Oct. 7, 1987
Campus Commentary
The campus commentary page gives
the college community a chance to
lettheir voices be heard. Submis
sions should be type, double-spaced,
and limited to SOO words. Copy can
be handed in at the Capital Times
Office or placed in our mailbox in
Room 216.
The Hanoi Hilton
The Hanoi Hilton is a belated
valentine to the POWs of Vietnam. A
valentine still largely undelivered. The
American Legion, along with some
other Vets groups, maintains that this
Cannon production has been backdoored
out of national distribution because of
pressure from the Hollywood establish
ment. These groups allege that it is only
because of "incorrect politics" that this
film has not been made available to a
wider viewing audience. I'm going to tell
you up front--I think they may be
correct.
THE JADED EYE: MOVIE AND
TELEVISION REVIEWS
C. W. Heiser
Because this film is so bound
up in politics, and in the politics of the
Vietnam war, which for us here and now
is still politics in the true emotional
sense, I will go straight to the source
and review The Hanoi Hilton using
Matthew Arnold's three criteria for
criticism. That is, and I paraphrase: 1.
What is the artist trying to do? 2. How
well does the artist succeed in doing it?
3. Does the work exhibit "high
seriousness"? (Does it touch the human
condition?) Embracing the politics, does
the movie still work?
The Hanoi Hilton was pro
duced, written and directed by Lionel
Chetwynd. In this film, Chetwynd's
obvious purpose is to show us the
horror and degradation of American
prisoners of war of the North Viet
namese. In Chetwynd's presentation, a
major component of that degradation is
the betrayal of the POWs by fellow
countrymen.
One of the ways Chetwynd
succeeds in showing us the horror of the
POW experience is through the use of
what I would call open-ended cinema
tography and editing. As we follow
Michael Moriarty as a downed Navy
pilot through years of imprisonment, we
are never manipulated by an expected
sense of ugliness. There are no dank
corners--clean light exposes dirt. In the
set-piece torture scene, the camera stays
in one place, at mid-range, building up
detail on horrible detail. There are no
tricks to distract us from the pain we
see. By using this clean middle distance
throughout the film, Chetwynd gives us
the intellectual latitude to put ourselves
in the picture, while still feeling the
pain. (This smooth editing technique
breaks down in the last portion of the
film. As the war winds down, and the
Vietnamese captors ease off on the
prisoners, the scenes degenerate into a
series of vignettes reminiscent of Stalag
17.)
The most powerful scenes in
the film are not those of physical torture
by the Vietnamese though; but those
relatively quiet scenes, turning on the
idea of betrayal. When the first American
who is tortured breaks, he is devastated,
not by the torture, but in finding out
that he is the first to break. When the
weak character portrayed by Paul La Mat
gives the Vietnamese information, we
are aware that what he tells them is
useless from a military standpoint. What
is damning is that he gave the infor
mation of his own, relative, free will,
without physical torture.
Unlike Apocalypse Now,
Platoon, or any number of Vietnam era
movies, in The Hanoi Hilton the war is
not used as a vehicle to argue larger,
symbolic questions of good and evil. In
The Hanoi Hilton evil is particularized.
This is especially clear in the scenes
based, not very loosely, on Jane Fonda's
visit to the POWs in North Vietnam.
These scenes, like most in the film, are
underplayed, and thus gain power. (And
this not pretty portrayal of Hank's
daughter may be what it is that's keeping
this movie out of distribution. This is
my opinion. Rambo is a heck of a lot
more jingoistic than this flick, by a long
shot, and Sly, the draft-dodging hunk,
hero to millions, has blank check in
Hollywood.) This major Hollywood
actress touring Vietnam is shown as a
dupe, while the POWs are more
interested in the fresh fruit placed by the
North Vietnamese to indicate better
conditions than there were.
Does the film work? Yes,
although it does betray itself in the end.
The final scene shows us the prisoners
cheering and crying at the arrival of a
U.S. military plane to transport them
home. A more honest ending would; have
alluded to the neglect these prisoners
received at their return.
In the next few months, The
Hanoi Hilton will be available on home
video. While not a great film, I do
recommend it as decent adult enter
tainment. Because of the volatile nature
of the theme, I urge you to see The
Hanoi Hilton and form your own
opinion.
Capital Times
I read in a previous issue of the Capital Times that the Nursing
Services Coordinator is trying to line up speakers to discuss AIDS on campus
so as to educate everybody so that they will become smart and not catch it. I
have a few things to say about the issue myself.
A good many people claim that AIDS is a pum'shment from God
delivered upon those wicked people (homosexuals mosly) in the sinful cities
as an example. I have my own views on the subject, which can wait for later.
If we were to drag in one physician per day, complete with coffee,
doughnuts, and slides in livid color, it would still have no real impression on
the average student. I just happened to be in the neighborhood during the last
,k
lecture on the subject, and idly curious soul that I am, I walked in and listened
The speaker was very good, but didn't add much to wh. t I already knew.
I did learn one thing, however, and that is the , ttitude others on
campus have concerning the disease. A lady I know (it estioned the doctor
closely, until she realized he was not going to tell her there is any way to have
sex and not be certain one was safe from AIDS.
That is the real problem, for too many people are unwilling to give up
a pleasant activity, even when faced with possible death. Here is the case as I
see it. AIDS has an incubation period of anywhere froih one to five years. A
person may get it and give it to a staggering number of people within that
time. If a person has AIDS he may not know about it aid continue to transmit
it to others. A "smart" lady these days asks her prospective partner if he has
AIDS. How many people, faced with the possible rejection on a grand scale
such an admission would cause them, would say "Yes" if asked?
The "smartest" people of all practice "safe sexy" These are probably
the same people who refinance their mortgages three a d four times over.
They use all the fun high-tech stuff, condoms, diaphrag ns, foams that remind
one of the stuff that gets sprayed when a crippled 747 i. about to hit the
runway, creams, and other aids of dubious utility.
"Safe sex" is a myth. Balloons break, diaphragms only protect
certain parts of the anatomy, and jumbo jets still burst into flames as they
crash, even if the foam's been shoveled on too deep to walk in.
To be blunt, nothing is guaranteed to work. You may catch AIDS on
even your first time out, and the fact remains that AIDS carries a death
sentence. Think about it a minute, and you will see only One thing to do in the
face of all this. Just don't have sex.
You may stop laughing now. But think about it. An hour's pleasure
could take 50 years off your life. That sure beats the hell out of smoking,
where one cigarette costs you only 15 minutes. So put your energy elsewhere!
Chain-smoke, drink like a fiend, eat until you burst, go into sports or take up a
hobby, or become a workaholic. Just don't go out and have sex, because guys
are always looking to put another notch on their gun and the ladies have been
known to step out.
Of course, if you like to step out too much yotirself, there is the
possibility that you might just watch your hair and teet6 fall out as your weight
drops to 70 and your skin becomes red Swiss cheese. I don't have to worry
about that because I'm not going to get
And so far as those who do arc concerned, I have a proverb that
describes my feelings rather well.
The Devil claims his own
The Shadow
(Editor's Note: The Shadow is a Penn State Harris!)Org student who wishes
to remain anonymous.)
Only The Shadow Knows
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