Difference between revisions of "329--Week 13 Questions/Comments"
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I really liked ''A Rumor of War''. I thought Caputo’s discussion of nostalgia offered a new perspective on why the Vietnam conflict was so complicated for Vietnam veterans. Whether veterans supported or protested the war, their time in Vietnam was the most formative experience of their lives. Caputo said his objections to Vietnam were informed by a completely different set of circumstances than that of the homefront protesters- war. “Because I had fought in it, it was not an abstract issue, but a deeply emotional experience, the most significant thing that had happened to me.” I think this is the very sentiment that everyone ought to keep in mind when discussing the Vietnam conflict (and really any hot-button issue). Regardless of where people fall on the issue of Vietnam, everyone’s ''opinion'' is valid. Too often one side accuses the other side of “not getting it” or that “they’re wrong”, but this accusation misses the point. With an issue as personal and emotional as war, there is no right or wrong, just a poignant internalization of a provocative reality.- Jason Ward | I really liked ''A Rumor of War''. I thought Caputo’s discussion of nostalgia offered a new perspective on why the Vietnam conflict was so complicated for Vietnam veterans. Whether veterans supported or protested the war, their time in Vietnam was the most formative experience of their lives. Caputo said his objections to Vietnam were informed by a completely different set of circumstances than that of the homefront protesters- war. “Because I had fought in it, it was not an abstract issue, but a deeply emotional experience, the most significant thing that had happened to me.” I think this is the very sentiment that everyone ought to keep in mind when discussing the Vietnam conflict (and really any hot-button issue). Regardless of where people fall on the issue of Vietnam, everyone’s ''opinion'' is valid. Too often one side accuses the other side of “not getting it” or that “they’re wrong”, but this accusation misses the point. With an issue as personal and emotional as war, there is no right or wrong, just a poignant internalization of a provocative reality.- Jason Ward | ||
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| + | "In spite of everything, we felt a strange attachment to Vietnam and, even stranger, a longing to return." These words from ''A Rumor of War'' is closely related to Tom Cruise's character. He joins the war initially b/c he finds the thought of combat "attractive" (a term used by this reading). Upon his return, he encounters a brother who has gained liberal thoughts on the war, but Tom Cruise struggles to understand this opposition because of his nostalgia. Furthermore, the reading explains that the overall mission in Vietnam was not to gain position or territory, but to simply "kill communists." These are very powerful words and something Oliver Stone was able to depict well in the movie. - David F. | ||
== 3 Movie as primary source about makers/time/setting/genre == | == 3 Movie as primary source about makers/time/setting/genre == | ||
