SAE Institute Glasgow

A competitive discussion of how the Vietnam War was portrayed in American Film and Music.

Name: Tobi Sawdon SAE ID: 95266 Course code: CMN4200 Submission code: CMN4200.1 Date of submission: 07.12.17 Word Count: 2637 words.

I hereby declare that this is my own work, and does not use any materials other than the cited sources and tools. All explanations that I copied directly or in essence are marked as such. This work has not been previously submitted.

Tobi Sawdon …………………………… 06.12.17, SAE Glasgow

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Table of Contents Thesis Statement ................................................................................................ 2 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 2 The Vietnam War ................................................................................................. 3 Phil Ochs ............................................................................................................. 4 The Deer Hunter .................................................................................................. 4 Arguments ........................................................................................................... 5 Analysis ............................................................................................................... 6 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 7 References .......................................................................................................... 9 Appendix A ........................................................................................................ 11 Appendix B ........................................................................................................ 12

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Thesis Statement

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how the Vietnam War is portrayed in

American Song and Film by comparing two cultural texts, discussing their

similarities, differences and exploring the potential reasoning for each.

Introduction

The creative arts industries responded to the events of the Vietnam war with a

wave of songs, films and books being released during, throughout and long after the war’s conclusion (Berg, 1986). During this Vietnam War oriented

cultural trend, an array of artists began producing music both in support and in protest of the America’s presence in Vietnam during the war. Some of the well-

known protest artists include: Bob Dylan, Joe MacDonald, Joan Baez and Phil Ochs (Arnold, 1991). The aforementioned Phil Ochs, an American folk-rock musician was deeply troubled by what was transpiring and he used his musical

talents and following to convey his political views, with a string of songs relating directly to the American involvement in the Vietnam War. One of his

better-known works ‘The War Is Over’ was released in 1968 and was titled ironically, as it was released before the war had in fact come to a conclusion

(Itunes, 2007). The film industry saw several Vietnam War films released throughout the 1970s including: ‘Coming Home’, ‘The Boys in Company C’

and ‘Go Tell The Spartans’. In 1978, a few years after the America’s involvement in the war was over, Michael Cimino released his action war film

‘The Deer Hunter’, which unlike other films of this era, comprised of three acts showing soldiers before, during and after the war. Against the odds in releasing

another film about the Vietnam war, considering most hadn’t thrived in the box office, the film did surprisingly well and went on to win five Oscar’s (Chong,

2005). Throughout this comparative discussion paper I will take an in depth look into how the Vietnam war was portrayed in the creative arts by comparing

and discussing Phil Ochs song ‘The War Is Over’ and Michael Cimino’s film ‘The Deer Hunter’ look at some of their similarities, differences and exploring

the potential reasoning for each.

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The Vietnam War

Vietnam was a country steeped in conflict from 1946 when under leader Ho

Chi Mihn it decided to declare independence from the French possession that had been established from 1939. After this declaration, what’s known as the first Indochina war began between Vietnam and France and lasted fifteen years

until its end with Vietnam’s victory on the 7th of May 1954. A day later on the 8th of May 1954 official negotiations began in Geneva Switzerland, known as

the Geneva Accords, with the purpose of resolving the conflict between Vietnam and France penning the details of France’ full withdrawal following the

fall of its last garrison in Dien Bien Phu. During these negotiations, that were eventually signed on the 21st of July 1954, a ceasefire and temporary division

were put in place along the 17th parallel of latitude, dividing the country in two between the communist dominated north and anti-communist south. These

two halves of the country had separate allies, most notably for Northern Vietnam, Russia and China and for Southern Vietnam the United States of

America (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1998). The second Indochina war, also known as the Vietnam war or in Vietnam “the war against the Americans to

save the nation” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1998) began in 1954 and was the result the North Vietnam’s ambition to unify the country under a singular

communist regime to emulate their allies in Russia and China. South Vietnam was opposed to this and intended to uphold more western democratic

governance as aligned with its greatest ally in the America. It wasn’t until the mid 1965 that American forces were engaged in active warfare however by 1969 they had more than 500,000 troops deployed in active service throughout

Vietnam. This is a substantial force to have deployed however, in the north Russia and China were providing support, supplies, aides and troops to the

effort which, in the long run proved to much for the South Vietnamese and American forces and by 1973 the USA had begun its full-scale withdrawal from

the conflict; by 1975 the South fell in Saigon after a full scale invasion from the North. The death toll of the conflict was immense with as many as 4 million

civilians believed to of lost their lives along with 2.2 million Vietnamese

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soldiers. American forces suffered a death toll upwards of 58,000 service men

and women, which was one of the leading motivators for withdrawing from the prolonged conflict (Encyclopaedia Britannica 1998).

Phil Ochs

Phil Ochs was born on the 19th of December 1940 in New York city. During his

school years Phil’s mother hired a private music tutor and they both soon realised he was a gifted musician and was accepted into the Capital University

Conservatory of Music at the age of just fifteen. It was at college that Phil took up playing guitar and majored in journalism, which formed the foundations of his future success as a politically active musician. In 1962 a folk musician by

the name of Pete Seeger started a newspaper called ‘Broadside’ and Phil became a regular contributor, leading to him making lots of connections within

the folk community culminating in playing a show alongside Bob Dylan in 1963. Phil persuaded Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman, to take him on and in 1964

Phil released his first solo album through Elektra records. Relations broke down quickly with Grossman, due to Ochs feeling as though he was

permanently in Dylan’s shadow, and the pair parted ways. Ochs continued to write, release a perform his satirical yet humorous style of folk in order to

convey his political views as far and wide as possible, which eventuated in Ochs taking part and organising several ‘The War Is Over Rallies’ where he

performed his song ‘The War is Over’ to thousands of protesters (Ellis, 2008). The most poignant part of these rallies was that the Vietnam War still raged

and American troops were still maintained an active role in the conflict (Jones, 2004).

The Deer Hunter

Michael Cimino’s film ‘The Deer Hunter’ was released in 1978 and attracted widespread attention for several reasons. The film was considered to be very

long, at a length of three hours and three minutes, many picture houses were initially trepidatious about showing it for this very reason as they were unsure

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whether filmgoers would turnout to see the feature considering this. So far in

the box office most films with this controversial subject matter did not achieve high revenue, making it a risky move to release it, however it turned out to be a

big success and earned five Oscar academy awards. The film is split into three acts showing the main characters before, during and after their time in the

Vietnam War. The film also garnered attention as it is primarily set in America with only one of the three acts the films contains, being set in Vietnam. At the

beginning of the film we meet the main characters Michael, Nick and Steven, played by Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken and John Savage respectively,

preparing for Steven’s wedding before heading to Vietnam to fight in the war. The Second act of the film finds the main characters in a prisoner of war camp being tortured with the now infamous Russian roulette scene echoing the

events of the ‘Saigon Execution’ (Appendix B). The final act again takes place back in America and sets out to illuminate the impact of the war on the

protagonists (Chong 2005).

Arguments

Phil Ochs song ‘The War is Over’ was written and released in direct opposition to the American presence in the Vietnam War. He was a political activist that

used the headlines in the news to generate humorous yet thought-provoking folk songs; writing in broadside magazine:

“I think there is a coming revolution in folk music as it becomes more and more

popular in the US, and as the search for new songs becomes more intense the

news today is the natural resource that folk music must exploit in order to have

the most vigorous folk possible” (Utenberger 2001).

Several musicians, including Bob Dylan, were making politically relevant music

in the 1960s however, it was Ochs overtly edgy style that set him aside from his musical peers (Ellis 2008). Ochs had released music related to the Vietnam War previously however, ‘The War Is Over’ is deemed to have had the widest

impact. With his organisation of and participation in rallies, where propaganda

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alluding to the wars conclusion often caused passer-by’s to believe it to be the

case and join in with the celebrations. The hope was that this would have a profound impact on the members of the public who experienced this false

happiness, when they realised that the war was in-fact still on-going. Ochs hoped they would feel angry and starts asking the questions he was, of why

are we still fighting in this war (Buddy of Brooklyn 2015).

The Deer Hunter’ was received well for the most part by the public however the film also copped some heavy criticisms. One of the best documented is the

potential racism towards the Vietnamese. Throughout the film the Vietnamese characters are only shown as aggressors, in the capturers or as upper-middle-class citizens gambling with human lives. This was seen as derogatory and a

gross misrepresentation as throughout the Vietnam War it was in-fact the Americans who dealt disproportionate casualties to the Viet Cong with military

operations such as ‘Rolling Thunder’. Some felt that this was done in order to generate sympathy not only for the American characters in this film, but also

for the American Vietnam veterans. Other criticisms of the film included the over simplification of the politics of the war however, supporters of the film

argue that the Vietnam War was merely to serve as the backdrop and setting to the film rather than the ultimate focus and as such the politics of the war were

not a specific focus. The film was released three years after America’s withdrawal from the war which, some argue was done in order to reintroduce

the public to the idea of the war in a different way due to the general discontent with the country’s involvement. Particularly with the third act of the

film the objective was clearly not to glamorise war but to convey cinematically the impact that war can have on the ‘average’ American, which is what the

protagonists are portrayed to be (Chong 2005).

Analysis Through the two cultural texts under review it would appear the music and film

industries have different objectives when it comes to documenting the war. With Phil Ochs’ ‘The War is Over’ it is an act of defiance and public

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condemnation of the government's actions whereas the film industry as a

whole, and ‘The Deer Hunter’ in particular, tended to dramatise and victimise the American soldiers to create a narrative of sympathy regarding involvement.

There is a stark contrast in message between the two texts, however Ochs does still show sympathy for the American soldiers caught up in the conflict as

they are simply following their orders from the chain of command. This is conveyed through several lyrics such as “Trust your leaders, where mistakes

are never made” (Appendix A). Ochs is using sarcasm here to convey his lack

of faith in the commanders and government in charge of making military decisions. Ochs’ use of imagery is one his most powerful tools in terms of

connecting with the public about his views. Another example of Ochs’ sympathy actually comes with the very first line of his song, which reads

“Silent soldiers on a silver screen” (Appendix A). This is referring to the images

sent home of American troops during the war however, there is prospect that this is tying back into Ochs’ belief that soldiers don’t get a say in which battles they choose. The chorus “I declare the War is over” is a bold statement,

designed to empower people to make their own destiny and by making a

stand, especially with the organisation of rallies with hundreds of thousands of attendees, their message can no longer be ignored. This idea is further

reflected in reference to the protesters at the very rallies he would be singing this song at, through the lines “Angry artists paint angry signs” (Appendix A). In

‘The Deer Hunter’, especially throughout the final act of the film, the focus is the impact the war has had, with the remaining characters obviously

emotionally and physically impacted by their experiences in the Vietnam prisoner of war camp. This is to contrast the seeming boyish innocence of the

first act with Steven’s wedding to highlight that the men who have returned will never resume their previous lives (Chong 2005).

Conclusion

After initial widespread support by the American public for its involvement in the Vietnam War, opinions began to shift the longer the conflict continued

resulting in becoming a source of great controversy and embarrassment.

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With the war came a poignant subject matter for the creative arts industries to

focus on resulting in a wave of Vietnam related works. Phil Ochs, an anti-war political musician, released his song “The War is Over” several years before

this became fact, in order to express his condemnation of American forces

continued presence in the conflict. The sarcasm and imagery used was designed to have a profound impact on his audiences to encourage them to ask questions of why America was still participating in the War and he

managed this through the organisation of rallies throughout the 1960s. Michael Cimino’s film ‘The Deer Hunter’ was a surprising hit in the box office, with most

Vietnam War films failing to achieve widespread acknowledgement or success. The unconventionally long feature had an unusual narrative, in so far as it is

primarily set in America rather than Vietnam. The film was generally well received by the public however, it also had its fair share of critics claiming the

film was racist towards Vietnamese people due to Vietnam characters only appearing in the film as aggressors or taking part in highly unethical practices.

With the two cultural texts being analysed it is apparent that Phil Ochs’ song is a direct condemnation of the War and American involvement in it, whereas

Cimino’s ‘‘The Deer Hunter’ set out to create a narrative of sympathy for the American characters. Throughout the film the portrayal of Vietnamese violence

to the American’s is polar to the actual events of the war with major American operations such as ‘Rolling thunder’. It would appear from the comparison of

‘The War is Over’ and ‘The Deer Hunter’ the two texts held different objectives with the production of their media. Ochs sought to openly express feeling

through his music and spread his political message as far and wide as possible, whereas Cimino’s film appeared to attempt to garner a new sense of sympathy for the American involvement in the War and their end goal was to

be a successful movie rather than a message to spark change.

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Reference List

Adams, E. (2017) ‘Saigon excecution’ Eddie Adams 1968. [Online]. Available at: http://100photos.time.com/photos/eddie-adams-saigon-execution (Accessed: 1 December 2017).

Arnold, B. (1991) ‘War Music and the American Composer During the Vietnam Era’, The Musical Quarterly, 75 (3) [Online]. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/742053 (Accessed: 1 December 2017). 


Buddy From Brooklyn (2015) American Masters: There But For Fortune.

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxIxmvI-HHU (Accessed: 1 December 2017).

Chong, H, S, S. (2005) ‘Restaging the War: "The Deer Hunter" and the Primal

Scene of Violence’, Cinema Journal, 44 (2) [Online]. Available at: http://www.jstor.org.sae.idm.oclc.org/stable/3661096 (Accessed: 1 December

2017).

Ellis, I. (2008) Rebels Wit Attitude: Subversive Rock Humourists. [Online].

Available at: https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.sae.idm.oclc.org/lib/saemulti/reader.action?docID=478547&ppg=7

(Accessed: 1 December 2017).

Encyclopaedia Britannica (1998) Vietnam War 1954 - 1975. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War (Accessed: 27 November

2017).

Encyclopaedia Britannica (1998) Geneva Accords: History of Indochina.

Available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/Geneva-Accords (Accessed: 27 November 2017).

Encyclopaedia Britannica (1998) Indochina Wars: Asian History. Available at:

https://www.britannica.com/event/Indochina-wars (Accessed: 27 November

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2017).

Genius Lyrics (2015) Phil Ochs The War Is Over Lyrics. Available at:

https://genius.com/Phil-ochs-the-war-is-over-lyrics (Accessed 1 December

2017). Itunes (2007) Tape From California - Phil Ochs. Available at:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/tape-from-california/id254676626

Jones, T. (2004) A Radical Line From the Labor Movement to the Weather

Underground, One Family’s Century of Conscience. [Online]. Available at:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Z6tl7T6iI2IC&pg=PA138&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=phil%20ochs&f=false

Utenberger, R. (2001) Turn! Turn! Turn!: The 60s Rock-Folk Revolution.

[Online]. Available at: https://ebookcentral-proquest-

com.sae.idm.oclc.org/lib/saemulti/reader.action?docID=3544809&ppg=253 (Accessed: 27 November 2017).

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Appendix A

Phil Ochs – ‘The War Is Over’

Silent soldiers on a silver screen,

Framed in fantasies and dragged in dream,

Unpaid actors of the mystery, The mad director knows that

freedom will not make you free, And what’s this got to do with me,

I declare the war is over,

It’s over, it’s over, Drums are drizzling on a grain of

sand, Fading rhythms of a fading land,

Prove your courage in the proud parade,

Trust your leaders where mistakes are almost never made,

And they’re afraid that I’m afraid,

I’m afraid the war is over, It’s over, it’s over,

Angry artists painting angry signs,

Use their vision just to blind the blind,

Poisoned players of a grizzly game, One is guilty and the other gets the

point to blame, Pardon me if I refrain,

I declare the war is over, It’s over, it’s over,

So do your duty, boys, and join with

pride, Serve your country in her suicide,

Find a flag so you can wave goodbye,

But just before the end even treason might be worth a try, This country is too young to die,

I declare the war is over,

It’s over, it’s over,

One-legged veterans will greet the dawn,

And they’re whistling marches as they mow the lawn,

And the gargoyles only sit and grieve,

The gypsy fortune teller told me that we’d been deceived,

You only are what you believe,

I believe the war is over, It’s over, it’s over.

(Genius Lyrics, 2015

Appendix B

‘The Saigon Execution’

The picture above was taken by photographic journalist Eddie Adams on the 1st of February 1968 as North Vietnamese forces moved into South Vietnam

during the Tet Offensive. The man on the right with is hand bound was Nguyen Van Lem, the captain of a terror cell that was responsible for the deaths of

friends of Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan (man on left holding the gun). Adams believed General Loan was preparing to interrogate Lem when he

produced his .38 Caliber handgun and shot him in the head at point blank range. He told Adams in that situation if you hesitate then the men following

you will lose faith and respect in you as a leader (Adams, 2017).