Underneath the Flag
This film draws on archival footage to discuss the role and experiences of veterans in the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement as well as the ways America deceived them and the American people about wartime events. New York University Professor of History Marilyn Young’s interview for You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train provides inspiration and background.
Full transcription of Marilyn Young interview
“You Can’t be Neutral on a Moving Train,” a documentary about Howard Zinn, an American historian, playwriter, and social activist, was an inspiration for this short film, which uses interview footage from the film as well as archival footage from Media Burn Archive to speak about the complexities associated with the Vietnam War, especially for veterans returning to America. The film touches on different perspectives of the Vietnam War and the propaganda that was fed to soldiers by the American government.
In the film, Marilyn B. Young, a professor at New York University and a historian of American foreign relations, mentions the significance of soldiers throwing back the medals that the country gave to them, which offers a visual representation of how the veterans feel about the way they were treated by the government. This one sentence captures what I aim to show in this film; it beautifully juxtaposes the dichotomy between American soldiers fighting in Vietnam believing and being told that it is for a specific thing and then returning to America and realizing that a lot of the war’s purpose was for commercial goals. Through interviews and footage from protests of Howard Zinn, Marylin B. Young, and veterans this film explores this divide.
The audience should walk away with a different perspective on the Vietnam war, and be able to think about the way America tells its history, what parts get left out, and who is given the agency or permission to be able to share a story. This piece suggests a complex version of the Vietnam war with two historians who strive to be accurate yet do not shy away from sharing history that is part of the story without sugar coating. This film invites scholars, filmmakers and citizens to complicate history by recounting and keeping America accountable for the effects of the Vietnam War.
Fun Fact: Zinn and Young had a great friendship where they went to protest together, stayed at each other’s homes, and spoke about their thoughts on the world.
–Jamerly de la Cruz
