We are #1

The U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War left many soldiers wounded, and many innocent people tortured and killed. As a result of this war neither party gained much benefit, and the actions America took in Vietnam contradicts the idea that America is the hero, and we always be a winner.

Peter Davis takes a very effective approach in presenting his documentary. He includes one-on-one interviews with former leaders, soldiers, and includes clips from the war itself. But what makes it really unique is how he incorporated the perspective of the Vietnamese. In the movie we see on-site interviews during battles, and interviews of soldier reflecting on their experience. As I watched the interviews of the soldiers I noticed a common trend; many of them stated they really didn't know who they were fighting or why they were even in a war. The documentary emphasized that the soldiers were "brainwashed" by the words of their leaders and U.S. pride, their main objective was to just kill and kill everyone that was their "enemy" (even though they really didn't know who the enemy really was).

Davis structurally formatted his movie in a way where you would get one side of the story and then the perspective from the other side. He included clips from movies to emphasize the point he was trying to make, and counter reactions from how the Vietnamese were affected by the actions of the Americans. A solider mentions that he "Had a job to do", he never saw blood or heard any screams, he was "Doing a job, and being professional". Another solider mentions that he enjoyed the explosions, like little kids and firecrackers, he had no idea what he was bombing but got an excitement from the explosions itself. To counter this, Davis shows a clip of how the bombing affected a Vietnamese citizen and his home. The Vietnamese were at the mercy of the Americans and Davis' approach in the movie shows how ruthless America was in this war.

Peter Davis made it clear that the United States is very prideful, and winning is the only option. He included a clip of a football team getting ready for "battle" and a coach and preist promoting winning, and that this is just an example of the game of life. Winning at no cost was very apparent. America was afraid of what communism would do if it spread and tried to stop it. However, instead of being the "heroes", the war did nothing but casue turmoil for the Vietnamese and soliders that fought the war. Davis tactifually used a camera angle that was close up to the soldiers being interviewed. When they were talking about fighting, they had smiles and a look of accomplishment. Toward the end of the movie we see the camera zoomed out to only see the same man in a wheelchair and crying over the actions he took in the war. We not only see how the war negativley affected the Vietnamese, but the toll it took on the soldiers. The idea that the America must stop the spread of communism ultimately led to deaths of many citizens trying to fight for national pride. It left its own soldiers handicapped and emotionally scarred, but like it shows in the end of Davis' movie, America will always be celebrated and will remain on top.