Hearts and Minds was a very compelling documentary. Many of the scenes were difficult to watch of difficult to hear some of the interviews from soldiers, but it was powerful and made a very strong argument. The film argues that the Vietnam War was a mistake of the US government produced by deceit and brainwashing of soldiers and the killing and genocide of many innocent Vietnamese.
The main aspect of the documentary that stood out to me was a specific quote: "How do we know we are not fighting on the wrong side? On the wrong side? We ARE the wrong side." After this quote my entire feeling of the documentary changed. I then was compelled to see the horribly negative images and embrace the consequences of the US's essential ruin of Vietnam. The way the camera cut from an interview with a Vietnam veteran, to a film clip accompanied by strong soundtrack, to a scene of a destructed village or a speech by a President supporting "our efforts" in the Vietnam War was fascinating.
After the "wrong side" quote all of the arguments that I saw being made, or evidence used to support those arguments was more powerful. I found myself to be uninterested in the first 30-45 minutes of the documentary and as Hearts and Minds progressed so did my interest. The film essentially followed my emotion directly. The beginning and ending scenes describe it best. The man discussing the destruction of his house and pig farm then the last scene he is crying out in anguish, so passionate and angry about what has happened to him, his family and his way of life. Essentially, everything started off as passive and ended with passion and aggression.
The argument of is Peter Davis being self-righteous in the portrayal of his documentary was an idea that I had not thought about until our class. Are some of the jump-cuts and editing of this documentary over done? Is Davis "preaching to the choir" and trying to make himself credible? For example, "...first they bomb, then they film." Is Davis attempting to incriminate himself and further his argument of Anti-War?
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