A film which tells the remarkable story of the people of South East Asia who fought three wars over three decades to gain their freedom using entirely original colour archive footage.
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A film which tells the remarkable story of the people of South East Asia who fought three wars over three decades to gain their freedom using entirely original colour archive footage.
Oh Please. ‘Leftist propaganda’. Don’t talk utter ****.
Anything to the left of Attila the Hun is ‘leftist’ to your il.
What the **** do you know about life in ‘leftist’ countries!
The US doesn’t even HAVE a leftist party. One party is right wing and the other is damn near fascist.
Sickening bias.
Tl;dr — this leftist propaganda film is rife with breathtaking views of Vietnamese culture, rare footage from the communist side of the struggle, and a lesson for all of us about how perspective can deeply influence the retelling of events. 8/10
Indochine: A People’s War in Color is a documentary that tells 30+ years of Vietnamese history from the perspective of the People of the country with a heavy emphasis on the Communists in the North. From the invasion of Japan to the attempted reconquista of 1950s France to the immense assault by America’s army, this tale is bathed in sorrow and courage on all sides. While the left leaning message is undeniable, the diversity of footage leaves plenty for the armchair scholar to take in, regardless of political persuasion of the viewer. Indochine [pronounced ‘in-doh-sheen’] will bring out emotions in even the most casual observer. It is a rare look at the Communist side of what is commonly referred to as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict. There are many interesting sub-stories that make for an exciting journey through the stacks of wikipedia articles relevant to the content. I recommend watching this film, but i also recommend breaking it up into thirds, as it is quite long. Though the perspective of the Producers, through the words of the Narrator, is very friendly to the Communists and rather disparaging of the US and their Southern supporters, it behooves one to remember that this tiny little country was invaded by 2 world powers whilst being manipulated by 2 more, and yet somehow came through with their sovereignty assured and their cultural identity intact.
Wikipedia reading list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JASON_%28advisory_group%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indochina
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Igloo_White
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Niagara
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Indochina_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War
Exactly how is this “leftist propaganda”?
In brief, it is “leftward” propaganda because of the choice and placement of certain adjectives. It is actually quite light compared to many other films. I was attempting to be fair in my portrayal for both sides, owing largely to the fact that i have spent a lot of time with American Vietnam vets and military personnel. They have a very different perspective.
Regardless of my characterization, it is important to recognize two things: when something is propaganda and why that term is not a negative thing, at least not intrinsically. Propaganda has more than political value. This footage is our shared heritage, warts and all.
[Edit] grammatical and spelling errors