CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2025
| Author | Đặng, Khôi Vinh |
|---|---|
| Title | Cinema of Reconciliation - Mending Social Fractures in Post-war and Post-Socialist Vietnamese Films |
| Summary | This thesis examines the construction of Vietnamese national identity since the country’s independence in 1975 through the lens of Vietnamese cinema, particularly on the tensions between the state’s ‘official narrative’ and the lived experiences of its people. In the aftermath of the Vietnamese-American War, the socialist government constructed an official narrative grounded in revolutionary fervor and self-sacrifice. Yet films such as The Wild Fields (1979) and When the Tenth Month Comes (1984) reveal contradictions within this narrative, particularly in how it marginalizes individual trauma and neglects domestic realities. While early films reflect state ideals through symbolic landscapes and the valorization of collective struggle, they also depict the burdens of filial duty and constrained grief. As the country enters the Đổi Mới (Renovation) era (1986-present), independent films such as Bi, Don’t Be Afraid (2010) further challenge the official narrative by revealing the conflicting social forces that exert pressure on individuals and fracture the Vietnamese social fabric. Rather than simply resisting the official narrative, these films create a space for reflection and mediation, allowing for a more nuanced engagement with national identity. Vietnamese cinema thus becomes a site of reconciliation, where personal and political histories converge, and where fractured narratives may begin to be repaired. |
| Supervisor | Meurer, Ulrich |
| Department | Undergraduate Studies BA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2025/dang_khoi.pdf |
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