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Usenet Posted 21 years ago
Learning

Apocalypse

My comments are promoted by the heading "Apocalypse Then" in the BBC Homepage of a feature article on the history of the Vietnam War 30 years on.

According to my Collins Cobuild dictionary, "The apocalypse is the total destruction and end of the world". And I remember "Apocalypse Now" is an old movie about Americans fighting the Vietnam War.

My question is why is this movie called "Apocalypse Now" even taking into account the tendency for movie makers to give catchy titles to attract viewership ? The Vietnam war was of course very horrific and deadly for soldiers, fighters and civilians on both side. But it was not really the total destruction and end of the world, which is much bigger than just Indochina and America.
John
  

Top answer

John, you're taking the word a little too literally. Vietnam really did seem like the end of the world (and it was the end of many lives). So "Apocalypse Now" was a fitting title for the film.

  • John, you're taking the word a little too literally.
  • Vietnam really did seem like the end of the world (and it was the end of many lives).
  • So "Apocalypse Now" was a fitting title for the film.
  • It's a great film, too.
  • Check it out sometime.
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13 Answers
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John, you're taking the word a little too literally. Vietnam really did seem like the end of the world (and it was the end of many lives). So "Apocalypse Now" was a fitting title for the film. It's a great film, too. Check it out sometime.
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[nq:1]John, you're taking the word a little too literally. Vietnam really did seem like the end of the world (and ... lives). So "Apocalypse Now" was a fitting title for the film. It's a great film, too. Check it out sometime.[/nq]
Not really. I am not taking the word 'a little too literally". I don't know where you are from. In selecting the title, were the movie makers so narrow in their out
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[nq:2]John, you're taking the word a little too literally. Vietnam ... film. It's a great film, too. Check it out sometime.[/nq]
[nq:1]Not really. I am not taking the word 'a little too literally". I don't know where you are from. In ... I am sure they were aware that non-Americans were going to see the movie. Well, perhaps they did not care.[/nq]
The word "apocalypse" not only means the c
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What manner of English teacher would go on and on and on about the meaning of the word "apocalypse" without looking it up? Why that particular, utterly foreign, word was chosen as the title of the last book of the New Testament instead of something else might have been important to the structure of the general discussion here. The much more mundane "Revelations" is the other name of that book. Did
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credoquaabsurdum wrote on 09 May 2005:
[nq:1]What manner of English teacher would go on and on and on about the meaning of the word "apocalypse" without ... of the Antichhrist..." "...final holocaust..." "...quite deliberately chose the title to emphasise the destruction..." "...apocalyptic vision..." (oxymoron) The horror...the horror...[/nq]
Why do you snip everything you're responding t
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I snip everything in my posts as a matter of throwaway habit. You mentioned that point in another thread. Let's rectify that now with an explanation.
John C's question (the original poster) was prompted by the fact that he was working out of a learner's dictionary to find out what "Apocalypse" meant. Moreover, he was wondering if, by using the expression, the creators of the film were being na
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credoquaabsurdum wrote on 09 May 2005:
[nq:1]I snip everything in my posts as a matter of throwaway habit.[/nq]
I see. Thank you for the explanation.
I snipt the balance of the post because I would have preferred to see what the OP said rather than read what seems to be a tendentious and judgmental summary of previous statements and events. I'm not saying that your summary is at all in
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[nq:1]credoquaabsurdum wrote on 09 May 2005:[/nq]
[nq:2]I snip everything in my posts as a matter of throwaway habit.[/nq]
[nq:1]I see. Thank you for the explanation. I snipt the balance of the post because I would have preferred to ... inaccurate, but simply that I would have preferred to make my own judgments, had I felt they were called for.[/nq]
The quotes seem to be from a post by
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[nq:1]I snipt the balance of the post because I would have preferred to see what the OP said rather than ... inaccurate, but simply that I would have preferred to make my own judgments, had I felt they were called for.[/nq]
Point taken and understood. Thanks for the civility of this response, CyberCypher. In light of the sundry comments I've floated around this board in recent days, I could ea
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[nq:1]Our friend, Absurd Believer (admittedly a rather rough and ready translation of his handle), seems to believe that because the ... that the word was primarily asynonym for "revelation", although I'm quite happy to accept that this is a secondary meaning.[/nq]
OK, Einde. I'm done with my first full day of classes, and I've snapped back to pre-griffin mode. You have a point, so do I. You s

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