Vietnam-Netflix

I never understood why the anti-war movement was so strong until it explained both the military’s constant lying about the war and the US media only covering one side. Very powerful
 


WHole thing was on BBC iplayer end of last year and I watched it.

Fascinating insight into a very complicated war.
I believe the BBC version shaved roughly 30/40 minutes off of each episode... Not sure if Netflix have the full American release available, but if they do it might even be worth a re-watch.
 
When I was a kid I can remember grown-ups in the village saying they thought that Vietnam was going to turn into WW3. All through my youth it was on the telly every night - just became kind of background noise. Then when I was about 19 I realised that in the US lads the same age as me would have caught the back end of the draft and end up getting shot at by the VC - that moment really was my political awakening.
Watching the Netflix series helped put a lot of things in place for me. I would recognise lots of things I remembered from news reports at the time but I didn't know the fully story as a connected sequence of events. Also It's interesting to look back at the attitudes I remember in this country at the same time - for instance I can remember that common views of most people of my parents generation were that students involved in the battle of Grosvenor Square should be given the birch and the young people shot at Kent State Uni had it coming if they wanted to go having demonstrations.
One illuminating book is "Street Without Joy" which outlines France's involvement in Indochina, which segued seamlessly into the US involvement in Vietnam. We have a lot to thank Harold Wilson for - when the Americans wanted UK to support them in Vietnam he told them to do one. Not sure that more modern day PMs would have the backbone to refuse to do the US bidding, which worries me for future shit.
 
When I was a kid I can remember grown-ups in the village saying they thought that Vietnam was going to turn into WW3. All through my youth it was on the telly every night - just became kind of background noise. Then when I was about 19 I realised that in the US lads the same age as me would have caught the back end of the draft and end up getting shot at by the VC - that moment really was my political awakening.
Watching the Netflix series helped put a lot of things in place for me. I would recognise lots of things I remembered from news reports at the time but I didn't know the fully story as a connected sequence of events. Also It's interesting to look back at the attitudes I remember in this country at the same time - for instance I can remember that common views of most people of my parents generation were that students involved in the battle of Grosvenor Square should be given the birch and the young people shot at Kent State Uni had it coming if they wanted to go having demonstrations.
One illuminating book is "Street Without Joy" which outlines France's involvement in Indochina, which segued seamlessly into the US involvement in Vietnam. We have a lot to thank Harold Wilson for - when the Americans wanted UK to support them in Vietnam he told them to do one. Not sure that more modern day PMs would have the backbone to refuse to do the US bidding, which worries me for future shit.

Wilson did well but as well as the politics, the memory of Korea where we got a kick up the backside was still fresh in the memory. We were gearing up for Cool Britannia round one - I just think Wilson was an old goat wise enough not to get involved.

The TV coverage was surreal mind. We were brought up with WWII but here was one played out on TV every night like you say, it became background noise. The first conflict to be like that.
 
just back from Vietnam and for anyone who has not been i highly recommend it, it is still unspoilt, the people very friendly the food fantastic and its cheap
 
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