There is a mythology the U.S. built around the American War in #Vietnam. It goes like this:

Young idealistic soldiers were sent into an unwinnable situation by confused politicians.

They came home broken and unappreciated.

It was a tragedy. A mistake. A lesson learned.

Notice what that story does.

It centers Americans.

Their trauma. Their confusion. Their homecoming. Their feelings.

In this story, the Vietnamese people are a backdrop.

A jungle. An obstacle. An abstraction.

Three million dead Vietnamese people are the scenery for a story about American self-discovery.

They made hundreds of movies about Vietnam.

The Deer Hunter. Apocalypse Now. Platoon. Full Metal Jacket. Born on the Fourth of July. Hamburger Hill.

Count how many of them center a Vietnamese character with a full human life, a family, a name you remember after the credits roll.


txt - @RussianBaZa


#VietnamWar #Nam #Vietcong
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