Vietnamese popular music during the Vietnam War

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2019-08

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Abstract

It is interesting that in times of difficulties, such as warfare, music tends to thrive. Music is significant in comprehending wars as it both stimulates and solves various social and political conflicts in the contemporary world. Studying Vietnamese music from the Vietnam War (1954-1975) could immensely reveal not only the emotional perspective from the people involved in history regarding their participation in the war but also many of the causes, controversies, and contradictions that embody the war. Furthermore, studying music can help recover the lives of those who were lost to more traditional forms of history. While American music during the war is widely examined, Vietnamese social and cultural history, especially the musical scene of this era is sometimes understudied. There is a lack of academic literature that thoroughly analyzes the influence of the Vietnam War on Vietnamese music and its impact on Vietnamese people. By analyzing popular songs together with policies from North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the United States, this research offers a microcosm to the complexity of the Vietnam War. The different political ideologies between the North and South Vietnam caused a divergence in the musical scenes between the two regions. While music has the ability to intensify the conflict and evoke violence, it can also transgress warfare and bound soldiers and civilians together.

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Music, Vietnam War

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