The movie Scent of Green Papaya was an extremely detailed depiction of what life in war time Vietnam was like. One of the most obvious themes that was portrayed throughout the movie was nature. During the movie Mui always seemed at most peace when she was by herself admiring various scenes in nature like enjoying the scent of the green papaya or watching frogs swimming around in a small pond. This seems to to symbolize the Vietnamese desire to just be left alone in their own country. They don't need outside influences to make them happy and force peace upon them. The Vietnamese would be at peace if the foreigners left their country and let them just be by themselves. Another scene that used nature to describe the war was when the middle son dropped hot wax on the ants. I feel that this act symbolized the foreigners specifically the French and the Americans bombing the Vietnamese. The innocent ants are just trying to work and go about life but the wax falls and kills all of them and when the damage clears and those that survived try and escape they again are repressed and killed. It symbolized how hard and brutal life was during the war.
Another prominent part of the movie was the role of women. This movie thoroughly showed the roles of women in Vietnam. The main role of them was to act almost as servants doing all the cleaning, cooking and other chores. Clearly, the men were in charge. This is shown especially well when the mistresses husband leaves and she is blamed for not loving him enough and being a good enough wife. Also, the youngest child Tin was able to get away with anything including peeing in vase and making a mess all over the floor Mui had cleaned without getting sort of trouble or even being told off. However, towards the end the movie depicts Khuyen's fiance as a more of a free women who did more of what she wanted. This could have represented the Americanization of Vietnam.
Another important part of the movie was the subtle hints of the war going on. There were constant reminders that everyone had to be home before a certain time because of the curfew that had been imposed. Also, in the background air raid could be occasionally be heard. The war was also shown by how poor everyone was. For example, Mui had to movie away from her mother because she could not support her and she need to start making earning a living. However, the war didn't just effect the poorer people at Vietnam but the rich as well. The first family Mui worked for had to sell many of its valuables to treat the husband when he came home sick because they could not afford doctor bills. Also, after he died they were living week to week because business was not steady and they could barely afford rice and other food to eat. Clearly the war affected everyone in every class.
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The movie “Scent of Green Papaya” was an extremely detailed depiction of what life in war time Vietnam was like. One of the most prevalent themes that were portrayed throughout the movie was nature. During the movie, Mui always seemed at most peace when she was by herself admiring various scenes in nature .Speaking specifically; she enjoys the scent of the green papaya or watching frogs swimming around in a small pond. This seems to symbolize the Vietnamese desire to just be left alone in their own country. They would strongly prefer not to be interdependent and keep their culture free of other spheres of influence. The Vietnamese would be at peace if the foreigners left their country and stopped trying to influence them. Another scene that used nature to describe the war was when the middle son dropped hot wax on the ants. I feel that this act symbolized the foreigners, specifically the French and the Americans dropping bombs or perhaps napalm on the Vietnamese. The innocent ants are just trying to work and go about life but the wax falls and kills all of them and when the damage clears and those that survived try and escape them again are repressed and killed. It symbolized how hard and brutal life was during the war, especially for the civilians who are just trying to live as normal a life as possible.
ReplyDeleteAnother prominent part of the movie was the role of women. This movie thoroughly showed the roles of women in Vietnam; their main role was almost servant-like in that they had to do all the cleaning, cooking and other chores. Clearly, the men were dominant in the social society. This is shown especially well when the mistress’s husband leaves and she is blamed for not loving him enough and being a good enough wife. Also, the little boy’s behavior showed the discrepancy between their statuses and a girl’s status. The youngest son, Tin, was able to get away with many extremely disrespectful acts; including peeing in vase and making a mess all over the floor Mui had cleaned without any repercussion. This clearly shows that women were treated like property; they didn’t have a say in anything and most certainly couldn’t ever criticize a man. Women in that society were supposed to be seen but not heard. However, as the movie draws to a close, it depicts Khuyen's fiancé as a more of a free woman who did more of what she wanted. This could have represented the Americanization of Vietnam. Khuyen’s fiancé was constantly asking to go out and to dinner. When she found out that she was being cheated on she got extremely angry at Khuyen and broke some of his property. This is a huge contrast to how women were treated, and how they reacted, in the beginning of the film.
Also important to the movie were the subtle hints of the war going on. During the first half of the movie, war going on was the struggle for freedom from the French. The hints of this were the constant reminders that everyone had to be home before a certain time because of the curfew that had been imposed. In the second half of the movie, jets could be heard flying overhead and occasionally a there was the sound of an air raid siren. The war was also shown by the civilian poverty level. For example, Mui had to move away from her mother because she could not support her and she need to start making earning a living. However, the war didn't just affect the poorer people at Vietnam, but the rich as well. The first family Mui worked for had to sell many of its valuables to treat the husband when he came home sick because they could not afford doctor bills. Also, after he died they were living week to week because business was not steady and they could barely afford rice and other food to eat. Clearly the war affected everyone in every class.