Reflectons in the Times of Vietnam

A detailed Summary of Reflectons in the Times of Vietnam

The time is spring, the year is 1961 and president Kennedy has sent 400 special forces into South Vietnam. This was the start of a new era in United States history as well as the beginning of a literary revolution. A time when books had powerful views, and songs were of peace or of governmental corruption, and plays or movies were about gruesome wars in strange jungles. This was a time to express reality in words. Then came the press. All of the governments' secrets and lies were exposed. "Only a free and understanding press can effectively expose deception in government." [Justice Hugo L. Black 1] on the release of The Pentagon Papers. The people were torn. Some wanted to know, and some liked their own worlds of denial. Still even today there are people who say that we never entered into the Vietnamese conflict. Others are living proof, walking aftershocks in the form of P.O.W's and victims of the chemical agent orange. All of these people were changed forever. People who wake up in fear due to flashbacks of seeing their friend shot and killed two feet away from them. This is Vietnam, and these are reflections of the times.

One of the most influenced areas of literature

is drama. Movies that show portrayals of the conflict in Vietnam flood the box offices. For instance 1995's Dead Presidents depicts the gruesome truths of the war. All the drugs and deaths are shown in raw, uncensored reality. This movie paints a picture of how people were turned into killers, boys fresh out of high school forced to kill or die. This is as dark as it gets in American history. Another look at Vietnam is Winston Groom's movie Forest Gump (1994). It illustrates how many people entered the army thinking that it was all fun and games. They come to realize that it is much more than that. The characters are shown spending their days cleaning out foxholes and roaming through the fierce jungle. Also demonstrated in this movie are the aftershocks of war. There are hospitals filled with people wounded by bombs and tree snipers. The captain in the movie, who is also Forest's friend, is transformed into a vagrant alcoholic after losing his legs in an ambush. It is not as intense but still true to form. Some movies that would not usually be considered literature are in fact some of the most powerful insights into the brutality of war.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Forest Gump, Spring Field, Pentagon Papers, Khe Shan, Combat Zone, South Vietnam, Vietnamese War, Dead Presidents, O'Brien O'Brien, Times Vietnam, anti-war movement, literary revolution, people entered, bruce weigl, american history, reflections times,

Approximate Word count = 1040
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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