The Vietnam War was one of the most controversial wars in American history. A war fought between the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its ally, the United States, The Vietnam War was heavily protested for being an unjust war fought by unwilling troops for a morally ambiguous principle. Particularly, many of the soldiers drafted into this warfare were men who fought for a cause that they did not believe in. These soldiers experienced psychological trauma and emerged from the war feeling broken. In The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, this documentary provides more insight into this war by presenting multiple perspectives from a variety of witnesses, such as Americans who fought in and opposed the war, as well as Vietnamese soldiers and civilians. This film also analyzes the aftermath of the battle, and most importantly, the inner struggles that the Vietnam veterans were left to deal with.
Figure 1. The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, (01:16:13) scene, Florentine Films. 2017.
The soldiers that came home from the war came back as different people. Not only did the war inflict physical pain, but also psychological trauma. Most of the combatants from the Vietnam War were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which the film’s narrator harrowingly describes it, “as old as the war itself” in Figure 1. In the documentary, Karl Marlantes, a United States Marine, describes his experience. “I remember I was with one of my daughters, at an intersection and some guy came up behind me and blasted the horn. When I came to my senses, I was on the hood of his car about to… trying to kick his windshield in,” Marlantes recounts, “...there’s people all over looking at me. I mean, this is crazy. I sort of slinked back to my car… and I go, what is that all about? I had no idea. I had no idea that it was even related to the war.” Although people like Marlantes are finished with the war, it still had lasting impacts on their everyday lives. Marlantes admitted, “What you learn is that PTSD doesn’t go away. But now if someone honks the horn… it startles me… my heart rate’s still going to go up.” As shown by Marlantes’ experiences, PTSD is now the chronic reality that many Vietnam veterans have to endure.
Figure 2. The Big Lebowski, (00:18:08) scene, PolyGram Films International, Gramercy Pictures. 1998.
Many of the soldiers that fought in the Vietnam War were men who were unaware of what they were fighting for. They were inexperienced, having suddenly been drafted into a seemingly futile war, and as a result, were unprepared for what they were about to experience. In The Big Lebowski, Walter Sobchak also suffered PTSD as a Vietnam veteran and his experiences left him paranoid and mentally unstable. This led him to have anger issues throughout the film, particularly in the bowling scene where he aims a gun at Smokey (see Figure 2). After Smokey crosses the line, Sobchak is adamant about marking the score as a foul. When Smokey disagrees, Sobchak overreacts aggressively and threatens him with his gun. While it is clear that the act of punishment outweighed the crime, his actions are a consequence of his experience in Vietnam. By conducting further analysis on Sobchak, the fact that he keeps his gun with him at all times also symbolizes the hardships that he might have encountered, and how he sees danger everywhere. He can be viewed as an example of a veteran with PTSD. While it is easy to get lost in the comedy of this film, it is still important to note there is more to Sobchak than meets the eye.
This documentary film also features Tim O’Brien, the author of The Things They Carried. I was surprised yet excited at his appearance, as I had read his novel during my sophomore year of high school. His novel was meaningful to me because it helped me to grasp the reality that the soldiers in the Vietnam War had to face and the painful aftermath that followed. The book emphasized the emotional toll that the war left on the characters and their struggle to come to acceptance with the events that occurred. One of the most resonating characters in this novel was Norman Bowker. After the war, he experienced PTSD, and he would frequently think about the traumatizing events that happened. Eventually, he was filled with so much grief that he hung himself in the YMCA. Bowker is a depiction of the typical Vietnam veteran and the difficulties that they faced.
In the film, the narrator solemnly says, “In many ways, everyone came home from Vietnam alone.” Vincent Okamoto, from the army, describes his experience, saying, “I couldn’t relate to my wife or my mother what I had seen, what I had in Vietnam.” Soldiers who came back from the war carried memories that were too painful to share with their loved ones, and others might not be able to understand what they went through. “Adding to the pain many veterans felt,” the film’s narrator reminds, “was their country’s eagerness to forget the war.” When these veterans returned home, they were labeled as outcasts, and their experiences separated them from society. Karl Malantes, Walter Sobchak, Norman Bowker, and Vincent Okamoto all fit into this mold.
The combatants suffered significant losses and pain from the Vietnam War, but unfortunately, most did not receive the psychological help that they needed. The veterans were mainly cast aside and sustained negative reputations, which only added to their duress. Unlike the soldiers from World War II, the Vietnam veterans did not receive the same welcoming support and benefits. It is still essential to recognize the veterans’ endurance and the physical and emotional burdens that they carried during and after the war.
By Anne Wang
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