Maya Lin

In comparison to Fog of War, I found Maya Lin to be more interesting. I guess Maya Lin was more effective to me because her interviews were taken in a more casual, normal setting instead of a gray room with the background all weird and tilted. Her interviews were also taken at different times so you could see how much she had changed and how much she stayed the same. The use of actual footage of the press conferences and televised interview were also effective in that you know what you were seeing was real.

Another thing I noticed about the location of the interviews were those of the two war veterans and the jury chairman. The veterans were interviewed in offices while the jury chairman was interviewed in what looked like to be a home. This surprised me because I would've expected that it would be the other way around. When I think of a war veteran, I think of people like the men shown in Hearts and Minds. These men were interviewed in casual settings but these two veterans in Maya Lin were in offices. I forget sometimes that veterans in general are more than just former soldiers - they are also men in the workforce. I guess I just had that image of a war veteran sitting on his house porch reminiscing about Vietnam.

Rhetorically speaking, I found it interesting that the director chose to show Lin's perspective and description of her background and upbringing during the second half of the documentary. It was different than the chronological structure that I think others would've done. When the issue of her nationality and ethnic background was brought up at the first half, I wondered myself if Lin was Vietnamese or Chinese. My curiosity wasn't satisfied until she said she was Chinese but that wasn't until much later.

I was very impressed with Lin's work and passion for art. I admire her for her artistic gift and how she views the environment and uses this to create beautiful structures. The Civil Rights memorial to me was especially creative and powerful and I liked how water was used to connect to Martin Luther King Jr.'s quote.

When I was 16, I attended a health care conference in Washington, D.C. and actually visited the Vietnam memorial. I really didn't appreciate the memorial like I should have, but I feel this was due to my lack of knowledge about the Vietnam war. I did not know what the memorial meant and what it stood for. Now after learning about the war and watching this documentary, I appreciate all the work and hardship that Maya Lin went through.