A film about the people of Saigon told through the experiences of 3 young American journalists who, in 1970, explored the consequences of war and of the American presence in Vietnam. It is not a film about the Vietnam War, but about the people who lived on the fringe of battle. The views of the city are arresting, but away from the shrines and the open-air markets lies another city, swollen with refugees and war orphans, where every inch of habitable space is coveted.
Ages 15 to 17
Ethics and Religious Culture - Ethical Values
Ethics and Religious Culture - Religious Diversity/Heritage
History - World History
Social Studies - Development/Global Issues
Students can study the effects of war on culture. What aspects of a people make them unified and unique? How do war and destruction affect how people identify themselves? Have the students ever gone through a struggle with a group of people and experienced a sense of togetherness afterward? Ask them to identify elements of their daily lives that would help them cope with loss of their family members, homes, etc. What people and things do they hold dear? Who/what could they live without?