Articles

"Conrad's Ethics and the Margins of Apocalypse Now" by Louis Grieff

• Despite the many violations of the novel's shape and substance, Coppola manages to pay homage to Conrad's work in unexpected ways.

1. There is a "creative imitation of the Conradian frame" in the form of a disembodied voice at the beginning and end of the film.
2. In contrast to the book, the film portrays Kurtz as a solid, dedicated man while Captain Willard(Marlow) is more fragmented and corrupt. Neither major character in the film can be seen as a good example of Conradian ethics in the Heart of Darkness.
3. Coppola uses 4 minor characters--Chief, Chef, Lance, and Kilgore--with largely un-Conradian names to depict the conflict of "good craftsman and hollow man" as it is in the Heart of Darkness between the two main characters.
4. Chef and Chief give the perfect combination to depict Marlow's ethical craftmanship of discipline mixed with imaginative artistry.
5. Though Lance and Kilgor are outward opposites, they are equally as hollow and empty on the inside. 
   

"'To Boldly Go': Heart of Darkness and Popular Culture" by Linda J. Dryden

• The main idea of The Heart of Darkness and the ethical issues within have been reused and reiterated through popular culture over the last hundred years.

1. Apocalypse Now obviously uses the book to convey the same message about US involvement in Vietnam that Conrad was about imperialism in Africa. The popularity of the movie actually boosted the meaning and popularity of the book, and the depth of Conrad's words made a much more meaningful movie.
2. The television show the Simpsons even has an episode named "The Bart of Darkness" and another that references the novel The Lord of the Flies, which in fact owes part of its influence to... yupp you guessed it, the Heart of Darkness.
3. The influence present in the television show Star Trek is much more subtle than that in the Simpsons, but it is also more common. Throughout the series a main topic, just as in Heart of Darkness, is the question of what it means to be human. Star Trek uses aliens to discuss the moral issues and dilemmas present in the novel, and bits and pieces of the plots even correspond with the novel. 
4. Long story short, Conrad's Heart of Darkness has not only influenced much of out pop culture, it has become a "part of our heritage".