti-bullfighting campaigner for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, called the effort "just a desperate attempt by a small minority of people to cling to this former tradition that most Spaniards have no interest in whatsoever" (par. 9). Elena Valenciano, a leading Socialist Party lawmaker, said in early August that “Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero's administration is against the bullfighting proposal because such decisions should be in the hands of Spain's regional governments” (par. 21)

Works Cited

"Catalonia Bans Bullfighting." Fox News Mobile. FOX. 28 July 2010. Television.

Giles, Ciaran, and Paul Logothetis. "Spain's Catalonia Region Bans Bullfighting, but Rest of Country Can Still Say 'Ole'" Fox News. 28 July 2010. Web.

Giles, Ciran. "Running with Bulls, Lighting Their Horns Approved in Spanish Region That Banned Bullfighting." Fox News. 22 Sept. 2010. Web.

Hecke, Harold, and Ciran Giles. "Spain Debates Enshrining Bullfighting by Law as Cultural Heritage, Prohibiting Bullfight Bans." Fox News. 16 Aug. 2010. Web.

Woolls. "Spain's Northeastern Catalonia Region Debates Banning Bullfighting." Fox News. 27 July 2010. Web.