Gordon Carver

RUTR 2320: Amerika Through Russian Eyes

The Value of Propaganda in the Pursuit of Understanding

 2

The Vietnam War casts an irreconcilable shadow on history that has grabbed the

world’s attention since its inception, and the war’s paralyzing sting continues to torment

Vietnam and the war’s survivors. However, the story of General Nguyen Ngoc Loan, the

South Vietnamese soldier pictured above (left), demonstrates that leaving painful topics

misunderstood may be equally venomous. For two years, the world believed Loan had

summarily executed the apparent civilian when, in reality, the man framed as a helpless

victim was actually a Vietcong, a terrorist, and minutes before the photo, had led a

team of communists on a murderous raid, killing a South Vietnamese officer’s entire

family--including his 80 year old mother, his wife and his small children (Dao). This

image illustrates the potential for misperception when people fail to look beneath the

surface of highly provocative issues and exemplifies the human tendency to draw

strong, rash conclusions when emotions are high.

Loan’s story sheds light on the necessity to acknowledge alternate perspectives

in the pursuit of understanding, and through extrapolation, this principle can be applied

to The Vietnam War more generally. From a capitalist perspective, this means

examining the war from a socialist viewpoint and The Soviet Union provides the

marquee point of view in that respect. While not officially involved in combat, the

U.S.S.R. was heavily involved behind the scenes and produced a plethora of propaganda

material (Gaiduk, 19) illustrating, at the very least, the stance it wanted its citizens and
 3

the world to take towards the war in Vietnam. Partially due to Soviet use of propaganda,

the word has been tainted and associated with totalitarianism; however, it is crucial to

recognize that by definition propaganda is, “the attempt to influence the public opinions

of an audience through the transmission of ideas and values” (Taylor, 15) and if

examined carefully, propaganda can provide a valuable perspective that is often

difficult to find elsewhere. The films Ave Maria and Coordinates of Death reveal the

value of propaganda as a resource that provides an alternative and surprisingly

informative viewpoint for Americans pursuing understanding of The Vietnam War.

The animated propaganda short1 Ave Maria, also called Against American

Aggression in Vietnam, is as anti-American as it is anti-war and thus is somewhat

difficult to watch with an open mind as an American; however, the film itself points out

that many Americans sympathize with aspects of the view presented,2 and all of the

representations in the cartoon are based on facts (Armed Forces Information and Education). Ave

Maria premiered in the midst of the conflict (1972) and subtly depicts the U.S.S.R. as

defenders against barbarism and promoters of peace while blatantly painting Yankee

involvement as savagely violent and ungrounded. Although the film was designed for

children (Erickson), it shows no restraint in representing American mutilation of a

naturally helpless enemy and even suggests that Christianity has been distorted by

American people and fails to govern the morals of its believers, forcing the Soviets to

step in.

The animation is underscored by Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria”, which is a

serenely beautiful musical rendition of the Hail Mary prayer, asking for forgiveness of

sins ("Ave Maria Lyrics- English Translation, German, Latin, Byzantine, Ave Maria

1
A short is a film that is not as long a feature length production, that may be shown
preceding a feature length film, and that may be shown along with other shorts. Shorts often
appeal to wider audiences since viewing them requires less of a commitment
2
Following the cartoon, the film shows footage of an American anti-war display.
 4

Schubert Song Lyrics."). Thus, the tone of the film is set by its peaceful, pious, but also

somber soundtrack, which is reiterated by an opening collage of images depicting a

concerned Madonna with child, floating through the clouds. However, this imagery is

abruptly interrupted as the lighting fades and a dark silhouette of a disturbingly

ominous, American cathedral takes center screen as if to indicate that even in

constructing a place of worship the Americans have misinterpreted “God’s will”.3

clarifying how a propaganda short differs from a feature-length film in terms of

potential audience and/or desired effect and how that effect is achieved

The church is filled by a battalion of scowling Generals and G.I.s and the

infantrymen are quickly loaded into choppers as the Church bell rings. The contrast

between true Christianity and American values thickens here as the Yankees are

pictured celebrating Christmas with a gluttonous feast and fireworks before the

animation transitions into a more traditional, manger-like scene showing the

Vietnamese breaking bread and praying. After drawing attention to the possibility that

North Vietnamese practices and intentions are closer to Christianity than those of the

Americans,4 a sequence of images involving flocks of American helicopters, bombs, and

fiery destruction interrupts the manger scene and the accompanying helicopter whops,

explosions, and crackling breaks the harmony of “Ave Maria” and takes over the screen.

As a final touch, this sequence culminates in a full screen display of a banner showing a

saluting soldier and the message: USA IS PROUD OF YOU. In a manner that is clear even

to children, the animator, Ivan Ivanov-Vano, emphasizes the inconsistency between

morality and American policy and hints at the need for a protector of peace.

3
I use quotations here because the U.S.S.R was officially atheist, and those in power saw
religion as the opiate of the masses.
4
Soviets would argue that the North Vietnamese were fighting for the right to unite their
country under leadership that would promote communal interests while the U.S.
involvement in the war was based on a desire to keep its figure-head rulers in place in the
south (Gaiduk, 37).
 5

The U.S.S.R. answers this need in the following sequence when a fleet of

American fighter jets screams onto the scene. The menacing planes forebode more

destruction but are swiftly met by Soviet anti-aircraft weaponry5 that sends the

American fighters into nosedives. Then for the first time in the film, the animation

flashes to mourning American’s, and a narrator begins reading a poem that seems to

speak for the wives crying over their fallen husbands and asks what it will take to end

this war. However, the film quickly returns to the battlefield as the Americans appear to

have doubled their bombing efforts and ground troops are featured for the first time.

Ivanov-Vano emphasizes the destruction brought by the ground troops and

poignantly displays the faceless soldiers gunning down Vietnamese families and

destroying sacred monuments. A particularly heartless soldier then creeps into focus,

and this gas mask donning trooper approaches a Vietnamese girl holding a doll and

wearing a circular white hat on the back of her head that gives off the appearance of a

halo. The girl reaches up to offer her doll to this masked soldier, who looks more like a

blood sucking insect than a human, and without hesitation, the trooper executes her.

Although this animation and the symbolism of many of its images may be

interpreted as savage or even misrepresentative, parallels can be drawn between the

film and the actual conflict, and the propaganda provides insight to the dirtier sides of

America’s involvement. Ivanov-Vano juxtaposes the melody of “Ave Maria” and religious

imagery with American atrocities in order to allude to the tendency of U.S. policymakers

to mask decisions behind the impenetrable guise of morality and the battle for human

rights. This is important to consider because Americans often fail to acknowledge the

use of propaganda in their own environment when in fact some would argue that the

U.S. government’s reports regarding the second Gulf of Tonkin incident went beyond

5
This is assumed based on the fact that Soviets were the main providers of weaponry,
funding, and strategic expertise to the North Vietnamese by 1972 when the film was
produced (Pike, 61).
 6

propaganda and encroached on deceit.6 However, it is also necessary to be weary of the

film’s use of religious themes and metaphors because at times the Soviets encroach on

deceit as well. For example, the depiction of the Christmas celebrations, which suggests

that the North Vietnamese are, at the least, relatively pious and peaceful —contrasting

an American celebration involving fireworks, gluttony, and marked by men in military

uniforms and loading up into choppers with a Vietnamese scene reminiscent of a

manger—is hard to justify. Ho Chi Minh, the Soviet backed North Vietnamese leader,

summarily executed all citizens who were deemed wealthy and helped put more than a

million South Vietnamese into concentration camps (Dao).

Along with parallels between the film’s religious symbolism and reality, the

animation does an excellent job of portraying the succession of America’s phases of

involvement. As presented in Ave Maria initial U.S. involvement in the conflict involved

the use of helicopters as the primary source of military aid ("Viet-Nam: The Struggle for

Freedom"). Also in alignment with the film, increasing Vietnamese expertise of anti-

aircraft weaponry—provided by the Soviets (Pike, 43)—began a change in sentiment

towards the war and resulted in the call for the first American ground troops in March,

1965 along with a massive bombing campaign designed to break the will of the

Vietnamese by destroying everything in sight, including towns and communities rather

than focusing on specific military targets ("Viet-Nam: The Struggle for Freedom"). The

theme of American involvement, as noted in the film, became increasingly controversial

and violent with less and less regard for human life and the animation’s illustration of

all-encompassing destruction coincides with U.S. military strategy ("Bombing As a Policy

Tool In Vietnam: Effectiveness").

6
Reports and decisions regarding this second incident were made hastily and without a
thorough investigation of the alleged attack. The details of this incident are significant
because the alleged North Vietnamese attack resulted in the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution, granting President Johnson the authority to aid Southeast Asian countries
jeopardized by communist aggression. (The Pentagon Papers; the Defense Department
History of United States Decision Making on Vietnam)
 7

While the presentation method of Koordinaty smerti, or Coordinates of Death,

differs radically from Ave Maria, many of Ave Maria’s themes are shared. Coordinates of

Death takes the approach of a dramatic film but is indisputably propaganda and its

central focus appears to be the virtues of Vietnamese communism and its Soviet ally.

The film was produced in the heat of the Cold War and was jointly funded by

Vietnamese and Soviet filmmakers who were officially employed by each respective

country (Nyland); thus, biases are prevalent and many of the film’s messages are

hyperbolized and occasionally loosely founded, but Coordinates of Death does illustrate

and provide an understanding of the socialist side of the story in a way that would never

be possible in Hollywood. Like Ave Maria, the film shamelessly portrays Americans as

heartless killers while picturing the Soviets as defenders of humanitarian values, but

Coordinates of Death also elaborates on U.S.S.R. involvement, American indiscretion,

and the virtues of the North Vietnamese. Coordinates of Death both allows viewers to

feel the pain of the Vietnamese people and illustrates the Socialist perspective on the

war by emphasizing: the negative effects of American involvement on the progress of

Vietnam, the inhuman and irrational actions of Americans, and the extent of the Soviet

aid to Vietnam.

The film demonstrates the devastating effects of American battle tactics by

portraying the Vietnamese potential for growth and prosperity and the positive steps

the North Vietnamese were taking despite the overwhelming obstacles Americans were

creating. Coordinates of Death kicks off with a breath taking view of Vietnam’s inherent

beauty and a display of the Vietnamese people’s productive nature: with sun light

peaking through the canopies of vivid green palm leaves and soothing native hymns

accompanied by the sound of waterfalls, a caravan of traveling Vietnamese riding

elephants, pushing carts full of produce, and carrying construction materials over
 8

shoulders moves along the Ho Chi Minh trail,7 showing all the signs of a nation and a

people on the rise. Unfortunately, this exhibit of serenity is quickly interrupted by the all

too familiar whops of choppers and gun shots of sunglass wearing, fist pumping

Americans who begin spraying everything in sight with machine gun fire and napalm.

Screams and scattering Vietnamese take over the screen as explosions tear up the

landscape and destroy the majority of the caravan. This interruption of a people on the

move is a clear cut representation of the damaging effects American violence is having

on the country of Vietnam and on its ability to advance. By providing almost an exact

reverse of Apocalypse Now’s helicopter attack sequence,8 Coordinates of Death reminds

viewers that the North Vietnamese were fighting not only in hopes of uniting and

bringing prosperity and self rule to their country but also to survive.

Coordinates of Death elaborates on this theme of America creating obstacles to

progress throughout the film and provides a particularly poignant illustration involving

an attack on a village. The scene begins with a pack of American artillerymen smoking

cigarettes and guzzling beers as they cruise the Vietnamese coastline when suddenly a

gathering of sail boats peaks their interest. The soldiers throw their empty beers

overboard and quickly gun down everyone in sight, leaving only a crying toddler

stranded hundreds of yards off the coast and surrounded by the flames of his family’s

burning boat. After this pit stop, the chopper flies on over to the sailors’ nearby village

and the soldiers begin wreaking havoc immediately. As the men in the chopper pick off

the scattering cows with disgusting pleasure, a troop of infantrymen skid onto the scene

in their jeeps. The Americans begin attacking the quiet village, shooting through huts in
7
The Ho Chi Minh trail was a logistical system built as a gateway between North and South
Vietnam and was used to provide North Vietnamese support to the Vietcong in the South.
However the trail also represented dreams of uniting Vietnam under socialism (Prados) and
for this reason the filmmakers’ choice of the Ho Chi Minh trail for the opening scene is
particularly significant.
8
It is possible that the parallels of these two scenes is intentional and that the role reversal
portrayed in Coordinates of Death was a direct response to Apocalypse Now’s sequence
since Coordinates of Death premiered 6 years after Apocalypse Now in 1985.
 9

hopes of hearing screams of dying townspeople and extinguishing all signs of life before

setting everything in sight ablaze.

Although this depiction is appalling and tempting to write off as unrealistic, there

is evidence of American attacks of this nature,9 and the film makes a valid point that

America’s general strategy of attacking entire towns and any form of substantial

structure10 was not only cruel but also destructive to the progress of a country

attempting to work its way out of poverty and civil strife. In the battle scene described

above, the Americans are depicted damaging Vietnamese progress in a variety of ways:

annihilating families both in boats and in the village—littering beer cans all the while,11

destroying the Vietnamese’s produce by shooting cows and burning grain fields, and

decimating the village to the point that burning rubble was the only standing evidence

of civilization. Kate Francis—an American singer in the film who came to Vietnam to

walk the Ho Chi Minh trail in order to see the horrors of Vietnam first hand—sums up the

message of the atrocity described above by saying, “The partisans, the people of Kutti,

who dug 250 kilometers of tunnels, they live there and die there and raise children

there. Yes Americans should know that. They [North Vietnamese] take to their tunnels

when they know they’re [Americans] attacking. […] They’re [Americans] coming to

destroy all of Vietnam not just the partisans and the soldiers of the north but every

individual Vietnamese, and I mean all Vietnam united” (Filippov, Galibin). Francis’

9
On March 16, 1968 a U.S. Army unit massacred at least 100 civilians most of whom were
women, children, and elderly people ("Nation: THE MY LAI MASSACRE - TIME").
10
Due to the Vietnamese’s lack of infrastructure, any form of substantial structure became a
target, including towns, and the U.S. intended for its bombs to break spirits as opposed to
only taking out strategic military targets ("Bombing As a Policy Tool In Vietnam:
Effectiveness").
11
As the image of the crying boy who has just witnessed the murder of his parents and
siblings communicates so well, war and particularly war involving the tactics used by
Americans in Vietnam separates families and often leaves abandoned and helpless children.
The separation of families by war is also illustrated by the film in a less direct sense when a
main character, Fong, is separated from his son by a mission that sent him to the Soviet
Union for the first 2 years of his son’s life—and then when Fong returns an American, the
bombing of Haiphong results in the death of his child before he is able to meet him face to
face.
 10

tearful speech, while perhaps over the top, brings attention to the fact that attacks

dictated every facet of Vietnamese life,12 preventing any hopes of progress towards a

solution to the paralyzing problem of instilling an effective method of governance.

In the same village attack described above, Coordinates of Death provides its

most powerful and offensive demonstration of American inhumanity and mindless

violence. As mentioned above, the village targeted by the U.S. is quiet and appears

completely harmless, yet the Americans attack the place with a ferocity and

ruthlessness that can only be described as horrifying. However, in the description above

the most horrifying details were not even revealed. Amidst the aimless firing and

burning of huts, a demented American approaches one of the huts and upon finding a

mother huddled with her two young children, he smugly activates a grenade and tosses

it into the mother’s lap with a grin on his face before scampering out of the hut as it is

blown to bits.

This murder is a disgusting display of violence and is a hideous demonstration of

the negative effects of war. The killing here is without a doubt irrational and inhuman,

and the film uses this exhibit to promote its message that America is acting without

reason, showing a deplorable side of itself, and involving itself in a conflict that America

is not capable of ameliorating. Along with the gruesome display of rancor in the village,

Coordinates of Death illustrates similar American behavior throughout the film and in

both the sail boat sequence and the attack on the Ho Chi Minh trail described earlier.

These atrocities portray the American strategy of aiming to break Vietnamese spirits
12
After depicting the American bombing of Haiphong, the leaders of Haiphong are shown in
a meeting where they discuss a plan of action. Their main focuses are: evacuating women
and children, trying to keep the city going by operating factories at night and clearing the
hundreds of mines Americans have littered Haiphong harbor with, leaving no room to
consider progress. Along with the tactical impact of American attacks, the North Vietnamese
are forced to face life threatening situations on a daily basis, and the film shows the North
Vietnamese using a primitive and extremely risky method to defuse the mines that
illustrates not only the urgency with which the Vietnamese feel they need to address
American obstacles in order to sustain their community but also the danger and emotion
wrenching results this need has on the entire community.
 11

rather than to take out strategic targets and bring questions regarding this strategy into

light. Again, Kate Francis sums up the message of the films display of American

involvement with her statements at the end of the film: “This horrible war can only

bring shame on my country. […] For the most part American soldiers are waging war

here against women, children, and old people. […] Americans have no right to do this.

Finding every way to kill them, bombarding and shooting the innocent, and spreading

all of their chemical poisons until everybody’s dead” (Filippov, Galibin). This view of

American involvement is pretty incriminating, but while tough to acknowledge as an

American, it is necessary to realize that not only did individual actions in Vietnam go

beyond anything justifiable, America’s actions in Vietnam based on suspect reasoning.13

The final theme of Coordinates of Death is the benefits of U.S.S.R. aid to its

socialist comrade the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The film provides accurate

insight to the extent of Soviet involvement in the war both symbolically and directly. An

interesting sequence featuring Soviets as mentors to the Vietnamese begins with Fong,

a Vietnamese who had spent two years studying war strategy among other things in the

Soviet Union, making his return to his home country. Ilya, a Soviet engineer en route to

Vietnam in order to help construct bridges for the country in dire need of infrastructure,

is teaching Fong the simple game of checkers but there is a lot going on. Ilya shares a

lesson on Soviet lingo (as Fong takes notes on a pad), then advises Fong to go on

playing despite the menacing American helicopters and American patrol boats circling

the Soviet ship, and meanwhile Fong showcases his new understanding of checkers as

he beats his teacher and uses Ilya’s terminology for victory—not to mention that the

entire interaction has been in Russian. This series of events respectively symbolizes: the

impression of Soviet culture that Soviet involvement and interaction with the

Vietnamese is leaving, the Soviet belief that the Vietnamese must continue to promote
13
The passage of The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution—mentioned earlier—is a particularly
significant example of an American decision based on suspect reasoning.
 12

their cause and strive for progress despite the nuisance of intrusive Americans, and the

speed and expertise with which the Vietnamese have managed to pick up on Soviet

teachings. The symbolism of the sequence does not stop here as the American patrol

boats motor up to the side of the Soviet ship and demand to board, the Soviets refuse

to allow the Americans to board and alert the Americans that this would be a violation

of international law and ask whether the Americans are prepared to perform an act of

war against the U.S.S.R. before the Captain stares down the barrels of engaging

American weapons and signs off saying, “We are a Soviet ship in international water.

We are proceeding to our port of call”(Filippov, Galibin). This interaction indicates that

the Soviet Union will not be manipulated by presumptuous Americans making unlawful

demands and are willing to stand up to the United States when the U.S. is in the wrong.

Furthermore, the Soviets display a willingness to protect humanitarian values and aid

the Vietnamese even if it puts them at risk of attack from the Americans.

The symbolism of the sequence above is reiterated more directly throughout the

film as the Soviets are shown aiding the Vietnamese in various aspects of their struggle.

After the confrontation with the American patrol boats, Haiphong harbor is bombed by a

fleet of American jets, destroying the boat and bringing destruction to the city. The

Soviets seem to know how to respond and while Ilya hoses down and tries to control the

flames caused by American bombs, the captain orders all hands on board to abandon

ship just before the boat begins blowing up violently and sinks.14 As the boat sinks, the

American bombers make another pass and Soviet anti-aircraft weaponry15 that has been

stationed around the city along with support from a Soviet gunboat takes down over

half of the planes—this is an impressive ratio and exhibits a mastery of Soviet weaponry
14
Interestingly, the Soviet Captain looks less shocked than disappointed by the attack--
almost to imply that this sort of behavior is deplorable but to be expected from Americans.
15
The weaponry used to take down the planes is not explicitly shown to be Soviet at this
point in the film, but in a later scene an American POW complains that he was lied to and
had come to Vietnam under the belief that no Soviet rockets would be over there.
 13

by the North Vietnamese. This Vietnamese mastery of weaponry provided by the

Soviets is illustrated throughout the film and is also made apparent in the opening

scene on the Ho Chi Minh trail when the film makes a point to focus on a Soviet made

AK-47 just before the Vietcong takes down a helicopter. In another scene, the movie

prominently features powerful looking military trucks, driven by Vietnamese, but with

Soviet flags on them. Along with these illustrations of Soviet aid through the supply of

weaponry and machinery, Soviets are shown as contributors to North Vietnamese

efforts through its education of the Vietnamese. In one scene, Fong, who went to the

Soviet Union to learn methods of defense, is described as the only man in Haiphong

capable of defusing the American mines that they had laid out in order to blockade the

harbor, and actually Ilya argues that the mission to defuse a particularly dangerous

mine is too dangerous for Fong alone and offers to go with him, so that they can

successfully defuse the bomb together, which they do. Through a variety of means,

Coordinates of Death demonstrates the value and breadth of Soviet aid to the

Vietnamese.

Coordinates of Death can be criticized for portraying issues surrounding the

Vietnam War as black and white when that simply is not realistic, and the film displays

Soviet and socialist biases that must be qualified; however, the film successfully

provides a view of the war from an alternate perspective and adds insight to the war’s

underlying causes and conflicts. While the film does its best to paint the American

military as beer guzzling thugs, it does not write off Americans as a people and actually

depicts Katie Francis as a hero and humanist. The film also accurately portrays

American involvement as a debilitating interruption to North Vietnamese efforts to unite

and build their country around Communism, instead forcing the Vietnamese to focus on

defending themselves and their families against American led Democratic forces while

trying to clean up the ruins of destruction and rebuild what little infrastructure the
 14

Vietnamese had. The film also illustrates American inhumanities that were based on

actual events, and by showing that Americans were killing North Vietnamese in every

way possible the film encourages the thought that America may not only have based its

strategy on morally questionable grounds but also may have based its involvement on

logic that is hard to justify. As a final contribution to understanding of the war,

Coordinates of Death provides a historically accurate account of the details of Soviet

involvement, and illustrates the many levels and forms of aid that were supplied.

Although the film does not provide both sides of the story, Coordinates of Death

presents a Soviet perspective on the Vietnam War and is a valuable resource to an

understanding of the war.

The Vietnam War was and remains one of the more horrifying atrocities in world

history and thus is controversial and elicits strong opinions on issues surrounding the

war. The controversy and emotions surrounding the war make it all the more important

to understand and require that we examine the conflict from all angles. Ave Maria and

Coordinates of Death provide excellent views of the Soviet perspective and in the

process demonstrate the sometimes ignored value of propaganda. Ave Maria brings to

light the ruthlessness and possible hypocrisy of American involvement while revealing

the horrors of the war from a socialist vantage point. Coordinates of Death elaborates

on the socialist viewpoint and by contrasting American involvement with both Soviet

and North Vietnamese involvement, the film illustrates not only the devastating effects

of American inhumanities on a blossoming socialist nation but also the extent of Soviet

aid. In researching these films, I found myself taken aback at times, either shocked that

I had never seen this side of the story before, or because I was horrified to see my

fellow Americans portrayed committing actions that I considered impossible from men

fighting for our country. These moments of shock revealed personal biases I had never
 15

recognized before and exposed yet another value of propaganda as well as the effect

that American propaganda has had on me.

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