Hearts And Minds Reflection

HEARTS AND MINDS REFLECTION

Hearts and Minds is a 1974 documentary about the Vietnam war directed by Peter Davis. The film uses news coverage and journalistic film, along with clips from old movies and television shows to show the state of the nation at the time. The majority of the film shows the negative aspects of the war which were not as voiced to the American people as were the positive propaganda.

I did a little research on the film itself and found out that at its release date in 1974, Hearts and Minds was very controversial. For the most part there weren't too many people neutral on their opinions of our involvement in Vietnam. There were only a few at this time that presented the same viewpoint. This made Hearts and Minds a very

unique and powerful film. Today there have been many more war films and documentaries created but director Peter Davis’ hard-hitting style is still very effective. 42 years later, this film is still one of the best documentaries about the liberal reaction to the Vietnam War. Michael Moore calls the film the one movie that inspired him to become a filmmaker and calls it, “the best documentary he has ever seen”. Hearts and Minds won an Academy Award for Best Documentary of 1974. Co-producer, Bert Schneider, accepted the award and read a telegram saying “Greetings of Friendship to all American People.” It was from the Viet Cong delegation to the Paris Peace Accords. Later in the ceremony a disclaimer was presented by Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra saying “We are not responsible for any political references made on the program, and we are sorry that they had to take place this evening”.
Davis starts the film with bits and pieces from old World War II showing how public opinion was shaped through television. The United States left that war with the belief that they were top dog in our world. Davis then journeys into the history of Vietnam under the French. Davis interviews allies, soldiers, commanders, Viet Cong, and civilians all caught up in the war. The film is just about two full hours long and shows lots of aspects of the war, few of which favor the United States.
There were a few scenes that really struck me throughout the movie. The first was a scene involving General William Westmoreland. In an interview he argued that the Oriental doesn't value life like we, Westerners, do. He argues that for the “orient’s” life is plentiful and cheap. This scene really blew my mind. My initial reaction to his interview was, How can you make such a broad statement like that about a group of people? After thinking about it for a little longer, I cannot imagine how hard it would be to be put in a soldier's shoes. They probably have to rationalize their mass destruction in any way they can in order to stay sane. By telling themselves the people they are killing do not value life, it must make it easier to follow their orders and fight the war.

HOME BEFORE MORNING
Home Before Morning: The True Story of an Army Nurse in Vietnam was written by Lynda Van Danter in 1983.

It is a narrative account of both her yearlong Army tour of duty in Vietnam and her experiences with life after the war. She started the book in 1979 as a form of therapy, to try to get it out of her head. The book briefly talks about her 3 years she spent in nursing school and then dives into her experience in the army starting with her enlistment and tour. Her book is divided into 21 chapters and an epilogue, majorly focusing on her year in Vietnam.

The book begins with a little background on Van Devanter, explaining her family situation and why she chose to pursue a nursing career. She also discusses her reasons for enlisting in the army and choosing to go to Vietnam. She goes on to describe, in great detail, her year in Vietnam. It becomes quite obvious her opinion of the war shifts as the book goes on. The book ends with Van Devanter attempts to readjust into normal life after her Vietnam

experiences.
I really enjoyed this book because it gave a different perspective on the war than what I was used to in this class. The nurses in the war that we were exposed to always played small roles in films. We read and watched all about the soldiers, we were given accounts on civilians and even some Viet Cong, but never from the point of view of a nurse. The book is unique because it is not a military account of the war. There are very few references to specific battles which I also enjoyed. In all my history classes, I always mix up what happened at different battles. Van Devanter takes a much different route, presenting the reader with specific casualties in an attempt to give as accurate a picture as possible of life in the evacuation hospitals. The book provides letters sent to her family, as well as letters they sent to her. This was very interesting to me. What she was telling her parents about and what was actually going on was totally different. I can understand her trying to protect her parents from the brutal reality of the war. The book ends with the 13 years she spent after the war attempting to become a civilian and regain her old life, both professionally and personally.
I enjoyed reading this book for a number of reasons. I really liked the fact that it was written by a woman. I wrote one of my reflection papers on what life was like for the wives of war, but this book really pulled me in with insights of what life was like for an American woman nurse in Vietnam.

TOPIC OF MY OWN
One of my favorite aspects of this class was the couple of days we spent listening to music from the Vietnam Era.

I love exploring and finding new music. One of my favorite songs we covered was the song Traveling Soldier, by the Dixie Chicks. I love their music. They are a great band to blast in the car and to sing along to. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be a military wife during the Vietnam war. It must have been so terrible having to carry on with normal life while you know your husband/boyfriend/friend is off at war. Things were so much simpler at this time. I could easily paint the scene in my mind of a soldier walking into a little diner and meeting this girl. He mentions he has nobody to write to, so he asks if it would be okay if he writes to her. They fall in love and as the war goes on the letters keep coming. This goes on until he passes away. They mention his name at a football game and life goes on. People don't really think about the stories like this. The “nobodies” of the war. The innocent people that lost their lives for no good reason. I really feel for the girl in the

song.