Indochine, part 2

Based on your viewing of the film and the Unit 5 online lecture material, how would you compare or contrast the French and American experiences in Vietnam?

The differences in the French and American experiences in Vietnam seem to be the final goal of the invading force. The French were colonizing the country and trying to maintain a profit center. The American intentions were strictly political. American involvement in Vietnam was motivated be a desire to contain communism.

The French invaded Vietnam in the 1800’s as a colonial expansion. The intention was to profit from the resources of the country. The Americans had no interest in colonizing or invading until after WWII when Ho Chi Minh, an ally in WWII, proclaimed Vietnamese independence. Fearing communist expansion into Southeast Asia the U.S. began supporting the French.

The battles fought by the Western countries could be almost interchangeable. “The Vietcong relied on guerrilla warfare, as had the Vietminh before them in its wars against the Japanese and the French.”(Lecture Material, part 3) None of these technologically advanced forces were able to defeat the Vietnamese guerrilla warfare.

In his review of Indochine Roger Ebert sums up the similarities of the French and American experience in Vietnam when he wrote “The film seems to suggest that the French still do not quite understand what happened to them in Vietnam. Well, they're not alone.”