Post 11 - Analysis Paragraph

Topic: The Vietnamese Opinion about the war

Another fallacy related to the film The Green Berets lies in its portrayal of the South Vietnamese Citizens. There are consistent discussions and actions of these citizens which suggest their support and approval of U.S. troops and policy, such as the line of locals seeking medical attention in one particular scene (Kellogg 0:31). This contrasts sharply with current historical view such as that of Don Lawson who expresses the belief that, in general, regiment troops were assigned to save resources and materials for the army and only aid the local population in times of necessity (Lawson 54). Another portrayal of the movie’s South Vietnamese citizens suggests that they were skeptical of communism in their country (Kellogg,: 1:22). This is also opposed by current history as seen in the following quote; “The Southern Vietnamese, for the most part, worked in support of the NLF and in favor of an eventual communist takeover based on their belief in land reforms and the idea that Ngo Dinh Diem was illegitimately elected (McNamara 35).” This quote suggests that, in opposition to the opinion amassed by the film The Green Berets, that the U.S. policy was unpopular in Vietnam and the general population supported communism. Lawson affirms this with even more support by stating that the local population was in many ways not even considering the Cold War context of communism versus capitalism, but in fact, was much more concerned with their own personal benefits (Lawson, 65). This idea coupled with the aforementioned quote by McNamara show that, for the most part, the Vietnamese population reacted very differently to the situation of U.S. struggle and occupation than as portrayed in the film.


***Notice that the structure of the handout is applied to the paragraph. there is a topic sentence, proof and explanation of research, argument or relationship to your thesis statement, and a concluding or transitional sentence. Stick to this structure and tie everything in to your thesis statement and you can't go wrong!