Third Edition Spring 2013 - Institute of East Asian Studies, UC ...

namese photographers, only those that shared the cultural wartimepurposes of the National Liberation Front were widely circulated.Constructed Cultural Memory during the WarThe communist cultural message is characterized by are-written past that reflected a heroic narrative and ultimately triumphantstruggle against foreign domination, while inscribing thefuture as a vision of communist utopia achieved through the inexorableworkings of History, Marxist style. 10 Images circulated typicallycaptured enthusiastic soldiers, crowds of joyous people (toconvey popular support), and moments of victory. These messagesare encapsulated in the subjects and circulations of what have nowbecome iconic photos taken by Vietnamese photographers. Themost widely circulated photo is that which captured the shootingdown of an American F-105D during a raid on Hanoi. Another famousphotograph is that of a young woman carrying a rifle whileescorting a captured American pilot. Another is of a group of youngsoldiers smiling and an image capturing Northern Vietnameseforces towering over enemy corpses to solidify an image victory.Constructed Cultural Memory of the War TodayToday the Vietnam War is portrayed in a different, but veryfamiliar way. Contrary to the graphically violent photographs thatin the United States narrate the history of the war as a moral andpolitical failure, images displayed in Vietnamese museums depictthe virtues, hopes, labors, and triumphs of the revolution to producea narrative of progressive and total victory. 11 Images typically10 Tai, Hue-Tam Ho. The Country of Memory: Remaking the past in Late SocialistVietnam. Berkeley: University of California, 2001.11 Schwenkel, Christina. Exhibiting War, Reconciling Pasts: Photographic Representationand Transnational Commemoration in Contemporary Vietnam. Journal ofVietnamese Studies 3.1, 2008.contain “themes of joy, play, enthusiasm and even love. Images inVietnamese museums regularly show acts of labor and preparationfor war, providing a visual testimony to Vietnam’s historical andheroic ‘spirit of resistance to foreign aggression in action.’ 12 Furthermore,Schwenkel emphasizes how these images re-inscribethe centrality of discourses of unity and solidarity to the war effort,as evident in photographs taken during or immediately after combatthat foreground action and victory rather than casualties. Evenwhen injured troops are present, the emphasis is on camaraderie(such as tending to their wounds) rather than on their pain andsuffering . 13Evidence of Constructed Cultural MemoryAs previously stated, American War photography served toconstruct a culture memory that starkly contrasts with that of theVietnamese. The memory is one of a moral and political failure. Famousphotographs that helped to sway American public opinionwere aimed at capturing the unnecessary suffering of the AmericanGI and the atrocities that occurred during the war. The Vietnamesegovernment has taken these famous photos from Western cultureand re-written their meanings to serve their interests. The Ministryof Culture takes this action because there are “political-ideologicalmotivations for utilizing photography insofar as the state regularlyinvokes memories of war through images to commemorate andkeep the spirit of the revolution alive, as well as to teach the youthabout the past, (so that) there is political interest in emphasizingvictorious achievements and collective acts of solidarity.” 14Gimblette’s process of cultural production and Schwenkel’snotes about the significance of utilizing photography as a politicaltool is exemplified by the book Vietnamese Photography in the20th Century. The book, released by Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture,features over 2,000 photos that are “closely linked to Vietnam12 Ibid1314 Ibid31 Mark Portillo Constructing “Culture” 32