CAPS #2 Good Morning, Vietnam

An interesting culture in history is that of the Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. "Good Morning, Vietnam" is a movie staring Robin Williams as a Radio personality in Vietnam during the war. Throughout the film he is discovers the Vietnamese culture first hand. An important aspect of this film is how it shows the interaction between the locals and the American soldiers. The American culture and Vietnamese culture have little in common and this comes to light during the film. The interpretive approach focuses on human behavior. I will be focusing on how the different people act in Vietnam as portrayed by this film. (Martin and Nakayama 2012)

The first aspect I will discuss is the reaction of American soldier to their new environment in Vietnam. In this scene Adrian is doing a broadcast for the American military radio station. He is playing the roll of two people, himself as the radio host and a listener that is calling in to talk to him. Adrian asks him about the weather and the caller then starts to go off on how hot it is. The Vietnamese would not think much of how hot it is but an American is likely not to be accustom to the heat in Vietnam. This helps us understand the experience of soldiers adjusting to life in this foreign country.

 This next clip is a montage done to Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World. During the montage we see both the Americans and Vietnamese going about their daily lives during the war. We see people working in rice fields while an area near by is being bombed by the soldiers. We see protests going on while the Americans try to keep the protest quiet by force. I feel this part of the movie helps explain how the Vietnamese must feel about the American presence in their country. The Vietnamese are mistreated all while Louis Armstrong sings "What a Wonderful World."

Throughout the film Adrian becomes more aware of what his country is doing to the people in Vietnam and begins to disagree with many major decisions made by the military. When he is nearly blown up by a bomb while he is at bar, and is saved by a local, he immediately goes to the radio station for his show. He takes the news clip and is told it is not official news and he can not report it on the radio. He makes it clear he was there and he personally knows the story is true. Then he proceeds to not follow his official orders and talks about the event while on the air. When he does this he knows what the punishment will be for doing so yet does it anyway. At this point in the film we can see how Adrian as developed as a person and has become more aware of the current Vietnamese condition. Through his communication with the masses via radio, Adrian brings to light what is really happening in Vietnam instead of painting a censored reality he is typically ordered to report. He announces his respect for the Vietnamese people and culture at this moment.

Throughout this film we see Adrian interpreting the cultures he is being submersed in. He is building a subject opinion of what America is really doing in Vietnam and acts on it in the way he feels is right. This entire film is rich in intercultural interactions with two polar cultures being forced to interact in daily life. We see how innocent civilians are negatively impacted by rash decisions made by the American military occupying their country. We then see how one man is able to relate himself to the culture he has become surrounded by. By the end of the film, he begins a fight for the local culture.

Works Cited

Good Morning Vietnam- Its Damn Hot!.mov [Video file]. (2011, July 18). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpktBGInl60

Good Morning, Vietnam - Censorship [Video file]. (2009, Oct 18). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UY2uw3yoIA

Good Morning Vietnam-Scene with song What A Wonderful World [Video file]. (2008, Feb 9). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFlrAfKGQuU

Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2012). Intercultural communication in contexts (6th

ed). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.