May 21
The Beautiful Country, 2004, dir. Hans Petter Moland
Vietnam, 1990
Binh searching for mother and father
mother working for rich family, matriarch’s son fathered her second child, Tam
Binh and Tam flee after accident kills matriarch to find father in America
Malaysian refugee camp, killing leads to uprising, Binh and Tam escape with Ling
Boat captain, “I offer you a new life, you choose an old dream,”
Amerasian Homecoming Act, Binh learns that escaping by boat and losing Tam was unnecessary effort when he could have taken everyone by plane
Ling, “I’m the same as I ever was,” “I’m ugly too”
fluidity of identity
May 24
Vietnam War, November 1 1955 – April 30, 1975
“French Indochina,” colonies of France, won independence, fighting between North and South Vietnam
The Fall of Saigon, April 30, 1975
evacuations in 1975, first wave were more advantage/had connections
Boat people, 1975-1990s, people from second wave on driven out by political and economic instability
1992, prisoners of reeducation camps released, leading to another wave of refugees
Ho Chi Minh, communist revolution leader, Boston pastry chef
Vietnamese Food
French influence
Bánh mì, originated from the baguette
Vietnamese (iced) coffee, second top coffee producing country
Crème caramel, similar to crème brûlée
Phở, noodles, fish sauce, Sriracha, rice/broken rice (Cơm tấm)
Vietnamese American Athletes
Dat Nguyen, American football
Cung Le, MMA fighter and actor
Lee Nguyen, professional soccer
Amy Tran, field hockey
Ben Nguyen, MMA
Leta Lindley, golf
Catherine Mai Ian Fox, Olympic swimmer
Danny Graves, baseball
Vietnamese professional poker players
Vietnamese American Actors/Actresses
Dustin Nguyen, 21 Jump Street, role of Vietnamese man assuming a Japanese identity, story reflects actor’s history
Thuy Trang, Power Rangers, died in car accident that injured Angela Rockwood, Dustin Nguyen’s wife
Hong Chau, Downsizing, character of political activist with a heavy accent that led to some discourse/controversy
Damien Nguyen, The Beautiful Country, left Vietnam at age three, only has partial memories of the trip
Kelly Marie Tran, Star Wars first woman of color in a leading role in the series, first Asian American on the cover of Vanity Fair, faced racism and harassment in the wake
End of Week Synthesis
Despite learning about the Vietnam War in the past, the effect it had on the people of the country was never a part of the focus. In the reading, film screening, and presentations for this week, the human element that had previously been ignored came into focus. The lasting impact of such an event between generations is especially notable, with different stories focusing on the generation that was in Vietnam at the time dealing with the war directly, and the generation that was brought to America, dealing with the cultural trauma and feeling of being out of place both in America and in attempts to revisit the country where they were born.