Monday, October 13, 1997
Vietnamese groups protest puppet show
PROTEST: They see red over what they claim is censored
performance
By George Sweeney
Daily Bruin Contributor
A throng of them – men, women, young and old alike – were waving
red-and-gold-striped Vietnamese flags and American flags. They
carried signs that read "Please Stop Communist Propaganda" and
"Against Brutality of Human Rights in Vietnam" while the Vietnamese
national anthem blared out across the campus.
Ironically, they were not protesting a communist rally or the
coming of a Vietnamese dignitary. Instead, they were protesting a
puppet show.
More than 200 protesters from Vietnamese community groups stood
outside the Sunset Recreation Center Amphitheater this weekend,
protesting "Thang Long," the sold-out Vietnamese water-puppet
show.
Protesters claim the show perpetuates an untrue image of what
Vietnam is like today. The organizers of the event see it as a form
of artistic and cultural expression. And the Vietnamese students of
UCLA are torn between realizing their culture and condemning an
oppressive communist regime.
The protesters say the Vietnam of today is one rife with
human-rights violations and poverty, not the kind of country that
routinely puts on puppet shows.
The puppet show is from Hanoi, in the northern part of Vietnam.
It deals with an idyllic country life and the lives of farmers.
The protesters argue that the show does not represent all of
Vietnam. First, Hanoi is a traditionally communist area, and so the
content could be slanted. Secondly, they argue, the representation
of idyllic country life is manufactured, and does not represent the
oppressive nature of Vietnam today.
"(‘Thang Long’) is not Vietnam, it’s propaganda. Our culture is
very beautiful, but they are sending messages of not what Vietnam
really is: the poverty, the violations," said Tammy Tran, a
protester from Phan Boi Chan Youth for Democracy, an organization
that represents Vietnamese college and high school students from
all over California.
Duc Do, chairman of the protesters’ coordination committee,
tells of a higher communist plot to soften the image of Vietnam. In
order to leave the country, "Thang Long" had to get permission from
the government.
By selecting what is extended to the world the government is
controlling how the world sees Vietnam, he argues. The puppet show
gives a false image of Vietnam’s reality.
"They are manipulating the international opinion. They oppress
religion. They violate human rights in Vietnam. We would like to
express that ‘Thang Long’ is not a pure performance. It is
propaganda," said Do.
The protest resulted in some customers turning away, according
to organizers.
The idea of a communist plot is foreign to the organizers,
partly because the water-puppet show is part of the Center for the
Performing Arts’ children’s series. Organizers say it is difficult
to imagine that something so benign could have such wide
implications.
"The center is about bringing the best of quality art and
culture to the community. We do not make our decisions based on
political expression," said Celesta Billeci, the center’s
programming coordinator.
The event is an expression of culture, and although the
organizers say that they sympathize with the plight of the
protesters, there is very little that can be done.
In the past, the protesters have been successful in forcing
organizers to cancel the puppet shows at colleges in Northridge,
San Diego and Oregon.
"We’ve met with the Vietnamese over the last couple of days, and
I am very empathetic to their terms," Billeci said. "We explained
that we are not going to cancel this event. UCLA has a longstanding
tradition of freedom of expression, artistic freedom and academic
expression."
Billeci added that there is no government money involved in the
event. "Thang Long" was brought to the U.S. by Broadway Asia, a New
York cultural-arts group, and appears to be free of communist
control.
However, Vietnamese students who were granted a chance to speak
to the artists told a very different story.
Tram Linh Ho, a Vietnamese Student Union representative to the
Asian-Pacific Coalition, related the unwillingness of the
puppeteers to respond to political questions and issues of
happiness in their performance. According to Ho, many of the
puppeteers expressed fear for their families if they were to be too
forthcoming.
This raises questions as to whether the puppeteers are freely
expressing themselves or if they are doing as the government
commands them.
"(The puppeteers) are limited to what they can say and do. They
are censored by the government," said Ho.
Unable to discern the true intent of "Thang Long" – whether
propaganda or group expression – spectators are left to draw their
own conclusions.
"It is perfectly legitimate to have this kind of political
voice, especially at an educational institution. And what I will do
is go back and read some and learn some more, which is perfectly
healthy," said spectator Anne Marie.
Conversely, some parents brought their children for another
experience.
"We came to enjoy some of the cultural aspects of the event,"
said Pat Wyatt, another attendee.
Unfortunately for the protesters, this is entirely what they are
trying to guard against.
"They don’t realize what they are really seeing," Tran said.
"They are here to send their children to a puppet show. That show
is not being shown in Vietnam – (the children of Vietnam) are on
the streets begging for food."
While the spectators must choose whether to attend the show,
Vietnamese students must choose between watching a cultural event
and endorsing the Vietnamese government, or protesting and losing
the opportunity for cultural enrichment.
The students must ask whether culture is important enough to
bypass the political problems of the nation itself.
Fortunately, the Vietnamese community is willing to aid in
teaching the students their cultural heritage.
Ho said on holidays like the Tet New Year, the community wants
to lend the students their expertise in creating authentic cultural
experiences.
In addition to understanding their parents’ willingness to help,
the Vietnamese students are sympathetic to the concerns of their
parents and community.
"We condemn the government that murdered our grandparents,
enslaved our fathers, oppressed our brothers and sisters and forced
us out of our homeland," the Vietnamese Student Union said in a
statement.
And while the show is beneficial culturally for Vietnamese
students, the country that it comes from cannot escape its
past.
"The art itself is a great thing," Ho said. "But how do we get
around all of the suspicions and the implications?"
AARON TOUT / Daily Bruin
Protesting the puppet show, Vietnamese community members rally
outside the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center Amphitheater against
the "Thang Long" water-puppet show.
UCLA Center for the Performing Arts
An idyllic story about farm life, the show itself is
apolitical.