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

--As we progress into the modern world, Heart of Darkness acquires new relevance beyond the Belgian Congo. This essay focuses on “the variery of ways that Heart of Darkness has been used in our popular culture.”

--Apocalypse Now “recontextualizes” Heart of Darkness as a film about Vietnam. Kurtz’s last word in both of these works in “The horror! The horror!” Both of these works leave the real meaning behind these words somewhat ambiguous.

--Is Conrad’s work influential because of itself, or because of its second birth through Apocalypse Now?

--The Simpsons references it in “Bart of Darkness” and “Kamp Krusty” although the latter is a reference to Lord of the Flies, which is a reference to the Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne, which is a reference to Heart of Darkness. “Again, we have come full circle: postmodern intertextuality infiltrates popular culture at every turn,” says the essay.

--Heart of Darnkess’s ability to be used as a pop culture reference signals is impact of our entire culture

--Star Trek has been influenced by Conrad. Marlow says “what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity” (36) when referencing the natives; Star Trek frequently uses cultural and racial differences to ask what constitutes humanity.

--Much like the African who “hoisted his weapon on his shoulder with alacrity”(16),
Data, the android in The Next Generation, is used to comment on human behavior.

--This essay focuses heavily on “intertextuality”—how referencing something that references something else is like referencing that something else.

--Heart of Darkness is apparently one of the most frequently quoted texts in pop culture and media. It has become an integral part of more than just pop culture, but our “cultural heritage”