Vietnam Film

[Falco]

So, I can make this lengthy but I'll save your time and my time, I'm trying to create a Vietnam War film, am I filming it? No, but I'm creating ideas so in the grand scheme of things what's the difference? Well, in this pandemic, I've hit a wall, I'm stuck, my ideas are typically average or worse and when I find a plot I like, I typically scrap it half way through. In the end, I'm drowning in failed ideas. This is why I'm asking you this: Do you have any ideas? Any plots? Any characters? Any lines of dialogue or scenes? Hopefully this will help me get some ideas, break through the metaphorical wall, and if I see it fit, I may use some of the crowd generated ideas.

Thanks in advance,
A random user

[Kamiyé]

Nguyên văn bởi Daytona1981:

Any opinions as to whether I'd get a lawsuit or not?

For a common deuteragonist trope? Unlikely. Apocalypse isn’t the first or last movie to have this kind of character makeup.

[Falco]

Nguyên văn bởi Autamor:

Nguyên văn bởi Daytona1981:

Any opinions as to whether I'd get a lawsuit or not?

For a common deuteragonist trope? Unlikely. Apocalypse isn’t the first or last movie to have this kind of character makeup.

Delightful, an idea I like (for now) and it won't get some kind of lawsuit. Thanks for the confirmation, it appears to be that this thread did what it set out to do.
Thanks,
A random user

[GhostyOsty]

Maybe you should research about the Vietnam War. Woah, what a great idea!
No problem,
Another random user.

[Falco]

Yes, I have done research already, thanks for the great idea but it's already been used.
Thanks,
A random user

[Vince ✟]

Write something comparing modern Kabul to Saigon. We've once again left...shamefully.

[Falco]

Thanks for the suggestion! Also, why did you delete your poem in the other thread?

[Drab]

Nguyên văn bởi the vampire of time and memory:

make sure to show all the war crimes and atrocities the US committed

Don't forget to show all the war crimes the NVA and Viet Cong committed against their own people.

[Falco]

Well, it's a war film guys, what do you expect? Both sides committed terrible stuff, besides, this thread is dead, leave it alone.

[Xautos]

Nguyên văn bởi Daytona1981:

Any opinions as to whether I'd get a lawsuit or not?

can't see any reason why a creative work based on real life war will have any lawsuits impending. what might trigger lawsuits is if you rehash another film with the same plot. and same type of characters.

Most American films in war show the americans always winning their battles over their enemies because jingoism at the time sold extremely well and who doesn't want to see a bunch of american soldiers win over the big bad enemy in their territory, putting the American flag up over the smouldering ruins and enemy corpses litter the area of the enemy base and unfurling it to the star-spangled banner when that anthem plays.

The characters are always played by a tough as nail tight lipped commander who is full of pride enough to never ask for help and hope his men will offer it instead. while his men are young and brash and lack a little discipline and almost always require a dress down at one point or another.

The rest of the film is a little character development and a lot of killing in some swampy area with at least one or two american soldiers dying to Viet Cong/NVA troops from a meat grinder ambush.

[Sam]

Are you still trying to write your manuscript? I actually thought you've given up on that. Well, at least I've to admire your tenacity.

Some time ago, I came across David Hoffman's Youtube channel. Very interesting stuff. He's posted one video in which he interviewed Bill Ehrhart, a Vietnam veteran and author of Vietnam-Perkasie: A Combat Marine Memoir, in 1990.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tixOyiR8B-8

If you're really serious about writing, you should consider doing some extensive research about the topic in the first place: books, microfiche, documentaries, or all sorts of interviews are a great source of information. If you know some veterans personally, talk to them, or even contact organizations such as the NVF and ask if some members are willing to share their experiences with you.

However, the problem is still the same as the last time. Why do you want to write about the Vietnam War in particular? Is there a unique perspective you can add to this topic that hasn't been covered ad nauseam? The last time you came up with this introductory passage from Apocalypse Now paired with a combination of clichés characteristic for movies like Missing In Action or Rambo: First Blood Part II paired with plot elements reminding me of badly written missions from mediocre computer games. You should ask yourself if that is what you're aiming for. If the answer is yes, then go for it. If you're aiming at something prosaic and venerable such as verisimilitude, you should put some more effort into that writing of yours.

Ask yourself where the point of commonality is for you. Do you want to write about something that happened probably before your birth in a land you've never been to, about situations you only know about from movies and computer games, about emotions you can only speculate about, or do you want to write about something you can relate to? If the latter is the case, then simply step away and try to perceive your project from a distance. Clint Eastwood is getting old, and so do his films, but he incorporated some interesting elements in his Gran Torino, unfortunately in a very simplistic and moralistic way. Admittedly, Walt Kowalski, is a Korean War veteran, but this is something most of us can relate to: getting old, grumpy and increasingly disconnected to an ever changing world. Why not approach the entire Vietnam theme from an angle like that? Make it meaningful and worth your time.

If I wrote something about the topic, I'd probably approach it from a sort of meta level perspective I could relate to: a young or, in my case, middle-aged man trying to find his own voice about Vietnam, meeting veterans, talking to them, thinking about what they've told him, doing research on the topic, thinking about the myriad perspectives in popular culture and finally finding his own. You could cover elements such as coming of age, old age and memory, coping with traumatic experiences, social issues such as poverty, or the rather meagre compensations veterans get for cancer caused by the long-term consequences of Agent Orange, for example. If you're a great fan of flashbacks, you can try to incorporate them into your story, but this is always tricky.

P.S.: Have you ever thought about attending a creative writing class? It certainly helps you with structuring your ideas and learning the basics. Nevermind. Good luck with your writing.

[Falco]

Thanks for the support and suggestion, my main goal is for this to exceed philosophically with a decent amount of retrospect on the human nature.

[Falco]

The Catcher in the Rye, novel by J.D. Salinger published in 1951. The novel details two days in the life of 16-year-old Holden Caulfield after he has been expelled from prep school. Confused and disillusioned, Holden searches for truth and rails against the “phoniness” of the adult world. He ends up exhausted and emotionally unstable.
-Britannica




The Great Gatsby, third novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1925 by Charles Scribner’s Sons. Set in Jazz Age New York, the novel tells the tragic story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, and his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, a wealthy young woman whom he loved in his youth. Unsuccessful upon publication, the book is now considered a classic of American fiction and has often been called the Great American Novel.
-Britannica

So we know that there are plenty of famous films based on a novel right? This got me thinking, if it worked for people back then then it should work for me right? As such I have decided for this Vietnam War film to be a concoction of The Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby. They both deal with a certain pursuit or chase. TCITR deals with Holden searching for the truth and ending up exhausted and emotionally unstable while TGG deals with Jay and his pursuit for Daisy. Couldn't our main character James Marlow become disillusioned with the American forces? Couldn't James Marlow go on a chase for the truth? Couldn't he chase morality and come back empty handed? After becoming disillusioned couldn't James Marlow lose his sanity as he goes insane and dive deep into madness? And in the end couldn't this young man become a burnt out soldier left to roam the jungle for the rest of his life? Whether he likes it or not (ptsd)?

Any opinions on this new idea?

[Sam]

Nguyên văn bởi Daytona1981:

Couldn't our main character James Marlow become disillusioned with the American forces? Couldn't James Marlow go on a chase for the truth? Couldn't he chase morality and come back empty handed? After becoming disillusioned couldn't James Marlow lose his sanity as he goes insane and dive deep into madness? And in the end couldn't this young man become a burnt out soldier left to roam the jungle for the rest of his life? Whether he likes it or not (ptsd)?

The end sounds a bit like Jacob's Ladder, but it isn't that bad. Chasing the truth can get you into philosphical hair-splitting, but The Great Gatesby combined with madness and Vietnam is certainly interesting. Now you just have to flesh it out a bit. Here's one possible version.

What your plot needs is a Major Gatesby who runs an illegal underground strip club near the Ho Chi Minh trail. Marlow is fascinated by Gatesby's extravagant parties and his flamboyant lifestyle. He meets Daisy, a former Vietcong spy now turned stripper who works in Gatesby's club. He falls in love with her, but she plays him false: she only wants revenge for her three-armed brother Bình Minh, a toddler who has grown an extra limb due to the American Forces' use of Agent Orange and gone totally crazy as a result of it. Marlow becomes disillusioned with the war because he blames America for Daisy trying to kill him, accidently falling into a Punji trap and dying from her wounds.

Marlow returns to Gatesby's strip club, where the latter is inaugurating his new jacuzzi with Mama-san and a few of the girls. As he drowns his sorrows with booze and marijuana, he suddenly hears Binh Minh's hysterical laughter from within the jungle. Armed with a flame thrower, the crazy, mutated Vietcong baby starts burning down the place. Gatesby jumps out of the jacuzzi just before Binh Minh turns Mama-san and the girls into sizzling chunks of grilled meat. He manages to cover his private parts with an American flag but stumbles over an unused napalm barrel, catches fire and dies in agony. Binh Minh laughs even louder, chokes, and dies. Marlow finally goes bonkers and staggers into the jungle.

[Falco]

Thanks for the review and idea!

[Sam]

No need for that, mate. That was just some nonsense. However, if you're serious about writing, or at least want to enjoy it as a craft or hobby, you should consider taking a writing class at a local community college. They're not that expensive, and you can learn the tricks of the trade: coming up with ideas and different types of characters, developing them, or writing dialogues or scenes in general. You'll mostly end up with first drafts for short stories, but it's a good exercise, especially when you tend to drown in failed ideas, as you describe it.

Most action movie scripts are formulaic anyway: just compare For a Fistful of Dollars or Yojimbo, if you like, with Rambo: First Blood Part II. The dramatic structure is essentially the same: exposition, rising action, first confrontation, denouement, final confrontation. What's really interesting is that there's not a single round or fully developed character in any of these three movies. They function without any character development at all: thus, flat or stock characters totally suffice. Or would you really want to know more about Michael Dudikoff's character in American Ninja, one of my all time favorites? It's not really important to have some great ideas: I haven't seen a great idea in a movie for a very long time now. Most writers rely on cliches and overly used tropes, and the majority of the audience is happy with yet another Marvel movie.

In "Politics and the English Language," Orwell once wrote that you shouldn't use metaphors already printed before. That's formulaic writing: it's just words without meaning. But those formulas can actually help you to develop your own style or come up with your story, so they can be powerful instruments for you to overcome your initial weaknesses.