Blog 2

Throughout Tran Anh Hung's movie "The Scent of Green Papaya", she uses symbolism immensely. The biggest symbol that Hung uses is nature. Instead of endless dialogue and human noises she uses the noises and images of nature like birds, insects, plants, the wind and many other things to show how simplistic Vietnamese culture. They really like to get caught up in the commotion but would rather enjoy what is around them. Another symbol we see is the difference between men and women in Vietnamese culture. Throughout the movie we see men have all the power and women doing chores and housework. Even after the father leaves, he is allowed to return and the son who urinates in the house. The movie also shows how the war is destroying Vietnamese culture. Instead of just hearing the sounds of nature, we hear planes and sirens which immediately make you remember that it is war time. The scene where the son is pouring hot wax on ant symbolizes hte soldiers who are suffering and can't do anything about it. Hung's use of symbolism in the movie is very insightful of a Vietnamese household in wartime.