Conclusion

Yale University has a program called the "Cambodian Genocide Program" (CGP)  which has devoted itself to researching the Cambodian Genocide tragedy since 1994 to present day. Their extensive research has shown that approximately there were 1.7 million people that died, which translates to 21% of the population. In conclusion of this blog, this is an interesting statistic we have included because we believe is important for the readers to understand the aftermath of this horrific time in history for Cambodia. about 2 in every 10 people in the entire nation died during this time period. 


Our Conclusion:


Title of movie analyzed
1. Brief synopsis of the person, event, conflict on which the film is based.
A. Sydney Schanberg and Dith Pran
B. Khmer Rouge
C. Cambodian Genocide

2. Major themes of the film.
A. Lasting friendship
B. Conformity/Adaptation for survival
C. Communism

2a. Major frames of the film.
A. Government (Khmer Rouge) framed as a source of power.

B. Whites framed as being dominant (White Privilege)

C. Citizens being framed as helpless

3. Major differences between historical record, coverage in The New York Times (or other news sources) & film translation.
A. The portrayal of Dith Pran. (movie: sidekick, book: hero)
B. Friends in real life rather than just partners in the movie. (friendship evolves in book)
C. Omission of Dith and his family reuniting.

4. Major similarities between historical record, coverage in The New York Times (or other news sources) & film translation.
A. Reunion of Dith and Sydney
B. Forging of passport for Dith
C. US Embassy evacuation.

5. What ideological perspectives are reinforced or challenged? 
A. White privilege- reinforced
B. Ethnocentrism- challenged
C. Buddhism- beliefs are challenged

6. How do the filmmakers represent journalism and journalism ethics?
A.  Sydney Schanberg makes ethical and unethical decisions example of a unethical decision he made would be not helping Dith Pran out of the country when he could have. An ethical decision Schanberg made would be when he goes for the story and is outraged by Major Reeves for not allowing him to go to Neak Luong.
B. Sydney Schanberg should have realized the harm he was putting Dith Pran through, because according to the SPJ Code of Ethics, he should have, "showed compassion for those who might be affected by news coverage." Schanberg makes an ethical decision when he is pursuing the story according to SPJ Code of Ethics a journalist should, "Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources' reliability."

7. What is privileged—Truth or Truthiness? Relate to media effects theories and media literacy concepts. How does the film construct a specific version of reality and what is the significance of the Hollywood version? In other words, whose stories are told? Whose stories are omitted? What is the significance of how the story is framed?
A. Sydney is overplayed in comparison to Pran.
B. The extent of American involvement not explained.
C. The Pran family reunion omitted from the movie.

Brooke's View:
     When I found out we would be doing our project on the killing fields, I was excited. Last year in my U.S. Institutions class we read the novel To Destroy You Is No Loss by JoAn D. Criddle, a book about a Cambodian family and their journey through survival of the Cambodia Genocide. So, I already had somewhat of an idea of what had been going on behind the scenes in Cambodia. Although the film was difficult for me to watch at times due to the sadness and gore, watching it was definitely good for me in order to visually see the events instead of just reading about them. I believe that every American should watch The Killing Fields and be properly educated on what the Cambodians went through. I think Hollywood did a pretty dang good job in general sticking with the facts of the book and following the storyline fairly closely, but I was extremely disappointed with the way Hollywood depicted Dith Pran. The entire book The Death and Life of Dith Pran is based on Dith Pran himself and follows his life and everything he experienced, but the movie definitely downplayed him and instead had Sydney Schanberg in the spotlight. Learning all about the Cambodian genocide has really helped me appreciate my own life and the incredible freedom and opportunities I have living here in the United States. All this research has helped me to not take things for granted. Through this Media Smarts class, I have learned so incredibly much in how to be a better critic amongst all types of media and use everything learned in my every day life. 

Work on Project: Introduction, Similarities to The Death and Life of Dith Pran, Differences to The Death and Life of Dith Pran, Media Effects/Theories, Major Themes/Frames, Conclusion, Blog Design, Editing

Megan's View:
     At first I had never heard of the Killing Fields and then towards the end of our project, I knew a lot more about the Killing Fields. I was unaware of the mass deaths from the Killing Fields, and how closely it related to the Holocaust. Many Cambodian citizens died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and according the documentary, ‘Year Zero’ the Khmer Rouge even photographed their victims like the Nazis did during the Holocaust. I had also never heard of the Year Zero, Sydney Schanberg or Dith Pran. I was fascinated to find out that the actor who played Dith Pran, Dr. Haing S. Ngor had also lived through the Killing Fields and won an Oscar for supporting actor for his role in The Killing Fields.

Work on the project: Introduction (Synopsis of film), Representation of Journalism and Journalism Ethics, Major Themes/Frames, Directors/ Actors, Work Cited, and Conclusion.


Casey's View: 
     When beginning this project I had little to no knowledge of the events that took place in Cambodia but as I watched the movie and studied about the events I became engulfed in what took plave. The amount of people and the length of time that this took place in makes it hard for me to believe that this is the first time I have ever heard of these casualties. With a genocide that is comparable to what took place in WW2 with the Nazi regime there should be more exposure to something as terrible as this.  While comparing the movie to the writings that we were able to find I was impressed with how close Hollywood was able to keep this to the actual events. One thing that I wish would be brought to the general public when watching the movie is the hero that Dith Pran really is. Sydney tends to get all the glory for his efforts but Pran is the one that goes through everything and is still willing to report on it. Such tends to be the case often in American movies, we like to get the glory even if it is not all deserved. After the study of these events and comparing to Hollywood's rendition of it I have a greater sense of appreciation for peoples lives around the world and the hardships they go through. 

Work on the project:
Event/Conflict, Sydney Schanberg, Dith Pran, Similarities to the Death and Life of Dith Pran, Differences to the Death and Life of Dith Pran, Ideological Perspectives, Work Cited, Conclusion and helped on editing.  

Morgan's View:
     Like the rest of my group, I had no idea that this even took place. I had never heard about it in the news, school, or otherwise. This sparked my interest in doing a survey, and the results were not surprising; over 50% of those surveyed had no idea what it was, and even those who did knew little more than that. I think it's heartbreaking that no one knows about it. The lack of media coverage about the topic is one big example of gatekeeping. As I was doing my research on the film, I found it hard to limit myself to just that, because it zooms in on just 2 mens' experiences rather than all the messy politial events that were catalysts to a slew of tragedy. The media was not the only one gatekeeping; President Nixon largely kept the event under-wraps. It's interesting how much control the government has over the media as far as war is concerned. I also didn't notice, until in-depth analyzation, that the movie is limited in perspective. Not that it's a bad thing, but the movie is seen from Sydney's, a white American male's, perspective. His is no doubt entirely different than a Cambodian mother's perspective. I don't think it detracted from the movie, but it's interesting to see how it shaped the scenes. It's a heartbreaking story, that's effects were far-reaching; through my research, I found that it has still left most of the Cambodian people devastated, and I wish more people knew about what's happened there. 

Work on the project: 
Introduction video, U.S. involvement, Present day, court cases, maps, graphs, survey results.