Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Tuesday, April 1968
PaeTw I-EMCHGN AL
Yf vI14-, 1 - -J
A look at...
'Inside North Vietnam'
by Daniel Okrent
THE FOLLOWING note came in the mail yesterday morning
(unsigned of course) :
"Naturally, I do not actually expect to call your readers' at-
tention to the bias which is the foundation of the "documentary"
(Inside North Vietnam) which is presently being advertized (sic)
in The Daily. I expect that, despite even the Saturday Review's
condemnation of Mr. (Felix) Greene, you will find the time and
space to praise his 'work of art.' I merely wished to call your at-
tention, beforehand, to The Daily's monumental hypocrisy." En-
closed is a Congressional Record excerpt of a speech by Wyoming
Sen. Milward Simpson, entitled "Felix Greene: Red China's Man
in America."
Thank you, dear reader, for your illuminating comments. It
only helps me understand why Felix Greene feels compelled to
make films like Inside North Vietnam, or his earlier China. He
makes them because he feels the definite need to counter the at-
titudes of the writers who don't sign their letters. And 'these, in
turn, do not appreciate Greene's efforts because . they are in-
herently unable to make the easy effort of differentiating truth
from emotion.
WHAT WOULD THE letter writers have those of us who wish
to learn about Vietnam do? Who are we to listen to? The sources
all line up as invariably bad, if we judge them purely on lack of
bias. We are therefore forced to take the best-'and the most be-
lievable-of what is available.
In Greene's film, we don't think for a minute that he is trying
in the slightest to be objective; if we admit this before we settle
into a movie like it, then it is much easier to watch and learn
with- a clear conscience and from a knowledgeable viewpoint. We
don't have to be sickened by the happy-go-lucky representation
of a war-torn nation. We can take this in stride, open our eyes, and
see what's beneath it all. If you will, it is indeed a "work of art,"
if only because it is something new, something we haven't seen
before.
Green takes the 'viewer on a tour of North Vietnam, showing
its land, its people, its leaders and, to some extent, its spirit. The
field workers, the shelter builders, the war makers, we meet them
all. If we do not like the fact that, as a westerner (Greene is an
Englishman living in California), Greene could only see Vietnam
through the eyes of a guide, it is a reality we must face.,
WILL SEE KENNEDY:
LBJ To Meet Thieu
To Discuss Peace
(Continued from Page U phrey declined comment last
tion year. Then - in another night on whether he will seek the
departure from his prepared text I nomination. He said he will not
-he disclosed his plan to confer make a decision until after he
in the United States with Presi- confers with Johnson today.
dent Nguyen Van Thieu "some- McCarthy, a leader of the par-
time in the weeks ahead." ty's anti-war forces, lauded John-
This it was presumed, is seen son's "generous judgment," said
by Johnson as a possible fore- it had "cleared the way for recon-
runner of general peace talks with ciliation of our people." Kennedy
Thieu's foe, President Ho Chi told a news conference Johnson
Minh of North Vietnam. had acted "out of generosity of
Though this capital still was spirit" and dedication to the
dizzy from the political block- country. He said he has sent
buster he dropped into a nation- Johnson a telegram asking for a
ally-televised address Sunday, meeting.
other free world ' capitals hailed B
the new bid for peace. But the two senators got a re-
The world's financial markets minder that it may still be a
reacted favorably. The New York three-horse race. The top Repub-
Stock Exchange saw prices go sky lican aspirant, Richard M. Nixon,
high in record early trading. And told reporters:
the newly-propped up dollar was "Don't downgrade Vice Presi-
not jiggled; the price of gold dent Humphrey."
sagged to $37.70 an ounce in Lon- If Johnson does have ideas of
don and $38.08 in Paris, choosing the new standard bearer,
It was on the U.S. political he did not divulge them.
scene that uncertainty and confu- Humphrey is conceded to be
sion reigned. Both of the Demo- carrying ,one great handicap; he
cratic senators who had chal- has championed vigorously the
lenged Johnson, Kennedy and administration's hard line in Viet-
Eugene J. McCarthy of Minne- nam and thus might perpetuate
sota, praised his decision to bow the national division Johnson
out of 1968 politics, sought to end by bowing out as
Vice President Hubert H. Hum- a 1968 candidate.
Stassen Determined
To Win Nomination
(Continued from Page 1)
his two-man campaign entour-
age (himself and a volunteer
"manager" from Madison). '"
think I have a good chance of
winning."
He's quite obstinate in this
view, and he justifies the op-
timism by drawing a very ob-
tuse parallel: "Bobby Kennedy
only got a small percentage of
the vote in New Hampshire, and
people still talk about him as
a very major candidate."
What Stassen fails to men-
tion is that Bobby Kennedy
had not announced his candi-
dacy, had not campaigned in
the state, and had another man
(Eugene McCarthy) with simi-
lar Views already on the ballot.
Harold Stassen, however,
spent weeks in New Hampshire,
campaigning from one end of
the state to the other; his name
was clearly on the ballot; his
personal bankroll has been dev-
astated by the large sums of
cash he spent there. And he got
less than 500 votes.
The fact that Stassen is
making such a nebulous impact
and is still running is not the
only contradiction in his cam-
paign.
He says he expects great vote
totals from the colleges, yet his
list of Wisconsin colleges with
Stassen - for - President groups
consists entirely of three small
parochial schools in the Mil-
waukee area.
But, he fights on, and as
much as you must pity him,
you like him, too. Harold Stas-
sen is, if nothing else, excru-
ciatingly sincere, and he means
well. Those are both admirable
qualities for a politician.
And, he says, "Our persist-
ence counts." If persistence
counts as much as he hopes,
Stassen cannot lose.
GEOGRAPHY 592
"The Dimensions of Cognitive Space"
presents
JEAN COCTEAU'S film
ORPHEUS*
at
NEWMAN CENTER
TONIGHT at 7:30
Also-4 Experimental Films
John Kolars, Geography Dept.
Is MOTION PICTURE IS DEDICATED TO LIFE,LIBERTY AND
4i
u
is MUSKET
PETITION NOW for
CHOREOGRAPH ER
Petitions available it)
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k
[ % MICHI.GlNj
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NOMINATED FOR
4 ACADEMY
AWARDS
SO GREENE'S MOVIE has its pronounced biases, all of which
are quite evident: his Vietnamese have two basic facial expressions,
one happy and one determined; captured American pilot speaks,
in glowing terms of his captors; interviewed military officials
are cheery and forthright, but probably not unlike American public
figures when examined for their honesty. But even with the slant,
there is much to be learned from it all..
I sincerely believe that the North Vietnamese have all the
determination that Greene attributes to them. His camera shows
some remakable devastation, and this is finely juxtaposed with
shots of down-and-out rice paddy workers with carbines strapped
to their backs. The primitive tools of the peasants, put into use
after major machinery is destroyed by bombing, are indicative
of the nation's willingness to endure the greatest hardship to reach
a goal.
What is missing from the film, and what probably irks most of
those who view it, is any representation of disagreement, of ques-
tioning of leadership and direction,.of local evil. It would be niceE
if Greene could reach a balance, but any . discriminating viewer
should be able to self-compensate.
Really: Inside North Vietnam is a very good film. It may not
be as good as the American Friends Service Committee's Time of
the Locusts (which should be seen by anyone with any doubts at
all about the Vietnam War), and it is considerably better than
the State Department's -abrasive Why Vietnam? But even this last
should be seen, because men's arguments sometimes expose their
own idiocies far better than the arguments of an opponent. And all
arguments, together, help the outsider find the consensual truth.
* El
Truman Capote's
IN COLD
BLOOD
"LEAVES ONE
CHILLED!"
-N.YTimes
Wrnen tot the screen and direced by
Richard Brooks
Positively no one under 16 admitted unless
.accompanied by a parent orEuardian
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Directed by George Stevens, 1951
Based on Dreiser's "An American Tragedy"
MONTGOMERY CLI FT
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PRESENTS THE
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Directed by JOHN HIRSCH,
Designed by LESLIE HURRY
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1968-1969
CHORAL UNION SERIES
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APRIL 1-6, 1968
Evening Performances - Mon. through Sat. 8 :30 pm.
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ALL PERFORMANCES IN
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FOX EASTERN THEATRESinVeyLat a
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HILL AUDITORIUM
CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA .......... Oct.
GARY GRAFFMAN, Pianist . Oct.
BAVARIAN ORCHESTRA OF MUNICH.......... Oct.
BIRGIT NILSSON, Soprano .................. Nov.
YEHUDI MENUHIN, Violinist; and
HEPHZIBAH MENUHIN, Pianist.......2:30, Nov.
GREGG SMITH SINGERS.................2:30, Jan.
HAGUE PHILHARMONIC..................... Jan.
"CARMEN" (Goldovsky Opera Co.) ......8:00, Feb.
RUDOLF SERKIN, Pianist .................... Mar.
MOSCOW STATE SYMPHONY ................Mar.
Season Tickets: $30.00-25.00-20.00-15.00-12.00
5
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