Most recent public comments by Matthew Skrenta https://nowcomment.com/users/16323 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36344?scroll_to=392945 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36344?scroll_to=392945 Bee Vang, one of the main characters of Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino", talks about his role in the movie, as he was forced to grow up without a father. This was similar to many of the people of his heritage. Due to war, many Hmong men had to leave their families to fight. Vang mentions how his mother and uncle had to grow up in a similar situation. When he sees his Uncle watching a videotape of Hmong veterans being honored, his uncle says "Kho-siab", a term that Vang says cannot be directly translated in English, but can be used to mean a number of things, such as "loneliness", which I believe is the term Vang wants to use. Many of the people of his heritage, the Hmong people, felt this way in regards to their growing up in families torn apart by war. Mon, 26 Oct 2015 11:23:40 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=392555 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=392555 Throughout the text, Nguyen provides evidence about how war affects so many people in so many different ways, both on the battlefront and back home (in this case, America). She explains how the Vietnam War provided many with jobs, both during and after the war, and how some people were completely unaware of their contributions to the war. The legacy of the Vietnam War continues today. For example, in my class (AAST233) at the University of Maryland, there are many students whose parents and grandparents came to America as refugees to start a new life. One student suggested in his presentation how it is their duty to acknowledge their heritage and the memories of their parents/grandparents from the war, as well as to be thankful for the opportunity to receive such a quality education in America. Sun, 25 Oct 2015 13:29:15 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=384927 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=384927 This paragraph makes a connection to the research we did last week on comfort women as well as the novel we read, "A Gesture Life". Viet Thanh Nguyen discusses her reaction to reading about a rape that occurred in Larry Heinemann's Novel "Close Quarters". An American soldier held a gun to a Vietnamese comfort woman's head and forced her to perform sexual acts on him and his fellow soldiers or "get blown away". Initially, Nguyen was shocked and had wished the scene was not included in the novel. However, after some time she realized how important it is to include the reality of war and the events that surround it. War can make people crazy and mentally ill, and it can drive people to do things they wouldn't have dreamed of doing in a million years, both on and off the battlefield. This is similar to how some people reacted to Chang-Rae Lee's depiction of K and the other comfort women in "A Gesture Life". Yes, it is absolutely repulsive, however it's a piece of history that we as a society can learn from. Before this class I had never heard of comfort women and what they went through. I was having a conversation with my parents over the weekend regarding the subject, and it was the first time my mother had heard of such a tragic side effect to WWII and the Vietnam War. Everyone knows what happened to the victims of the European Holocaust, however not as many are aware of the young Asian victims who were tricked or sold into forced prostitution. I think it's important for people to be made aware of such terrible side effects that war can bring about, so that we can learn from the mistakes of past governments/militaries and how they responded to war, again both on and off of the battlefield. Mon, 12 Oct 2015 15:46:06 -0400