Horst Faas’ Camera: Weapon of Mass Deconstruction

Saigon Execution by Eddie Adams

Respected Associated Press (AP) picture editor Horst Faas has passed away, aged 79.

Recognised as a fearless and unwavering war photographer, for more than half a century he influenced generations of photographers and unrelentingly carved new standards for covering war.

Even though I learnt of his name mere moments ago, I am compelled to pay tribute to him because he shaped my life, specifically, my perspective on life.

My father’s library consisted mostly of books on the Vietnam War. From a young age I had access to volumes on social injustices during war, dissertations on poor military strategy and, profoundly, book upon book containing haunting images of that sad war.

The most memorable images are known with the simplest of descriptions: Napalm Girl, Saigon Execution and ‘War is Hell’ Soldier. These photos are famous, renowned, vastly significant; they exist in the public consciousness because of Faas.

Napalm Girl by Nick Ut

Having said that, whilst I thought they were universally known, in year 8 when I showed these images to my class during a presentation, the faces of my fellow early teenage students turned grey and their eyes bulged. They had not seen the photos before.

The impact was palpable; boys who were too cool for school or thrived on machismo gasped, put hand to mouth and looked away. A collective innocence was lost that day – one that I perhaps never had being the child of Vietnamese boat people.

Faas was chief of the AP in Saigon from the early ’60s to his departure in the mid ’70s. He commanded an army of photographers and demanded that they always ‘come back with good pictures’. His work in Vietnam garnered him a Pultizer (his first of two).

Wounded by a rocket-propelled grenade in ’67 he become desk bound but continued to work tirelessly to bring the war into people’s awareness. He mentored Nick Ut who took the photo of the Napalm Girl. He had the guts to push through Eddie Adams’ image of Saigon Execution.

Over 70 journalists lost their lives covering the Vietnam War and Faas almost bled to death in Bu Dop, yet, he survived to build a legacy that has changed the world. Indeed, few people leave this world having made so many marks.

‘War is Hell’ Soldier by Horst Faas

‘War is Hell’ Solider is the Mona Lisa of modern times and is testament to Faas’ ability to arrest our attention instantly. Here is a beautiful young man, his eyes longingly look at us as if he is begging us for love and a chance to escape from the hateful weapon he must wield in his hands.

Faas and his team turned the tide on the Vietnam War. Technological advances in the way images could be captured and transmitted rapidly meant for the first time in history, the world was seeing war as it happened. It made many queasy and I dare say was the catalyst for mass protest against war.

Determination, courage and vision; the next time I raise my Canon I will pause for a moment to pay my respects to this great man. May his army forevermore wield the most powerful weapon in war; the camera – weapon of mass deconstruction.

A Brief History of Vietnam

They say ‘history is written by the winners’.

I have difficulty finding decent resources on past Vietnamese leaders, because of this adage. Vietnamese history has undergone so many rewrites under various regimes that it’s sometimes difficult to pick the heros and villains of Vietnamese culture. Even gods and goddesses fall in and out of favour depending on the government of the day.

Vietnamese people are a hardy and resilient; in the blood of my people is the lineage of centuries of accomplishment through hardship. We have defeated Imperial China (twice), stopped the Mongol hordes at our doorstep (twice) and taken on the greatest world powers of their time including the French, Japanese and Americans.

While every time we have retained our country, each battle and war sees part of history destroyed. Also during the period in which we are dominated by the stronger power, our culture is eroded. Raiders pillage treasures; reformers burn libraries and ‘defenders’ bomb cities from above.

Also, of the remaining books, publications could suffer from poor translation from old Chu Nom script (based on Ancient Chinese) to modern Vietnamese; even poorer translation from Vietnamese to English; or worse rewrites to suit a contemporary political agenda. Truly, history is written by the winners.

How Do You Measure A Year?

This year many of my life long dreams came true.

I’ve had many people say “oh, you’re so lucky” because I’ve spent 6 months travelling, free from work. I have a standard response to that compliment now, borrowed from Walt Disney;

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

Well, it’s the time of year that people compile best of lists, and so too have I. I want to share the important moments of the last 12 months. I am pretty lucky to be living my dreams, but remember you can be too. Just believe in yourself and your ability to make the impossible possible.

January

My personal theory of ‘Back to Zero’ took me to a space of exponential growth. Having planned for three years, I found myself financially free, my professional and private life was balanced, and having rejected material possessions I was unburdened. I had the means to live my dreams. I also unlocked the door to healing and began recovering from the sex abuse I survived as a child (survivor, not victim).

February

I vividly remember the hot, sexy man sidling up to me, shaking my hand while staring deep into my eyes. I almost spontaneously cumbusted when I met and interviewed porn star Brent Corrigan at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. As a bonus, I also made it onto his website. Oh yah, I’m on a porn website (check it out here)!

I almost didn't recognise him with his clothes on!

March

A two year radio project came to a natural end. One of my last interviews for my program The Fool and The Opera was with world renowned conductor Richard Bonynge. I was deeply moved when he also invited to attend a masterclass. It was a great honour.

April

I helped co-ordinate Australia’s first same sex formal for Minus18. I spoke with a girl who told me she was so excited because her girlfriend couldn’t go to her ‘real’ school formal, but they were coming our event together. During the formal, when performer Jessie Upton sang acoustic Somewhere Over The Rainbow the two girls, in tuxedos, slow danced. I cried over how utterly beautiful it was.

May

I farewelled the folks of JOY 94.9, the gay and lesbian community radio station that I’d worked at for over 5 years.  I remember when I joined I was an over-eager young kid of little more than 21. It was the right time to leave because I learnt all that I could and I was aching for new adventures. I left the station, still, an over-eager young kid.

Love is an exploding cigar we willingly smoke - Lynda Barry

June

My media mentor Addam Stobbs passed away and my world was a little sadder. At Addam’s funeral, I held hands with my dear friends Petro and Micah and I remember never wanting to let go. I know it’s from Addam’s lessons that I’ve drawn my most powerful quote, “Gays don’t deserve tolerance. We deserve respect, equality and love.”

July

I hopped on a A380 with my eye on the horizon. Over five months I saw Singaporean soldiers dance in formation, re-learnt to speak and write Vietnamese, sat in on a real Japanese tea ceremony in Tokyo, kitted myself out in hot Korean clothes, walked along the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars and met a British prince.

September

I celebrated my 27th birthday by flying to Tokyo. My happiest moment was hearing the sound of the cicadas and warning alarms at a local train station. The sounds were exactly as they are in the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, the very show that made me fall in love with Japan when I was a mere teen. It took over a decade, but I made it to Tokyo.

October

On the tenth hour of the tenth day of the tenth month of the tenth year, at an outdoor cafe near Hoan Kiem Lake in flawless deep-southern accent Vietnamese, I ordered drinks for my southern American friends. Some I’d met days earlier, others that very day, but we had one thing in common, we were there to enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime festivities for Hanoi’s 1000th birthday.

November

When I was 12 I pretended I was born in Britain and had a posh accent. I’ve always wanted to be part of the world of David Attenborough, Blackadder and Bond (more recently Skins, Harry Potter and Bond). Now, I can happily proclaim I live in the city where it all happens; London.

December

Sitting in a production meeting at my new job, my heart skipped a beat when a colleague mentioned ‘BBC World Service’ and again when I saw a household name from British TV and Hollywood show pop up in my email. I find myself working for a major UK media producer with very recognisable names. I’m still amazed by this!

The Hoberman sphere is impressive when open, similarly your heart is most impressive when open to your dreams.

Đồng Tính Luyến Ái Project – Part 3

I’ve drawn up a wish list of people I would like to interview or discuss as part of the gay Vietnamese programme:

• Andrew Lam – contemporary Vietnamese / American gay author
• Huy Can – historical gay poet and communist
• Van Darkholme – contemporary Vietnamese / American porn actor
• Gay Vietnamese Alliance – American-based support organisation
• Xuan Dieu – historical gay poet and communist
• Song That – long term gay radio program broadcast from San Jose
• Nguyen Tan Hoang – contemporary Vietnamese / American media maker

I’m also very interested in speaking with prominent gay Asian author Benjamin Law after my friend Jojo pointed out that he is writing a book on gaysia (see his article The Discontent of Gaysia).

Đồng Tính Luyến Ái Project – Part 2

Vietnam has men dressed as women perform for important events. Why?

I want to share the basic outline of the Đồng Tính Luyến Ái Project (DTLA Project) with you.

What’s the big idea?

The Đồng Tính Luyến Ái Project will be an 8 part series on gay and lesbian Vietnam. It well give the listener a feel for what it is like to be Vietnamese and gay (whether Vietnamese born, overseas immigrant or overseas-born). It will focus on the social, religious, political and technological factors that impact on private lives.

There will be a mix of factual reporting and personal interviews. The each part will half an hour and content will be in Vietnamese and English (with Vietnamese content translated).

Five core topics have been identified:

• Law (is it legal, what basic rights, what marriage / adoption rights)
• Society (is it accepted, gay interaction, inter-racial relationships)
• Communication (meeting other gays, media coverage, pornography)
• People of influence (historical people and events, current advocates)
• Art (significant works of literature, cultural icons)

What’s involved?

A budget will include funding to support research, scripting, recording, editing and broadcasting activities.

Who’s needed?

Roles required are a programme producer, presenter, audio engineer / editor, interviewer, researcher, copy writer, and translator. 

What’s the plan?

A production schedule will identify research, scripting, recording, editing and broadcasting activities. Initial interview and volunteer requests have been made. A formal proposal for budgeting and grant application purposes will be completed soon.

I believe that the programme enlighten most listeners and expose them to a world they are not familiar with. Indeed I expect I too will learn things. For example, why a male dancer (pictured) dresses as a woman to perform for store grand openings in Vietnam (it is a common cultural practice at funerals too)!

Fear of Freedom

I find it deliciously ironic that I was robbed at Lenin Square in Hanoi.

One day in Vietnam, I switched off all my online profiles.

My Facebook, Twitter and other online profiles were made private, suspended or deleted. It seems a bit melodramatic, but at the time I was petrified. I think it’s a bit silly actually, because looking back, I can declare with certainty that:

• I have never made any comments of a seditious nature against the Vietnamese Government
• I have never participated in any acts of dissidence against the Vietnamese Government
• I have not joined any groups with an interest in overthrowing the Vietnamese Government

So why did I panic and go underground?

It comes back to what used to be my ‘greatest fear’; to be lost in a foreign country with no job, no money, no contacts.

My wallet was stolen in Hanoi and I thought everything was fine (I froze my cards, had emergency cash and my precious passport), but things got weird when I was emailed by a ‘concerned mother’ who wanted to return my wallet. It was an obvious (and common) scam and I knew better than to fall prey.

I made it clear I wasn’t going to hand over my cash, but they started to harass me on Facebook. That’s when I freaked out. The blackmailers were one degree of separation away from my blogs and twitter. In my wallet was also my hotel card and my Australian address. My online and physical presence was known.

I was worried about my tweets because they could have been misinterpreted. In Australia we challenge the status quo as we wish, but in Vietnam there is no such thing as peaceful dissidence and one does not simply challenge the the Government.

Despite many young Vietnamese telling me ‘do as you wish here, it’s a free country’ there is a big difference to the Australian interpretation of the word ‘freedom’.

Having said that, the need to be careful of what you tweet is not just something you should be wary of in the East. In London there have been two cases of arrest and prosecution over a Tweet. All over the world it seems like freedom of speech is fast fading.

So Hungry I Could Eat A Zebra

Om nom nom nom nom.

The Asian leg of my world tour is almost over.

One backpack, two feet, three months travelling, four languages spoken, five cities seen and I’ve learnt more about the world than I would have reading 6 million books.

Funnily, my biggest indulgences in Vietnam was books. At only 20,000d or $1AUD / USD (because it’s the same right of exchange now, hurray!) each, you have to try really hard not to buy a whole library. Its too hot to go out in the middle of the day, so it’s best just sitting indoors wiling away the hours with a book.

One book has hundreds of parables with a cast of villagers in an ancient town; the wicked money lender, the lazy mandarin, the overworked apprentice,  the stupid farmer, the cunning trickster, the clever wife, the prankster child, the wise scholar, the sagely judge and the heavenly deity who restores order deus ex machina.

I remember stories from when I was very young. The tales are used by croons to teach their grandchildren about morals and how to live an honest life. I’m going to retell one as an example:

Our tale begins with a very wealthy man who enjoys more riches than can be spent in a hundred lives, yet he counts every penny of his fortune, guarding it jealously. One day an dear, old friend from the next village visits him.

The miserly host laments, “It’s so unfortunate that you’ve traveled far to see me and I can’t even invite you to stay for dinner. I have no food!”

His friend replies, “Ah, I tell you what – we’ll slaughter the horse I rode on and have a feast for the whole village!”

Surprised, the rich man exclaims, ”Well let us have a king’s feast then! But how will you make the long trip home without your horse?”

The cunning friend retorts, “between old friends this is nothing, and with your permission, I’ll ride home on one of the several fat ducks I saw in your backyard.”

Dan Vogue 101 – The Basics

By The Rivers of Vinh Long (sung to the tune of Rivers of Babylon)

It’s time for an introduction!

The basics are; I’m Melbourne born, 27 years old, of Southern Vietnamese heritage (I speak Viet with a heavy Can Tho accent) and was born in the year of the pig (my oinker traits are loyalty, honesty and stubborn optimism).

I studied marketing at the University of Melbourne and worked in radio at JOY 94.9. I love photography, writing and drawing. I rock climb for the mental challenge, tinker on the piano to annoy others and my obsession is international food; I love weird foods from different cuisine cultures (eg. scorpion, rat, tortoise, dog, snake, etc.).

I adapt quickly and often find myself guiding fellow travellers in towns I’ve only just set foot in. Ironically, I have no internal compass and you’ll often find me with rotating maps to match the direction I am facing (thank goodness the iPhone solved this problem, now you’ll find me constantly figure-eighting my phone).

Six months ago, I quit my job and prepared to set sail for the world. Three months ago, I left my home to tour the world with my heart set on seeing Saigon, Tokyo, Seoul, London, Paris and Rome (as a bare minimum). With no return ticket, I plan on travelling for at least 2 years.

So far, I’ve seen Singapore, Tokyo and the entire coastline of Vietnam. Next week, I’ll fly into Seoul, Hong Kong then London. The most magical thing of all is to see the same sun set in different cities (and clouds seem different everywhere I go).

Up until recently, my greatest phobia was to be in a foreign country with no friends, job or money (my parents are immigrants to I think I inherited this from them). When my wallet was pinched in Hanoi I was forced to face that fear, and walk into it.

Before I left Melbourne, I was interested in a guy my friends nicknamed ‘North-West’. He checked to see if I’d be a suitable boyfriend by asking me for a list of 10 things that make me great. I wrote one, but didn’t share it with him because I felt he should discover it for himself.

Yesterday when I re-read the list I laughed at how ‘inside the square’ my life once was. I wouldn’t write those 10 things now. I don’t think I could be restricted to 10 either –  I need 101, or even more! I guess while travelling, what I’ve learnt is to trust and believe in myself.

I am who I am, and that makes me happy.

I Liiiiiive!

The gong cast to commemorate 1000 Years of Thang Long

There’s a great scene in Disney’s Mulan where the lizardly family spirit Mushu (the powerful, the pleasurable, the indestructable) is woken by a gong and shouts “I liiiiiive!”. Well consider my gong struck; I’m back and blogging again!

It’s been well over a month and I’ve missed telling you about my discoveries, adventures and run-of-the-mill cautionary traveler’s tales.

In the last few weeks, I’ve been bitten by mozzies up and down the coast of Vietnam, seen lots of hilarious Night at the Roxbury-style dancing in Vietnamese nightclubs, celebrated my birthday in Tokyo with a Swede and returned to Hanoi to be faced with my ultimate nightmare.

I’ll tell you more in due time, but for now I’ll just say it’s amazing to be alive – life is great!

For now, I’ll leave you with my favourite moment from Mulan. My family knows the movie back to front and we always singalong to I’ll Make A Man Out Of You.

Hello World!

There’s only 16 days left until the big trip that will take me from Melbourne to London via a 3-6 month stopover in Asia. Destinations will include Singapore, Seoul, Saigon, Hanoi, Hiroshima, Hong Kong. I’m calling it the Quiet Tour because the acronym of all the cities is SSSHHH!!!

Now to really lay on the cheese, I’m going to handover to Belle Perez.