Last Days in Vietnam
Last Days in Vietnam combines two films into one that took place about 40 years ago and tells the vivid tale of Americans' muddled departure from South Vietnam when communist forces closed in on Saigon. The other film is a related tale that has been reflected by knowledge of possible similarities between yesterday's catastrophe and current US withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan. However, many Americans are taken aback by the films because they are unfamiliar with the plot, especially among younger audiences. The goal of this paper is to describe the central problem and clarify how it applies to international relations. The article also intends to identify the importance of the events to various states as well as how the documentary displays the central characters and pointing out the personal views of the circumstances and individuals in the film.
Central Problem and how it relates to International Relations
Courage and humanity are the central themes in the documentary as it demonstrated the final days and hours in Saigon when many American operatives including the still present soldiers and South Vietnamese were attempting to escape from the North Vietnamese Army that was advancing towards them (Kennedy). The author illuminates the human and humane responses to the situation that have been lost to history. Kennedy successfully plunges back into the years that followed the 1973 peace accord when close to 6,000 military advisers from the United States were still in South Vietnam (Kennedy). The condition of the agreement was that America will always come to the aid of its allies in the event of intrusion from the north. Americans were left on the ground with Ambassador Graham acting like a gentleman who felt honor and had come to feel a strong allegiance to the South Vietnamese people. The Ambassador had held firm against evacuation, but the military came up with a strategy to secretly evacuate their South Vietnamese allies and their families out of the country by the use of boats and planes (Kennedy).
The 1973 peace treaty signifies international standards and mechanisms that have been put in place as legal venture and implementation that has always been dominated by foreign relations (Kennedy). It is clear that the Americans were tired of the Vietnam War that had separated the nation into two opposing factions and they just wanted to come up with a solution as a gesture to demonstrate better relations with their allies. The Paris Peace accord that had been signed by the administration of President Nixon that brought the Vietnam to an end is also a demonstration of how the documentary plays a critical role in administering the power of international relations (Kennedy).
Importance of the Events
Just like highlighted in the theme of the documentary, humanity refers to the act of caring and helping others wherever and whenever possible (Kennedy). Tolerance means assisting others at the time of need and forgetting selfish interests occasionally. The American officials were tasked with plans to evacuate the people that were on their side but delayed the plans until the 11th hour according to Ms. Kennedy (Kennedy). There were thousands of Vietnamese who had faithfully aided the American grounds and the South Vietnamese were in imminent danger. Fortunate enough, the Americans were able to offer airlifts that brought thousands of people from the embassy to American ships that were having military personnel, journalists and embassy guards (Kennedy). Such events are essential to the Southern people of Vietnam as it is the state that the evacuation and other activities took place. The functions in the documentary are necessary to the international community and the neighboring countries as they demonstrate the importance of having allies that can rise to occasion such as the United States deed to save the lives of Vietnamese citizens and American workers who were living in the embassy (Kennedy).
Portrayal of Central characters
The central characters are presented in a positive light as they are all obliged to save lives especially for those who were oppressed in the side of the South Vietnam (Doherty 968). The first character presented with a positive light is President Nixon. He negotiated the Paris Peace Accords that brought the torturous Vietnam to a superficial end. The north and South Vietnam were thought to continue as two distinct states just like North Korea and South Korea. Similarly, the right deeds by the President are tainted as he is later deposed by the Watergate scandal and this acted as an opener for the North Vietnam as they started pouring their troops across the north. Ford is also portrayed in the positive light when he tried to persuade the Congress to vote $ 700, million to assist their former partners in the final agony of Vietnam according to Kissinger (Doherty 969). The only character that is presented in the negative light is the American Ambassador because he refused to plan an exit strategy believing that the Southern Vietnam will survive the wrath of the northerners. The citizens and the countries are portrayed in the negative light as they perceived as worshipers of war and desperate individuals that cannot make peace on their own (Doherty 970).
View on the Individuals and Events Depicted in the Documentary
The events depicted in the documentary are fascinating in that they display courageous acts of individuals who had their country at heart. They acted against all the odds to ensure that innocent people did not perish in the hands of Vietnamese from the north. The events in the documentary humanize the circumstances that may seemingly be seen as fictional in textbooks and reports (Cheshire). I like the film because it is one of a few stories that have a happy ending. Despite the brutality and repression that the victors went through the story has a lot that international communities and countries should learn from. The film also touches on the importance of social relations with the relationship between the Southern Vietnam and the United States as a good example (Cheshire). The film has changed my perception on humanity because one needs not to reason their reasoning on individuality. Through understanding and courage, it gives humans potential as a species and not as individual just like the feeling demonstrates.
Works Cited
Cheshire, Godfrey. “Last Days in Vietnam Movie Review (2014) | Roger Ebert.” Movie Reviews and Ratings by Film Critic Roger Ebert | Roger Ebert, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/last-days-in-vietnam-2014.
Doherty, Thomas, ed. “Last Days in Vietnam.” (2015): 968-970.
Kennedy, Rory. “Last Days in Vietnam.” Last Days in Vietnam, 2016, lastdaysinvietnam.com/the-film.php. Accessed 4 Nov. 2017.
