The traumatic experiences of their own troops and the fact that they were fighting against a largely invisible enemy may provide a hint at why U.S. film-makers hardly yielded any space to the depiction of the Vietnamese in the first major portrayals of the Vietnam War. The expectation of a failure at the box office was probably even more decisive. The Vietnamese point of view was at first almost completely ignored. The representation of the Vietnamese was mostly reduced to the fulfilment of merely functional purposes. In films like Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter they are either victimized or demonized, while in Hamburger Hill they may be promoted to the role of “formidable enemies” but are otherwise left in the dark. There is no discernible effort made in these films to take a closer look at either the Vietnamese or at their country.
This changes with Barry Levinson’s Good Morning Vietnam and Oliver Stone’s Heaven and Earth. While the former is based on the experiences of an American in Vietnam, the latter builds upon two autobiographical books by a Vietnamese woman, Le Ly Hayslip. Thus, whereas in Levinson’s film Vietnamese people form an integral part for the experiences of the American protagonist, Oliver Stone constructs his entire narrative around the life and character of his Vietnamese protagonist Le Ly Hayslip.
Eventually therefore, both films convey representations of a culture that the American target audience is not familiar with. This paper strives to explore the strategies and techniques that both films employ to this end. What are their respective approaches? What assumptions do they seem to hold about Vietnam and its people? Which aspects do the films share and where do they differ? Apart from the central aspects of the country and the people inhabiting it, the topics of tradition, dignity, subversion as well as the role of atrocities will be discussed.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Synopsises
3. The respective approaches of the two films
4. Good Morning Vietnam
5. Heaven and Earth
6. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines how the films "Good Morning Vietnam" and "Heaven and Earth" challenge traditional U.S. portrayals of the Vietnam War by shifting the focus toward the Vietnamese experience and culture. It explores the narrative strategies, generic choices, and ideological assumptions embedded in both films to understand how they represent the conflict, tradition, and human dignity.
- Comparison of generic approaches (comedy vs. epic/autobiographical).
- Representation of Vietnamese culture and identity.
- The role of subversion and official institutional criticism.
- Examination of the "official truth" versus the lived reality of the population.
- Themes of reconciliation and the impact of the war on family structures.
Excerpt from the Book
The respective approaches of the two films
Every film has got its distinct look and feeling. Obviously, the most striking difference between the two films in question here is their genre. The basic fact that Good Morning Vietnam is a comedy, albeit a tragic comedy, sets it apart from all other films that have dealt with the Vietnam War until then. In fact, it has been criticized for dealing with its topic in terms of a comedy. This leads to the question which consequences might follow from this choice of genre. A possible answer is provided by William Guynn, who has applied Hayden White’s theory of historical rhetoric to the narrative of films about history.
According to White and Guynn, the course of any historical narrative is automatically prefigured by the historian’s, conscious or unconscious, choice of rhetoric. This choice draws upon rhetorical tropes that relate to narrative genres and will consequently determine the boundaries of the narrative outcome. This prefigures not only the way in which things are being conveyed, but also the themes that are likely to be addressed. Thus, while in Heaven and Earth the themes of tradition and dignity are more prevalent, the choice of the comedic genre opens up the possibilities of dealing with subversion that can be found in Good Morning Vietnam.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: This chapter highlights the historical neglect of Vietnamese perspectives in U.S. cinema and introduces the two films as case studies for a shift in narrative focus.
Synopsises: This chapter provides brief plot summaries of both "Good Morning Vietnam" and "Heaven and Earth" to establish the narrative context.
The respective approaches of the two films: This chapter utilizes film theory to analyze how the choice of genre—specifically comedy versus epic—prefigures the thematic boundaries and rhetorical strategies of each film.
Good Morning Vietnam: This chapter analyzes how the film uses the protagonist Adrian Cronauer to expose the incongruence between official military narratives and the everyday realities of the war.
Heaven and Earth: This chapter explores the film’s attempt to portray the dignity of Vietnamese peasants and the devastating consequences of war on the individual through the lens of a personal, autobiographical narrative.
Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the findings, arguing that both films successfully depict the war as a trap for the local population while emphasizing the failure of American institutions to understand the culture and needs of the Vietnamese people.
Keywords
Vietnam War, Film Studies, Representation, Good Morning Vietnam, Heaven and Earth, Adrian Cronauer, Le Ly Hayslip, Cultural Identity, Genre Theory, Subversion, Narrative Rhetoric, Official Truth, Peasant Life, Reconciliation, Historical Representation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper focuses on analyzing new perspectives on the Vietnam War presented in the films "Good Morning Vietnam" and "Heaven and Earth," specifically regarding their representation of the Vietnamese people.
What are the central themes discussed?
The central themes include the depiction of tradition and dignity, the critique of official military discourse, the impact of war on civilians, and the role of subversion.
What is the main research objective?
The objective is to explore the strategies and techniques these films employ to convey a culture unfamiliar to American audiences and to understand how they differ in their assumptions about Vietnam.
Which methodology is applied to the films?
The author applies Hayden White’s theory of historical rhetoric, as adapted by William Guynn, to analyze how the choice of genre influences the narrative and thematic outcomes.
What is examined in the main body of the work?
The main body examines the comedic subversion in "Good Morning Vietnam" versus the tragic, epic narrative of "Heaven and Earth," focusing on their respective portrayals of the Vietnamese population.
Which keywords best characterize the research?
The research is characterized by terms such as film studies, historical representation, cultural identity, and narrative rhetoric.
How does "Good Morning Vietnam" treat the topic of official military discourse?
The film portrays the military’s official discourse as grotesque and out of touch with reality, using the protagonist's subversion to highlight the contrast between institutional lies and human experience.
What role does the father figure play in "Heaven and Earth"?
Le Ly’s father serves as an emblem for Vietnamese identity, family ties, and the importance of ancestor worship, which the film presents as being more fundamental than political ideology.
What does the author conclude about the "Communist foe" in these films?
The author concludes that both films suggest the American military was fighting against an idea of a "Communist foe" that, for the ordinary peasant population, was non-existent compared to the struggle for basic survival and dignity.
What does the "chain of vengeance" refer to at the end of "Heaven and Earth"?
It refers to the cycle of violence and suffering; the film concludes with an appeal to both the American and Vietnamese people to forgive each other and accept their fate to break this cycle.
- Quote paper
- Arndt Schmidt (Author), 2008, Meeting the Vietnamese, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/189025
