This weekend we attempted to watch Apocalypse Now. We didn’t quite get through it yet but it’s a movie we saw in the theater when it was first released. It is one of my favorite movies of all time for a variety of reasons and I was surprised when the soldier said he had not seen the movie since he saw it with me 30 years ago.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said. “How can that be? All you do is watch war movies. Not a week goes by you don’t watch a war movie.”
“No, I only saw it that once.”
“Did you not like it?”
“I liked it. It had a big impact on me, it’s one of the reasons I decided to join Special Forces.”
“That’s what I thought. So how come you’ve not watched it? Have you not watched every war movie ever made at least 30 times if not 50 times. I mean you watch these movies constantly.”
“I do. But, P I have worked a lot in my life.”
I thought he meant he had not had time to watch movies but again, he has watched all these war movies many, many, many times…
“When I was not working I was still busy working. I had to study tactics all the time so when I wasn’t working I would watch war movies that recreate real events. P, I study war and tactics so I watch movies that are based on real events. Stuff like, Hamburger Hill. I use the movie as my visual reference. I sketch the things out… I mean I actually draw the battle on paper to figure out what I’d have done or what could have been done differently or better than what was done. I do that and I do it over and over again. I go over every battle I can find with a fine tooth comb, I know pretty much every battle in history inside and out.”
I just stared.
“Well, P, you can never have too many tactics. If there is anything to think tactically when it comes to war, I want to have thought of it that’s all there is to it. So if there are no tactics in a movie, I don’t really have time to watch it.”
Mercury, Mars, and Saturn form a T-square in his chart. He is seriously learning about war and this energy is relevant today with Mars conjunct Saturn in Mercury’s sign, Virgo so I’ll be back on this topic.
Meantime, have you forces yourself to study something intently?
That is *really* interesting. I just noticed my dad has Mars/Jupiter trine Saturn, and he is a devoted student of military tactics and history and would probably say something similar to what the Soldier said. I have forced myself to study intently my whole life, and even got a Ph.D. doing it, but my Mars-Saturn exchange is a semisextile, nothing earth-shattering. Sun square Saturn, tight orb but out-of-sign.
When I wanted to know what astrology was, I forced myself to study intently, same with Photoshop and QuarkExpress. Then came the German language and then learning Photoshop, Quark and Astrology in German. I believe all this was emotionally driven, Moon and Jupiter in Sagittarius. I delegated the tasks to my natal Mercury Saturn sextile.
No. I also have a T-square in my chart, but with Mercury, Saturn, and Uranus…Uranus has me pull away maybe.
An example… my SO has embarked on his Phoenix yoga therapy. Last night he was dictating his report to me (he has disabilities that prevent him from being able to type a 16 page report so I was doing it).
I would be in a good zone, typing fast and assimilating what he was saying for…oh, 3 minutes tops and then this over-riding ‘phhhhhzzz’ took over.
I was just blown away by the information I was getting and how we were processing it together. Sometimes I feel like my mind is a balloon floating gracefully, then someone lets the air leak out and it takes off like a willy-nilly rocket before flopping on the ground. Uuuurrgh.
My instinctive feeling upon reading this was the fact that he saw it with you, 30 years ago, and never again is extremely poignant to me.
Maybe it was a deeply intuitive, ‘initiation’ type film–not the kind you can see too soon after, or too frequently?
(I know he mentioned the need for tactics to be learned repeatedly, but I guess I’m moved at a deeper level by emotional (for lack of a better word) nature of that film.
I wonder if this is a Mars in Libra/Mars in Aries difference?
I’ve never really forced myself to study something intently. If I’ve studied anything at any length it’s probably the origin of belief systems and political systems; different branches of philosophy, religion, history, language, anthropology and so on. My interest started at around the age of ten, and I can honestly say I’m at least as curious now as I was then. Accumulation only generates more questions!:P
Sagittarius Asc, Jupiter in Gemini; Uranus conj NN/9th; Pluto on the 9th house cusp – I live the life of a 9th house Pluto.
What I’ve been forced to study intently, on the other hand, is people with hair trigger tempers. Textbook stuff à la D. Cunningham;)
“Apocalypse now” is obviously masterfully handcrafted and the debate it stirred was probably very healthy.
I personally don’t care much for war movies. I have made up my mind about war!;) (It’s easy for me – I’m an ideologist, not a politician or industry magnate).
I don’t mind the sort of war movies that make a point of personal tragedies; I was especially moved by “Born on the 4th of July” and “The deer hunter”.
Oh Kashmiri, I loved the visuals on post 3! Too funny!
bwah ah ah (oops i mean ha ha ha)