Summary on Nothing ever dies – Vietnam and the memory of war by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Chapter 3 On the Inhumanities

After having read chapter three “On the Ihumanities“ Nyugen`s work can be concluded as a
critical approach to different ethical methods in terms of creating or preserving memories of war.
His central claim is that certain ethical models which are explained further in the following
passage focus on human beings rather victimizing others or seeing themselves as victims and
therefore being blind to see the propensity for inhuman deeds in their own individuality. Whereas
Nyugen argues for an ethical model which he calls the ethics of recognition involving the
recognition of both human and inhuman side of individuals.

Nguyen reveals by his explanation of the term “remembering one`s own“ how we usually tend
to remember what was done to us or to our allies while the less we remember the horrible things
we have done the better we think it is. What becomes clear is that we wish to never forget our
own humanity and the inhumanity of others. Whereas the ethics of “remembering others“
foregounds that we see others as human and incriminate ourselves. Both of these variations are
also called by him as identity politics enforced by nationalism (Nguyen, 2016, p.62). In this
context Nguyen refers to the global antiwar movement which treated the Vietnamese as victims
displacing them in perpetual suffering and glorious heroism. He furthermore uses a language of
critic against American films such as Casualties of War by Brian de Palma by claiming that such
films tend to magnify war and victimization placing Americans at the story`s center. It shows how
a Vietnamese woman is brutalized by American soldiers while she hasn´t been given any voice
to talk on her behalf. Thus Nyugen argues that the victim is never given subjectivity in American
films.

Focusing finally on the Khmer Rouge era of Cambodia`s human and inhuman history and an
extreme regime whose harsh rules of execution and forced labor led to death, starvation and
illness of 1,7 million Cambodians Nguyen explains to see the potential of his concept “ethics of
recognition“ which demands “that we remember our humanity and inhumanity, and that we
remember the humanity and inhumanity of others as well“ (p.79). Here the reader is confronted
with the faces of victimizers such as Duch, a former commandant of the regime who himself
became victim under the inhuman policies and threats of the Khmer regime. In that case such
experiences make him unable to „recognize and reconcile with his capacity to harm others“
(p.74). Following Nguyen`s argumentation, the works of the artist Rithy Panh on the horrors of
Khmer Rouge regime and cases such as of Duch enact very well an ethic of recognition as they
show how to deal with the memory of the genocide. At this point the aspect of struggle of facing
the other in Nguyen`s ethics of recognition becomes central. As he puts it, as human beings we
rather tend to deface the other, in this case Duch whom we consider as a harmful other and
deface him because somehow his resemblance to us in being human and inhuman
simultaneously makes us fear. Thus Nguyen suggests that we shouldn`t deny that resemblance
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but rather face both the actual inhuman and human face of our own, the „stereoscopic
simultaneity of human and inhuman“ if we want to understand such cruel and violent acts
commited by humans and “if we hope not to repeat atrocities“ (p.81).

Summary on Nothing ever dies – Vietnam and the memory of war by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Chapter 4: On War Machines

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In this chapter Nguyen emphasizes on the American “industry of memory“ and American war
machine in the context of Vietnamese war which, in his view, are so powerful to create and
control collective memories of human beings and their understanding of history and war. In that,
his main claim is that war memories are unequal on global stage as they are formed by the global
domination of war and memories by the United States. Whereas the others are often prevented
from having power or influence. Nguyen describes this phenomena as a “worldly memory
(which) is neither democratic nor fair“ (85).

He uses the terms “secondhand memory“ and “screen memories“ to show the power of the
American industry of memory. Secondhand memories, as he points out, consist of memories
that are passed to us either by families and friends or more impressively by Hollywood fantasies
such as Apocalypse Now and many others. When describing screen memories, he refers to
afterimages focusing on the screen memories from Vietnam: Phan Thi Kim Phuc, the naked,
napalmed girl or Quang Duc, the Buddhist monk immolating himself. These images show the
suffering of Vietnamese around the world it which reflect the global power and reach of the media
apparatus possessed by Americans. In contrast, the Vietnamese images and views are limited
having a memory industry with a less powerful apparatus including memorials which are largely
considered as propaganda by Americans. Thus, the Vietnamese memory industry tries to
confront the mind of visiting tourists by portraying the war crimes of Americans, at least in their
smaller memorials and museums in a way trying to spread propaganda.

To support this argument, Nguyen writes “The world pays attention to the feelings of the wealthy
and the powerful . . . , so it is with an industry of memory, where the memories of the wealthy
and the powerful exert more influence because they own the means of production“ (Nguyen 87).
Nguyen claims that how America remembers the war is in some way how the world remembers
it by foregrounding that countries such as United States use their massive war machines to not
only inflict harm on weaker countries, but even justify it to the world though the global reach of
their industry of memory.

Moreover, he writes that the American industry of memory includes even more, „a set of
technologies or cultural forms through which memories are fashioned, like the novels, movies,
photographs, museums . . . “ (87). Here Nguyen unites the industry of memory with the American
arms industry and Hollywood with the American armed forces, arguing that due to the global
domination of America´s arms and memories other countries are dominated by Hollywood`s
american morality and american memories of war.

In addition, by presenting video games, such as the first person shooter, or Hollywood movies
,as Apocalypse Now, Nguyen seeks to show the success of the American industry of power in
influencing people to identify with the war machinery thereby subordinating the other. Thus, the
first person shooter is a game where the player enjoys the slaughter of others as the other is
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conceived as nonhuman. Taking the example of the helicopter assault on a Viet Cong village in
Apocalypse Now, Nguyen further attempts to show that the power of Hollywood is used to glorify
war and American war machinery on the one hand and on the other hand personify America as
terryfying, which affect memories. The argumentation for that glorification is supported by the
description of the scene “the fusion and confusion of lust and killig, sex and death, murder and
machinery, resulting in homicides that were illegal at home but encouraged overseas in the war
zone“ (94). What he also criticizes in American movies, is that the roles of American tend to be
heroic while he shows by presenting other movie examples that Vietnemese Characters are
often displayed as savages, though the heroic character comes to acknowledges his own
savagery. Ultimately, he emphasizes the end of the movie saying that its machiney scenes are
more remembered by the world than what happened to the supposedly savages.

recognition
hypocrisy Behaviour anin which someone claims to
have certain moreal pronciples or beliefs but
bahaves in a way that shows they are not
sincere
incriminate to show or make you think that someone is
guilty of a crime

temptation a strong feeling of wanting to have or do

something, especially something that is bad
for you
insidious something that is insidious is dangerous
because it seems tob e harmless or not
important but in fact causes harm or damage
perpetuate to make something such as a situation or
process continue, especially one that is
wrong, unfair, or dangerous

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tainted something that is taintet is spoilt by an
unpleasant feature or quality that often
makes people not want tob e involved with it
pious strict in your religous beliefs and practices;
done or said with the intention of seeming
religous and moral
antidote a subsance that prevents a poison from
having bad effects, something that helps to
improve the effects of something bad or
negative
inflict to cause something unpleasant to happen
intractable very difficult or impossible to deal with
corollary something that will also be true if a particular
idea or statement is true, or something that
will also exist if a particular situation exists
epithet a word or phrase that describes the masin
quality of someone or something
succumb to lose your ability to fight against somene or
something, and to allow them to control or
persuade you
heinous ad heinous act or crime is extremely evil
detainee someone who is kept in prison, especially
because of their political activities
subjugate to defeat a place or a group of people and
force them to obey you
relegate to move someone or something to a less
important position
flagellation the practive of hitting yourself with a whip as
a religious punishment
incite to encourage people to be violent or commit
crimes by making them angry or excited
adjudicate to make an official decision about a problem
or disagreement

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Panh addresses the genocide to show the struggle of facing the other.

Calls for a rememberance of inhumane acts. He calls for all sides to recognise the other side`s
humanity as they come to terms with their own inhumanity. N. critiques American filmst hat place
white American male soldiers at the center oft he story and use Vietnamese bodies, as plot
devices to work out their demons. The chapter concludes in Cambodia with a consideration of
Pnom Penh`s infamous Tuol Sleng genocide museum and a laudatory assessment of Rithy
Panh`s films on the horrors oft he Khmer Rouge years, filmst hat capture both the humanity and
the inhumanity oft he Khmer people. This is an example of an ethical memory.

He reveals how war is a part of our identity, as individuals and as citizent of nations. Venturing
through literature, films ans art he argues that an alternative to nationalism exists in art,
created by artists who adhere to no nation but the imagination.

A written summary each week (1 page) highlighting various aspects of the language used by the author, including
features such as lexical diversity and idea density. Each summary should also incorporate three direct quotes from
the text. In-class discussions will also provide an opportunity to reflect on how students’ individual filters have
impacted their readings of the set texts.

In addition, create a vocabulary list with two columns; In the first column, include any new vocabulary that's specific
to this topic (5-10 words) and in the second column include any new vocabulary that can be applied to a whole
range of areas (25-30 words

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Vocabulary specific to the topic

napalm a thick liquid chemical contained in some

bombs that burns the person or thing that it
hits
immolate to kill someone by burning them
apparatus the machines, tools, and equipment needed
for doing something, especially something
technical or scientific
arsenal a large collection of weapons and military
equipment
warrior a soldier, especially in the past
solipsism the theory that the only thing you can be
certain about is your own existence and you
own thoughts and ideas
artillery large powerful guns that are used by an army
and are moved on wheels or fixed in one
place
megalomaniac someone who enjoys power over other
people and always wants more of it

to bequeath to give someone money or property after you

die by making a legal document called a will
scar to leave a permanent mark on someone`s
skin as the result of an injury
eradicate to get rid of something completely, especially
something bad
commodity something that can be bought and sold,
especially a basic food product or fuel

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surveillance the process of carefully watching a person or
place that may be involved in a criminal
activity
exert to use influence, authority, or power in ordert
o affect or achieve something
amplify to make sounds loude, to explain something
more thoroughly or give it more emphasis
indomitable very determined and impossible to defeat
recuperate to get better after being ill or injured
iteration a new form of a computer program
gird prepare for something difficult or dangerous
reverberation an effect that spreads over a wide area or
lasts for a long time
salvation imimin the Christian religion, the act of being
saved by God from evil; smething os
someone in a bad or dangerous situation
missile a weapon that travels under its own power for
long distances and explodes when it hits its
target
desecrate to deliberately spoil something special or holy
corpse the body of a dead person
remnant a small remaining part of something
maw something that seems to open up and suck
you in completely; a mouth
furnace ar large enclosed container in which you burn
fuel, used for heating a building or for an
industrial process such as making liquid
recoil to move quickly back from someone or
something frightening or unpleasant
punchy a punchy piece of writing such as a speech,
report, or slogan is one that has a strong
effect because it uses clear simple language
and not many words
commemorate to show that you remember an important
person or event by having a special
ceremony, or by creating a special object

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 complicity the fact that someone is involved in or knows
about something bad that happens
intrusion something that interrupts a peaceful situation
or a private event
mnemonic a sentence or short poem that you use for
helping you to remember something

For instance, the helicopters in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979) become a
motif in American movies on wars and connote sexual symbols to personify America as both
terrifying and seductive in Nguyen’s reading. The Vietnamese characters, by contrast, are
often portrayed as rebellious, savages and refugees, who serve as the collective object of
masculine desire, hatred and fear for the American war machines. In this light, Nothing Ever
Diespoints out the pervasiveness of industrialised memory in refusing collective memory in the
inhumanities of the other from being recognised

Throughout Nothing Ever Dies, Nguyen is deeply concerned with what he terms the “war machine,” the
discursive cultural phenomena that make war an inherent component of US culture, “a dull hum of
white noise that blends in with the air conditioning, the computers, the hum of traffic” (p. 104). As
Nguyen explains, “in war machines, the bristling armaments are on display, but more important are the
ideas, ideologies, fantasies, and words that justify war, the sacrifices of our side, and the death of
others” (p. 106). The war machine’s endurance in US culture, then, relies upon the remembrance of the
war in Vietnam as one in which American suffering was paramount and Vietnamese suffering is largely
elided.

If this argument is familiar from earlier scholarship on the war’s legacy, Nguyen usefully expands it in
two ways. First, he points out that the disproportionate cultural capital of US memories of the
war has allowed them to become global, often obscuring and marginalizing other
remembrances in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. And yet, at the same time, he locates the sites of both
complicity and resistance to that narrative in Southeast Asian and Southeast Asian American cultural
production. Moreover, he notes that the Vietnamese government is equally invested in constructing
and propagating remembrances of the war that vilify Americans and justify the Vietnamese states’
postwar policies. In writing about American tourists’ tendency to reject the narratives that they
encounter in spaces like the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, however, he explains
that “these Americans are wrong in denying the truths found in propaganda, specifically that
American soldiers committed atrocities in Vietnam and that the rest of America never fully
grappled with complicity in them” (p. 114).

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