Author: Healy, Dana

Source: South East Asia Research, Volume 14, Number 2, July 2006 , pp. 231-259(29)

Publisher: IP Publishing Ltd

Abstract:

This article considers the representation of war in Vietnamese cinema by engaging in a gendered exploration of the legacy of war. By taking gender as an analytical category and cinema as a form of representation, the article examines the largely unexplored issue of the impact of war on female identity in Vietnam. Through the discussion of two recent Vietnamese films, Dòi cát (Sandy Lives) and Bên không chong (Wharf of Widows), the article draws attention to the contradiction between wartime empowerment and post-war disempowerment of women in Vietnam. It argues that, while representation of the de-feminized woman/soldier received much imaginative attention because it fitted well with state-sanctioned interpretations of the war as a collective patriotic sacrifice, the representation of the impact on female identity, on the other hand, was given little consideration since it conflicted with traditional gender configurations in Vietnamese society.

Keywords: GENDERED REPRESENTATIONS; VIETNAMESE CINEMA; VIETNAM WAR

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5367/000000006778008149

Publication date: 2006-07-01

More about this publication?

• South East Asia Research publishes articles based on original research or fieldwork on all aspects of South East Asia within the disciplines of archaeology, art history, economics, geography, history, language and literature, law, music, political science, social anthropology and religious studies. This peer-reviewed journal is published four times per year by IP Publishing in cooperation with the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). SOAS is the leading centre in this field in Europe and one of the most prestigious centres of South East Asian Studies in the world.

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