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“I went from angry to sad to compassionate and back to angry,” claimed one student after Thursday night’s showing of “Hearts and Minds,” a 1974 Academy Award-winning documentary film delving into the tragedies of the Vietnam War.
“Hearts and Minds,” a controversial film in its time, consists of a rich compilation of various interviews and footage reflecting on a gamut of topics including racial attitudes, propagandistic falsification, political corruption, psychological effects, violence and war in general. It creates a startling, persuasive and highly sympathetic portrait of the war that exposes some of the unimaginable circumstances surrounding it in a vision unique from the facade of the media.
For example, numerous graphic, shockingly grotesque scenes of cruelty involving the mutilation of children, the destruction of families, and the frequent antipathy of soldiers awaken many truths about war only forcibly denied before. In one potent scene, General Westmoreland expresses his blatant prejudice towards the Vietnamese in an interview, stating that in their barbaric culture, the Vietnamese place a small value on life, thus making the war, for them, quite inconsequential.
The film, as the traditional first event in the Maine Peace Action Committee’s annual film series, attracted about twenty people who remained for an intense discussion afterwards, facilitated by philosophy professor Douglas Allen and veteran Jim Flick, editor of the Maine Alumni Magazine.
Following the film, Allen and Flick shared their experiences concerning the war, Allen with the peace movement in America and Flick with fighting in the war itself. They facilitated a passionate discussion, which, in most cases, made distinct comparisons to the war in Iraq. Many people expressed, however, their belief in a despairing difference between them – during the Vietnam War, Americans held on to their ideals of democracy and national humanitarianism, only to be subsumed by present day apathy and cynicism.
According to Allen, “Hearts and Minds” “raises important issues” that are “so relevant for today.” Since the movie’s release, MPAC has traditionally viewed the film as the first event in their yearly sequence, historically drawing in a range of audience members from war veterans to mothers to children whose fathers have served. For Allen, “Hearts and Minds” contains some universal quality that remains exceedingly pertinent and thought provoking for each subsequent generation.
While Allen was somewhat disappointed with the turnout this year, he looks forward to the next film of MPAC’s series, “The Torture Question,” showing on Feb. 1, a critical examination of the United States’ aggressive interrogation policies after Sept. 11, which have led to prisoner abuse in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and Iraq. The event will take place at 7 p.m. in Room 140 of Little Hall.
Bangor Daily News