29-09-2008, 07:18 PM
Daniel - welcome to the Deep Politics Forum and thank you for posting those very interesting thoughts.
As someone with direct experience of covert operations, I'm sure your insights and perspective will be invaluable.
The first article posted by David drew attention to some notable black operations and their implications. For clarification's sake, my response musing on "Apocalypse Now" was an attempt to start exploring the ethical or moral dimension of black ops.
To the best of my knowledge - both as an experienced filmmaker and a researcher - "Apocalypse Now" is inspired by real historical events rather than faithfully chronicling them. The scriptwriters knew of Robert Rheault, Tony Poe, and quite probably the story you tell of Father Hoa. They then wrote a script, drawing elements from Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". That script then evolved during the filming process.
As a filmmaker, I know that scripts are not static - they develop and evolve throughout the production process. One only has to watch "Apocalypse Now" and "Apocalypse Now Redux" to see two fundamentally different films made from the the same paper pages and celluloid frames.
So, whilst identifying the real life inspirations for "Apocalypse Now" is interesting, I'm most fascinated by examining it as a way of exploring the ethical dilemmas of those involved in black operations: investigating it as a morality tale, if you will.
The moral dilemmas faced by those who authorize "deniable" operations, by those who participate in them, and by those are caught up in them - both as enemy combatants and as civilian bystanders.
As someone with direct experience of covert operations, I'm sure your insights and perspective will be invaluable.
The first article posted by David drew attention to some notable black operations and their implications. For clarification's sake, my response musing on "Apocalypse Now" was an attempt to start exploring the ethical or moral dimension of black ops.
To the best of my knowledge - both as an experienced filmmaker and a researcher - "Apocalypse Now" is inspired by real historical events rather than faithfully chronicling them. The scriptwriters knew of Robert Rheault, Tony Poe, and quite probably the story you tell of Father Hoa. They then wrote a script, drawing elements from Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". That script then evolved during the filming process.
As a filmmaker, I know that scripts are not static - they develop and evolve throughout the production process. One only has to watch "Apocalypse Now" and "Apocalypse Now Redux" to see two fundamentally different films made from the the same paper pages and celluloid frames.
So, whilst identifying the real life inspirations for "Apocalypse Now" is interesting, I'm most fascinated by examining it as a way of exploring the ethical dilemmas of those involved in black operations: investigating it as a morality tale, if you will.
The moral dilemmas faced by those who authorize "deniable" operations, by those who participate in them, and by those are caught up in them - both as enemy combatants and as civilian bystanders.
"It means this War was never political at all, the politics was all theatre, all just to keep the people distracted...."
"Proverbs for Paranoids 4: You hide, They seek."
"They are in Love. Fuck the War."
Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
"Ccollanan Pachacamac ricuy auccacunac yahuarniy hichascancuta."
The last words of the last Inka, Tupac Amaru, led to the gallows by men of god & dogs of war
"Proverbs for Paranoids 4: You hide, They seek."
"They are in Love. Fuck the War."
Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
"Ccollanan Pachacamac ricuy auccacunac yahuarniy hichascancuta."
The last words of the last Inka, Tupac Amaru, led to the gallows by men of god & dogs of war