Social and Cultural Issues in the Vietnamese War

Clint Eastwood's Movie

This movie features the story of three people; Walt, Sue, and Thao. In this movie, the issue of socio-political aspects of human life features. The movie depicts Walt as a famous Korean War Veteran while Sue and Thao were Vietnam War victims. Walt is one of the major characters in the movie. He is an American Assembly line worker who lives in Highland Park, Michigan. He is handling a 50-year-old marriage after having been with his wife through a tumultuous life. He fought in the Korean War and survived. When America launched a war against the Vietnamese, Sue and Thao took part in it: they managed to survive.

Social and political issues

In this war, a social aspect is seen in the life of Walt. In his place of residence in Michigan, poor Asian immigrants inhabit the place. Their presence has raised concerns about the security of the place (Sterritt, 2012). As seen in the movie, there are several organized criminal gangs in existence in this area. There is also another aspect of social despair among the people living here. Because of the low economic status of the place, the poor Asian immigrants have resorted to unorthodox means of making an income. They have threatened the lives of the many people living in this place. As such, the people who have had an encounter with these local criminals can narrate bad stories in the hands of the gangs. There is also a social despair occasioned by the dilapidated living conditions in the environment. It is also evident that the living conditions in this place have changed for the worse as the people keep encountering undesirable effects of the excessive populations within here. People also fail to encounter a good living due to the effect of the criminal activities.

There emerges a political aspect in the issues of the wars that are fought here. The issues are common between the two wars. In both cases, the mentioned American characters here take part. The interactions among them portray an aspect of betrayal and bad blood. For instance, Walt poses a discomfort and a danger to the life of Sue and Thao. To prevent him from causing further damage, Thao engages him in a talk with the view of plotting Walt's murder. The aim here was to secure freedom for them. The political freedom for the two people (Thao and Sue) was guaranteed and safe in the hands of the people who bothered to take care of them. In the movie, it is seen that the characters all pledge some allegiance to their state governments (Sterritt, 2012).

The war considers them as heroes: the same is replicated in the way they are treated once they come back from the battle. Under the heroes brigade, they are all treated as importantly by being given state recognition. The nature of the interactions that the people here engage in also shows that they are all up to having a positive role and impact on the country's fortune. This is important to note that the political environment in this place was tense and aligned towards the wars that the countries did. The characters are seen to be moved by the occurrences of the wars that took place and that they participated well. In their interactions, the people saw it fit that they keep their interests at heart. Vested interests characterized the way in which the people interacted. For instance, Walt wanted to overshadow Sue and Thao. In defense, the later plots and eventually kills the Walt. This issue has come to age and consideration with the coming in of the issue of heightened political tension.

The interaction between Martin, Daisy, and Janovich's father show a complete social coherence. They are all bonded together by a good friendship code. This situation portrays that they were all interested in making things work. They showed that they had a good way of making things work. In every sense of the word, the social aspect of the life of these people was portrayed as cordial. The other social aspect of human life that can be seen from these people is that they all had a chance to portray their family bond. Walt and his sons lived harmoniously. His sons were made to understand that their father was a caring parson and committed to making their lives better.