"Dateline-Saigon": When Presidents Routinely Lied

It is not just today that there is "fake news".  In fact, as the U.S. engaged in a brutal war in Southeast Asia, U.S. Presidents and generals routinely lied.  And the mainstream media eventually caught on.


Dateline Trailer 6-27-16 from William Anderson on Vimeo.


"Dateline - Saigon" is an excellent documentary (directed by lawyer Thomas D. Herman) that focuses on five western journalists based in Saigon in the early days of the Vietnam War or what the Vietnamese called the "American War".

Mostly early-career professionals the men (yes all (white) men portrayed), were brash, competitive and determined.  By daring to go into the field in South Vietnam, and speaking directly to the GIs, these reporters and photographers (before the advent of saturation news) were able to find what the U.S. and the South Vietnamese military were doing on the ground, killing civilians, burning down villages and covering up all that.

The film does not avoid taking sides.  The U.S. Government is slammed for spouting Cold War anti-communist rhetoric and the domino theory (that the fall of South Vietnam would lead to other dominoes falling).   South Vienamese soldiers are dismissed as weak and ineffective, while the enemy is explained as disciplined and determined.  The Saigon regime of  Ngô Đình Diệm is dismissed as Catholic from the north when the majority of the population in Vietnam is Buddhist.  And the notorious "Dragon Lady" Madame Ngô Đình Nhu appears in archival film footage speaking disdainfully of monks "barbecuing" themselves. 

One of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists portrayed,  Macolm Browne, indeed took the shocking 1963 photograph of a monk, Thích Quảng Đức, lit up in flames, a photo that was spashed on front-pages all over the world.  Focusing on Browne, the film also delves into the work of other Pulitzer-winning journalists:  Peter Arnett, David Halberstam, Neil Sheehan, and Horst Faas.

Another Pulitizer-Prize winning photographer from the Vietnam War period is listed in the credits, but is not featured, unfortunately, in the documentary.  AP photographer Nick Ut, who just retired weeks ago, after over five decades with AP, was actually hired by AP photographer Horst Faas in 1966 and took the iconic photo of the Vietnamese girl burning with napalm running naked down a road after her village was burned down in 1972.

Director Herman observe as Peter Arnett expounds on the media today and before.

Photo credit: © Daniel C. Tsang 2017

Sam Waterson's strong voice narrates or the journalists themselves speak in retrospect in this excellent film that took some 16 years to bring to the screen.  Peter Arnett (AP reporter then, more known today as a CNN reporter), who is from OC, attended the first screening, at the 2017 Newport Beach Film Festival, and spoke at the Q&A, saying that the U.S. military now no longer allows the media to freely cover war zones today.   A second festival screening is coming up:  Wednesday 26 April 2017, at Island Cinemas in Newport Beach, at 5:45 pm.  -- Daniel C. Tsang.

Note: The documentary is not sympathetic to the Saigon regime's point of view of course.
 

“Breathin’ ”: Guangzhou Immigrant Eddy Zheng’s Inspiring Story

For a KUCI Subversity Online interview (recorded 22 April 2016) with Eddy Zheng, director Ben Wang and composer Scott “Chops” Jung, click here:

Eddy Zheng

One could say that Eddy Zheng (left) made something of himself despite being incarcerated at San Quentin prison for 19 years plus another two in immigration detention.   The Cantonese immigrant from Guangzhou, China, was only 16 when he waved a gun and participated in a home invasion.  

While he buffed up his body from careful exercise, he also took care of his mind. Reading about Asian American and other people of color struggles in the prison library – led him to enhance the collection as he managed to get the prison authorities to add many more books on such struggles.  He petitioned the authorities to implement Asian American studies in prison – instead he got put in solitary confinement – the hole – as punishment for daring to ask that.

Ben Wang, director

In the meantime, he earned an associate degree by enrolling in a prison program. And through it all, the activist community reached out to him, offering him support even as he got turned down repeatedly by the parole board, until the last time, which was successful.  But then he was placed in immigration detention because he was not able to apply for citizenship while incarcerated.

In the end, it was through a gubernatorial pardon (from California Governor Jerry Brown) that led to his deportation case being ended.  Eventually he was officially released in 2007.   Now free, he managed to get San Quentin to implement Asian American studies.

This man, now 47, remains committed to community service, and through an intermediary, successfully reached out to the mother he victimized when he was 16, with his written apology (in Chinese) accepted.

Scott "Chops" Jung, composer

Director Ben Wang (above, right) has put together a tightly edited documentary, "Breathin': The Eddy Zheng Story," on the power of reconciliation and redemption and about how writers like Helen Zia (author of Asian American Dreams and other works) inspired this inmate to commit his life to community work, while even within the dark recesses of solitary confinement. 

The film screened twice at the 2016 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.  -- Daniel C. Tsang.

 Photography © Daniel C. Tsang 2016.

Trailer for Breathin': the Eddy Zheng Story from Ben Wang on Vimeo.

Here's also a Cantonese audio interview found online:

"Boiling Pot" Stirring Up Campus Dialogues on Racism

To listen to the post-screening panel discussion, click here.

Irvine -  Just a half-dozen years ago, Russell Curry was a leading protester at University of California, Irvine - speaking out in support of muslims and people of color on campus.  He rallied activist students and staff at the flagpole and got them to "put your fist in the sky" to fight injustice.  He went to the Gaza on a peace and aid mission.  Through it all, his mission was to reach out to challenge and engage even those who disagreed with him, in rallies, one-on-one discussions, and on KUCI, where he appeared on the Subversity Show several times.

"Sonny Boy" (as he was then known by his rap name) was back on campus Tuesday, 1 March, 2016, almost six years to the day after his last major rally.  Professionally, he works a handsome male model -- but Russell Curry remains a powerful political voice of reason, even as he has now become an integral part of a new explosive film that intelligently explores, without exploiting, the current national debate at institutions of higher education around race and racism.

Russell Curry rallying Anteaters 4 March 2010 almost exactly six years ago.

Russell Curry remains true to the activist past honed at UCI, and that experience impacted the film, as he explained in the Q&A after a free showing of "Boiling Pot: The Truth is Never Black and White," although he was typically quite modest about his role, looking back. 

The film is a dramatization based loosely on two notable real-life racist campus incidents - a noose found hanging from a bookcase at UC San Diego Library, and the notorious off-campus "Compton Cookout", a "black-themed" party that served watermelon and the frat brothers wore baggy clothes, posing as blacks.  The incidents sparked disgust and even got picked up nationally in the New York Times, which ran a story 26 February 2010 under the headline, "California Campus Sees Uneasy Race Relations."

Watching the film that was shown as part of the UCI Sudent Affairs' New Narratives series, I was blown away by the tight editing and dynamic pace of what turned out to be a thriller and murder mystery.  At points I was on the edge of my seat, straining to catch it all in.  Definitely, credit belongs to director Omar Ashmawey, who also co-wrote the script with his brother, Ibrahim, for skilled directing of a multi-ethnic cast.

Ibrahim Ashmawey, Andrew Luu, Russell Curry
and Omar Ashmawey, from "Boiling Pot" panel discussion

While a few in the audience after the screening wondered whether the film was too one-sided,  I have to disagree.  The main characters were decidedly more nuanced than cartoonish,  and whether black, Arab, Asian or white, almost all were portrayed as self-analytical and ultimately redeemable.  Especially striking was Academy Award winning actor Louis Gossett Jr., who superbly portrayed a dogged bulldog of a law enforcement interrogator, Detective Haven.

Russell Curry answers questions

I was also struck by Ibrahim Ashmawey, who portrayed an Arab American, Hazem Seif, from New Jersey who was dating the female character, Valerie Davis, stunningly played by Danielle Fischel. 

Russell Curry, who played a bit part as a black student, Malik Stanton, was especially notable with his restrained acting and thoughtful face. 

Three white characters were also noteworthy: John Heard, played the racist father of Valerie, Tim Davis.  Matthew Koenig, a recent UCI MFA graduate, portrayed in quite some depth a one-time love interest of hers, Garrett Perrin.  Finally, M. Emmet Walsh played a clueless  fictional dean of students Marison - who viewed racial incidents as "isolated" and nothing to raise a fuss about.  Quite a devastating critique of campus administration, ironic since the film screened as part of a dean of students program at UCI. 

 

There were no "trigger warnings" thankfully at the showing, although it turns out one student in the audience would later identify himself as a high schooler.  Whether it will be shown at high schools of course an open question, given the constraints teachers and students have under varying local school boards.  But it should be.   High schoolers - many dealing with the same racism - should not be denied the opportunity to engage in "new narratives" either. 

The film is viewable online (not free) via Amazon.

After screening, Russell Curry (left) meets fans
Photography © Daniel C. Tsang 2010, 2016

-- Daniel C. Tsang.

Exquisite Portrayal of Queer Sexual Awakening

To hear our interview with the two directors, click here [link fixed now].

Irvine - Brazil is often portrayed in film for its flamboyant, colorful and musical extravagance. Taking a decidedly different stance are queer directors (a couple) Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon, who have written and directed this exquisite portrayal of teen sexual awakening in "Seashore."

Tomaz (Mauricio Barcellos) & Martin (Mateus Almada) explore each other in "Seashore"

Just on DVD and on VOD from Wolfe Video, the film starts off slow as the high schoolers Tomaz and Martin visit a relative's home. The slow pace is deliberate, as I found out in my interview last Friday (31 July 2015 via Skype) with the two directors, because they wanted to portray the reality of how a gay teen approaches the topic of coming out and reaching out to a best friend, and the friend's reaction.

The directors made this cognizant that Brazil has a negative human rights record regarding discrimination against homosexuals and wanting to offer hope for those contemplating reaching out to others.

"Seashore" had its world premiere at the 65th Berlinale earlier this year. It's not their first film - they also directed a lyrical short, "Ballet Dialogue" - about a young guy and an older man - so that, the directors told me, audiences don't forget the pioneers who led the way for the current generation.

Um Diálogo de Ballet - Trailer from avantefilmes on Vimeo.

-- Daniel C. Tsang, co-host, KUCI Subversity Online.

Hong Kong Schoolboy Activists Portrayed in "Lessons in Dissent"

To listen to our interview with Director Matthew Torne on Subversity Online, click: here. Documentary available for viewing via UCI on-site or via VPN: Kanopy streaming. May also be available at other academic web sites.

Oxford-educated scholar (his Master's thesis was on Hong Kong politics) turned documentary filmmaker Matthew Torne's  "Lessons in Dissent" (whom he also co-produced) deftly portrays two dedicated teenagers fighting the moneyed Hong Kong establishment and special administrative region's Beijing masters.  It's a study in contrasts and a striking depiction of a new generation of young activists and protesters in a very politicized Hong Kong.  Some spectacular footage is included.

Media-savy teenager Joshua Wong

Focusing not on the recent Umbrella Revolution or Movement, Torne details the struggle in Hong Kong against the proposed imposition of what critics termed brain-washing and propagandistic, a mainland China-dictated National Education in Hong Kong school curricula.

One figure portrayed is the media savy 15-year-old schoolboy Joshua Wong Chi-fung (黃之鋒), the convenor of Scholarism, and who led the fight against National Education in 2011, and who also was a key figure in last Fall's Umbrella Movement.

The more radical Ma Jai is shown being arrested

In striking contrast is the more below the radar and less known Ma Wan-ke (馬雲棋) (nicknamed "Ma Jai" (馬仔) a 17-year-old secondary school dropout (from the same school and housing estate as the more mainstream Joshua Wong), who while lacking Mr. Wong's more sophisticated political analysis (spoken in the film in Cantonese, with English subtitles), nonetheless is able to offer biting observations that prove that he is able to be well read and  educated despite Hong Kong's at times stultifying education system.  He is an active member of the more anarchistic League of Social Democrats.

Matthew Torne at UC Irvine 25 February 2015; Photo c Daniel C. Tsang 2015

For Subversity Show Online, show host Daniel C. Tsang interviewed Director Matthew Torne earlier today from London via Skype.  Torne had shown his documentary before several dozen students at UC Irvine the Wednesday before.  Meanwhile, Joshua Wong was featured in  the L.A. Times after their visit to UCLA.

Protest leader Joshua Wong

On Subversity,Torne offers a critical analysis of the current political situation in Hong Kong in the aftermath of last fall's uprising.  He explains why he chose the two young protesters to feature in his film and offers some trunchent analysis of the People's Republic of China as Hong Kong's new colonial masters.

Joshua Wong with Lessons in Dissent DVD

The DVD was just released in Hong Kong; the boxed set comes with two DVDs (the documentary plus outakes) and a 96-page booklet with trenchant analyses of the political situation in Hong Kong.  - Daniel C. Tsang.