Thinking Before Speaking

Working in groups for class assignments is not always easy… working together as an entire class is not any easier.

Thus far, I have found our video essay to be a unique, and at times frustrating, process while I have never collaborated with this many people before on one project. Not only is the number an overwhelming factor but the variety of majors, backgrounds and ages has also been a challenge. Don’t get me wrong- I definitely appreciate the diversity of opinion. If everyone had the same perspective on what to create, we would more than likely produce something of a mundane nature. Though sometimes during class discussions, I feel as if we are simply running around in circles without ever getting to our destination.

I think that if people could communicate their thoughts in a less repetitive and concise way, we would get things done much more efficiently. I have found from personal experience that group members are much more productive when they focus on one thing- in this case, each of our roles we have been assigned- and less on random thoughts about the entire project. Feedback is good though I think since we are on a time constraint, it would be most effective if people really thought about their ideas before voicing them to the entire class.

Frontline Video

After watching the two Frontline videos on Bush and Obama’s war, I feel like our own video essay could be structured in a similar way. One thing I noticed initially that could help the production of our own film is that even though each of the episodes addressed the president and the actions that they took in response to war, there was not a sole focus given to their character or story alone. Similar to our thesis, we will not be only addressing the issues in Vietnam but rather using them as evidence to support our overall argument on the textbook controversy.

I also noted that there was a variety of video footage, pictures, interviews and commentary throughout the film to really give viewers a full and unbiased perspective of how each war progressed. In regards to this, I think that we could also consider including more than just interviews and John Stewart-like clippings to argue our point. Even still shots with corresponding music or voiceovers in the background would be an effective way to reach our audience.

Since our topics are obviously being interpreted in a different way where we are taking a more satirical approach, I think that we need to make our interviews a little more light-hearted yet hard-hitting at the same time. At times in the frontline videos i felt like there was a little too much evidence provided in terms of information and details; since we are making this video with different motives, we need to consider keeping things consistent with out message and audience to have the most impact.

Behind the Scenes at the HRC

If you’re curious about some of the key elements necessary for producing a successful film, the Harry Random Center is definitely the place to go. While walking visitors through a visually enticing exhibit, the museum provides everything from descriptions of key roles to actual costumes, scripts and pictures from award-winning cinema. I was astonished by the amount of work that actually goes in to making these films and was interested to see how our classes project may use the information provided to our benefit.

The Deer Hunter Exhibit was one example of the preparation that goes in to preparing roles for movies. Robert Deniro, who played a soldier in the Vietnam film, did extensive research in his efforts to really embody the character by which he was cast. In order to focus closely on his particular role, he looked at first hand accounts and kept a notebook with notes about the story and the character. Additionally, he carried photos of men from the Viet Cong Prison with him to provide inspiration and direction in becoming his character. Even though not all of us will be playing an actor role in our particular class project, I think his dedication to the film should serve as a model of how to portray our thesis and evidence as authentically as possible.

Some of the other roles included in addition to the actor in the museum were music, editing, cinematography, producing, directing and costume design, many of which are assigned to individuals in the class. As a sociologist, I did not see one section dedicated to my role solely though obtained a lot of good information from some of the others on how to best carry out my position. Overall, Hannah and I as interviewers should focus on asking questions to best reflect our ideas as a class and provide solid evidence to our beliefs on Vietnam in history textbooks. Hopefully, as they did in Hearts and Minds, these interviews can offer a degree of credibility to our argument that couldn’t be obtained otherwise.

Imagine this... Up, Simba

Long-winded author George Wallace effectively uses a unique tone and imagery to reach his audience of young, politically involved, Rolling Stone readers in his article, Up, Simba.

As someone who for the most part fits this demographic, I firstly felt his tone pulled me in by using sarcasm. In a generation where instant gratification is often necessary, humor for me is a completely effective way of grabbing attention and communicating a message. In using quotations around things that McCain said, for instance, he emphasizes that he in fact would never take a similar stance. “…it’s what makes McCain’s ‘causes greater than self-interest’ thing easier to swallow.” He implies that he doesn’t fully agree with what the politician is claiming without having to state it directly, which makes him appear more credible in taking a political stance on the situation. I think that for an audience of younger readers, we don’t like to be forced in to thinking a certain way; therefore, Wallace’s tactic here is effective in letting us interpret his ideas and opinions as we choose.

Also, his use of a personal, relaxed tone was successful while I felt like he was speaking directly to me. He didn’t resort to using any fluff to conceal what he was saying but rather communicated it how he saw it. By using things like slang, incomplete sentences and hypothetical questions, an audience would feel more comfortable reading opinions on a highly controversial topic. It doesn’t feel like we’re being forced to read a traditional print textbook but rather something that is relevant and applicable to our own generation and personal lives.

I lastly found his very descriptive imagery to be successful in making the reader envision his exact situation in order to get a better feel for his argument. He will often ask us to “imagine this,” or “try for a moment to feel this,” and follow it up with something that he himself experienced or witnessed. Even though I wouldn’t have initially agreed with all of his claims at first glance, this technique put me at a place where I could see from his own eyes and ultimately sympathize with his case.

Retracing history

Talk about taking a real walk through history. Providing a physical
timeline from the start of LBJ’s life through the end of his
presidency, the LBJ museum is an accurate and thorough reflection of an epic time in America’s past.

Since we all had the opportunity to see the exhibit for ourselves,
I’ll avoid giving an in-depth recap; though, I would like to point out
a few things that made it captivating for me personally. Firstly, the
setup of the timeline makes it so anyone over the age of 10 could
comprehend and follow the president’s life regardless of previous
knowledge. With clear signs and photos that indicate the years, the
many components of LBJ’s life that are covered appear to transition
smoothly from one to the next.

We also have the opportunity to witness snapshots from not only just
his life but also the era that surrounded it. This helped bring that
time in history to life with evidence such as background music,
original clothing, LBJ’s car, various newspapers, etc. An audience
will feel as if they are actually being transported back in time with
life-size statues and audio recordings that accurately reflect what
someone who was living during that time witnessed. Especially for a
generation that is often unaware of any of these happenings, it is
helpful to have tangible facts in the memorable forms like pictures
and displays to really put us in the right mindset.

Overall, I left the museum feeling like I gained understanding of much
more than just LBJ’s life. Reflecting back on the many images it
provided, the museum truly put much of the texts and films we have
been analyzing from class in to perspective.

A Strong Clear Vision… Literally

After watching both Hearts and Minds and Fog of War, I was anxious to crack open the Netflix envelope and see what Maya Lin had in store. I’ll admit I have never usually been an avid documentary fan, though the assignments in this class have exposed me to a unique take on images and events that are ordinarily portrayed by actors. I have been able to stray from any “history is boring” stereotypes by seeing Vietnam illustrated in a creative and eye-opening manner. Espe

Unfortunately, Maya Lin strayed from my high expectations. I was taken back to the days in high school when your teacher resorted to playing a VCR-recorded History Channel documentary after a test during which classmates either doodled, did homework or slept. Not to say that the material wasn’t respectable, but the way it was filmed was quite literally a strong, clear vision of Maya Lin’s story… and nothing else.

The story progressed as a conventional documentary would, gluing interviews in between narrated scene shots. We were given the timeline exactly as it occurred: Maya Lin entering contest, winning contest, and moving forward to future endeavors. Although there was a slightly unpredictable time in which people opposed her piece getting selected for the memorial, there wasn’t enough emotion for me personally to truly feel the significance of the film-especially having visited the life-changing structure myself.

Perhaps there were different motives with this film. Maybe filmmaker, Freida Lee Mock, wanted it to be a simple reflection of the story without any potentially interpretive elements.For me personally though, there could have been more passion involved to portray such an important monument displaying such a memorable time in history.

Learning from our Mistakes

“Fog of War” is a documentary unlike many. After watching Hearts and Minds most recently, which also looked at our presence in Vietnam during the Cold War, I was whole-heartedly expecting to be confronted with juxtaposed clippings and an overall bias perspective.

Director Errol Morris takes a different approach to portraying America’s involvement in arguably one of its biggest failures. Using Secretary of the Defense Robert MacNamera as the primary interview for the entire film, we are instead shown that failure is not even the issue at hand; this has already been established. Instead, we are encouraged to “try to learn and understand what happened” during this controversial era, given eleven rules as guidance throughout. Ranging from Rule #1-Empathize with your enemy to Rule #11-You Can’t Change Human Nature, the documentary made me feel as if I was receiving real, genuine advice from perhaps one of the most qualified people to do so. MacNamera’s interview was even recorded in such a way where he appears to be speaking directly to the audience. There is no question of his motives or what is trying to be portrayed; rather, we are made to feel like this is the truth, even as something that most chose to avoid or make excuses for.

Failure is something our country does not like to admit to, which is perhaps why the Vietnam War is rarely capitalized on as a major event in history. "Fog of War," in my opinion, does an excellent job of reexamining our past mistakes as a country and then looking to gain acceptance and understanding to be able to ultimately benefit. In one of his most honest statements, MacNamera provides that "The conventional wisdom is: don't make the same mistake twice. Learn from your mistakes. And we all do. Maybe we make the mistake three times, but hopefully not four of five."

Vietnam through a different lens

In creating a memorable video that reflects both us as rhetoricians as well as our knowledge of Vietnam, I believe that our class should present the war in a way that people have not seen before. With the variety of films, documentaries and texts we will have learned by the second half of the semester, I feel we have enough evidence to be able to create a convincing yet original argument.

Additionally, I think our age would serve as a unique factor in the video while offering our own personal perspectives on an era we were not apart of. We could portray the war in terms of what it means to us and potentially make connections between Vietnam and the current war in the Middle East. We could consider similarities and differences among the two time periods and draw conclusions from certain points we find interesting. This would result in not only an interesting video for the public but also in something beneficial to our lives specifically by looking at Vietnam on a more personal level.

Giving thought to Hearts and Minds

With live footage that mirrors horror scenes from Platoon and intimate interviews that question America’s war motives, Hearts and Minds is an eye-opening documentary that explores a controversial time in American history.

Directed by Peter Davis in 1974, the film digs deep in to the many issues of Vietnam and the people who took part at both the home front and abroad. It portrays thoughts and feelings about the era in an honest and raw manner, giving viewers an insight that feels more truthful than what has been created in Hollywood. In showing two completely opposed views, we are exposed to those who attempted to justify our involvement with the opinion that there is “no one else who can do the job.” Davis capitalizes on the country’s ignorance to the criminality of the war through various politicians, uninformed citizens and what George Patton calls a “bloody good bunch of killers.” With scenes of dead bodies, naked children and demolished villages, we as viewers are undeniably forced to question the truth of our motives in going over seas. By showing our own men’s excitement in blowing things up and claiming victory as “our #1 ambition,” one cant help but to side with the left-winged liberals at the time who doubted our involvement.

What exactly was the war about? We are constantly asked to question our previous knowledge throughout the film and consider these new ideas in a creative way that compares warfare to football games. As a film director, Davis' choice of various people, places and events are startling to a culture that often prefers to ignore the truth.

"WE got the sniper!"

“We got the sniper!” Animal Mother proudly shouts over the crackling fire in the last scene of Full Metal Jacket.

The scene begins in a burning building where Joker is targeted by the hiding enemy sniper. Just nearly avoiding a bullet, Animal Mother steps in and begins firing his machine gun at the unexpected girl before Joker has a chance to react. This portion of the scene was expected for me while the character is almost begging to shoot his gun throughout his entire presence throughout the film. Joker looks astonished, a significant indicator of his role in Vietnam. I think for most soldiers this look portrayed is almost unrealistic for the amount of time they had already been in war.

When the other men enter, Animal Mother instantly takes the credit as he proudly calls himself a “life taker.” Meanwhile, the severely wounded sniper mumbles inaudible words in pain. At this time, all the men reveal an emotion of vulnerability and sadness that has been touched upon little throughout the movie thus far. Even Animal Mother at this brief moment before expressing his hatred for the girl looks regretful to an extent.

What I found most significant in the following moments is that Joker is the one who ultimately takes the life of the sniper. Even though Animal Mother has been built up to be the savage killer, the character who until this point has played the comedic relief is the one who takes the initiative. I believe Animal Mother was encouraging of this action due to his true internal feelings of sorrow for the Vietnamese girl. By forcing Joker to perform the death, he is ridding his conscience of one less casualty and putting it on Joker’s clean slate.

Overall, this ending scene did a good job encompassing the confusion and apprehension many men felt during the Vietnam war through arguably the two most opposite characters in the movie.

Realities of War, as told by Hollywood

Full Metal Jacket and Platoon are different though both effectively telling films that provide unique insight in to the Vietnam War.

Full Metal Jacket seemingly gives less focus to the actually battle time itself and more to the initial training of soldiers beforehand. We are able to see how the men grow over the course of their Marine Corps boot camp and gain knowledge of their feelings before being sent off to Vietnam. It was interesting to see how demeaning Sgt. Hartman is and how it psychologically affects each of them differently until his own climactic death. Once over in Vietnam, we are introduced to a new, colorful set of characters that bring a comedic aspect to significantly lighten the mood. Though this slightly distracts from the credibility of the movie as a war portrayal, it keeps things entertaining amongst what would typically be a solemn plot. Joker still plays a key role but I was still curious of the whereabouts of some of the characters introduced in the first half.

Although Stanley Kubrick makes an attempt at character development with several of the soldiers, I found that I followed Charlie Taylor’s journey in Platoon better than those in Full Metal Jacket. The film exposes more realistically horrifying situations in Vietnam, perhaps due to the fact that it’s director, Oliver Stone, is a veteran of the war himself. There are scenes such as the rape and murder of Sgt. Barnes that were questionably gruesome but ultimately, it had greater impact on a viewer like myself who is not as familiar with the true conditions of war. The rugged violence had me squinting my eyes almost every other scene but really educated me on what life was like from a soldier’s perspective during that time.

Purpose for RHE 309K

As a senior PR major, the importance of writing has been emphasized in almost every upper division class I have taken over the past three and a half years. Not only does it provide a way to thoughtfully craft opinions and ideas but it also serves as a key outlet to demonstrate intelligence in what is currently a very competitive job industry. For this reason, writing will remain an essential skill regardless of a student's degree or future career aspirations.

I am taking this class because I believe that there is always room for improvement in the area of writing. I see it as an opportunity to address certain strengths and weaknesses I have identified for myself as a writer and work to improve those areas over the course of the semester. Additionally, I am looking forward to learning about an important time period in a way that I haven’t previously done so before.