As an American, the way I have been educated about the Vietnam War is strikingly different from how the rest of the world views it. Nguyen tackles this issue head on in both "The Sympathizer" and also "Nothing Ever Dies". As discussed incredibly in depth in class, the American education and media systems portray the war in one of two ways: either falsifying it so seems as if America "won" the war or as a forgotten or unimportant. It is with these false portrayals that which Nguyen is fighting against constantly throughout his writings.
It can be said that these American ideals stem from our quasi-imperialistic actions through which the US conducted "a century-long effort to exert it's dominion over the Pacific, Asia, and eventually the Middle East" (Nguyen, Nothing Ever Dies). A very obvious part of this effort relies on an ever-persistant propaganda machine operating within United States visual arts (also known as Hollywood). This front for political gain is touched on in Nguyen's chapter "Of War Machines". Specifically, the use of demeaning language when speaking of the other side (i.e. the Vietnamese during the Vietnam War) in order to, in a sense, justify our killing of them. Such speaking occurs in Apocalypse Now, when soldiers said "venturing into Indian country" as a saying for going to battle, in an attempt to reinforce the American's "racial and technological superiority" (Nothing Ever Dies, 120). Obviously, Nguyen knows the realities of his people and the war through which he lived. He is living proof that Vietnamese people are equally as capable to American's to achieve success. I believe this portrayal of an inferior country is what leads Nguyen to create a character in The Sympathizer which sees the typical white man as, colloquially, a joke.
However ironic, Nguyen's character in The Sympathizer works on a movie created by the great American propaganda machine, also known as Hollywood. He travels to the Philippines with the Auteur as essentially an authenticity consultant for his film. At their first meeting, Nguyen deconstructs his entire movie, pointing out any falsifications. Instead of accepting his criticisms, the Auteur says "Come back after you've made a movie or two. Maybe then I'll listen to one or two do your cheap ideas" (The Sympathizer, 132). This section is inserted into to book to showcase exactly how naïve Nguyen feels the white man is, that even when presented with a primary source, they are not capable of accepting an uncomfortable reality. Using a belittling tone, Nguyen speaks down on these exact people throughout The Sympathizer to really portray his displeasure with being seen as a simple pawn in a worldwide American war game.
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