The Vietnam War Essay - 1053 Words

What were the varying responses from the â€Å"Allied† troops subject to Vietnam? The responses from the allied troops were mainly of hatred for the very harsh yet beautiful environment and an ambiguous response to the Vietnamese people. It is understandable the grudge troops held against a gruesome environment shrouded with innumerable killings in an alien culture, but the brutal racial discrimination perpetrated by Americans was still very prejudicial. There were, however, acts of kindness and charity to Vietnamese, yet at the same time, these glimpses of humanity were overshadowed by the greater bloody conflict. The varying responses of the allies were clearly evident through well-known films, stories and writers. Vietnam’s ever†¦show more content†¦This stylistically surreal film (shot in the Philippines) depicts the beauty of Vietnam mixed with the madness of war. Coppola captures the relaxing white beaches with palm trees and rolling waves, just so he can jarringly contrast peaceful nature to the suffocating, death lurking everywhere. The scene of the GIs water skiing disrupting a passing peasant boat metaphorically shows that in fact the Americans are the out-of-control intruders. Claustrophobic alien jungle has become the hellish backdrop for the gruesome killing machinery of war as represented by the â€Å"insane† Colonel Walter E. Kurtz who constantly repeats the word, â€Å"horror,† as he has been blinded by the cruelty of war. In addition, this film is riddled with racial discrimination towards the Vietnamese with cruel comments such as, â€Å"We must kill them. We must incinerate them. Pig after pig. Cow after cow. Village after village. Army after army .† Also the stereotypes to Vietnamese as â€Å"slopes,† â€Å"gooks,† or, â€Å"fucking savages,† portrays the overall dehumanizing attitudes of the Americans developed in Vietnam. The merciless scene where the ‘grunts’ literally rip to shreds the Vietnamese peasants on a sampan also further shows total disregard or respect for Vietnamese as humans. The films most memorable scene of a swarm of attack helicopters riding out of an orange sunrise, with choppers loud speakers blaring out Wagners Ride of the Valkyries, shocks with the Americans careless disregard as a peaceful villageShow MoreRelatedThe War Of Vietnam And The Vietnam War1525 Words   |  7 PagesThe war in Vietnam is The United States and other capitalist bloc countries supported South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) against the support by the Soviet Union and other socialist bloc countries of North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and the Vietcong of war. Which occurred du ring the Cold War of Vietnam (main battlefield), Laos, and Cambodia. This is the biggest and longtime war in American history during the 1960s (Best 2008). 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