Surname Viêt Given Name Nam: short review
Surname Viêt Given Name Nam is a non-traditional documentary film directed in 1989 by the iconic Trinh T. Minh Ha. In it, she explores the question of identity, memory, and how culture transcends borders; while simultaneously uncovering the struggles of Vietnamese women during the war. This feminist take on history highlights the dichotomy between how Vietnamese women were viewed as second-class citizens within the country and Vietnam as a second-class nation by those with more ‘political power’. The juxtaposition of traditional Vietnam with present-day Vietnam is a perfect example of “not quite other, not quite the same”.
The intentionality behind conducting the interviews in English instead of Vietnamese in the first half and then later switching the orders, the political symbolism of having a translator voice the interview, or the fact that facial expressions of the women actively contradicted the words they were speaking leaves the viewer struggling to grasp for meaning. But meaning is contextual, especially in a postcolonial state of existence where we rarely stop to question the influence of cultural imperialism.
Nothing is as it seems, from the still images that unravel in front of our eyes to the use of rehearsed non-professional actresses playing a dramatized version of the ‘real’ Vietnamese women. We are forced to confront our biases of what the subjects should look like and examine authentic perceptions- to her there is no clear distinction between fiction and nonfiction.
