Watching the First They Killed My Father Netflix film
After completing your reading of Loung Ung’s First They Killed My Father and viewing the film adaptation on Netflix, consider the ways in which the film translated the memoir “faithfully” and the ways in which the film differed from it.
The assignment: In 350 to 500 words, compare and contrast the memoir and the film. Be sure to discuss at least one scene, character, theme, or another aspect of the book that you would argue was well adapted to the film, and discuss one way (or more) in which you feel the film deviated from the book in an ineffective way.
The movie is found on Netflix.
Here is my literary analysis of the book
See Loung lived a good life at the beginning of the book. Her father worked in the military, and they had a beautiful home and went to good schools. Her father joining the military was not by choice. Rather he was coerced by the government, or otherwise, he would have been branded as a traitor. See Loung was a curious girl loved by her brothers and parents from an early age. When she first heard about the bombs, she asked her father what they were in, and he replied, “Bombs are metal balls dropped from airplanes. When they explode, the bombs make craters in the earth the size of small ponds” (Ung). This was to shield her from the grim realities of the civil war.
Her family’s fortune drastically changed when the Khmer Rouge overthrew the government. This was a communist movement led by the Angkar. After the government was overthrown, the Angkar owned everything, including the lands, food, governance, and everyone. He controlled how the people lived. In fear of their safety, considering that the father was part of the government, the family fled from town to town. The Angkar controlled each village they moved to, and when the father suspected the security was compromised, he would move them to another village. However, his luck ran out one day when he was taken and never returned. See, Loung did not understand what had unfolded, but she soon realized the reality that her father had been killed by the Khmer Rouge though there was news that he might have escaped from their prisons. Eventually, she would lose her mother and Geek her sister, leaving Kim her brother. They are taken in by a family who mistreats them and considering all they had lost, Loung is filled with anger and hatred for the Khmer Rouge and the new family. She is enrolled in a military camp where she was almost raped.
Because of her tribulations, See Loung at first saw herself as worthless. But she eventually regained her strength because of her friends. In the book’s final sections, one notices that she starts talking back to her adoptive mother. One time the mother told her that she would amount to nothing, but she replied angrily to her, “No, you’re wrong. I am going to be somebody great” (Ung 198). Even though she had undergone a lot, she still felt safer with her new family even though she hated them because they were part of the Khmer Rouge. She knew the danger of living by herself. She did not want to lose her friends and Kim, her brother. The remaking of her identity as a strong-willed heart was enabled by the closeness she had with her brother Kim and her friends, especially Meng. She was always with them. She was ambitious and desired a better life than her experiences in Cambodia. The remaking of her new identity was also enabled when she moved to America and joined the Campaign for A Landmine-Free World (CLFW). To hold to what she lost, she became a campaigner and moved across the world, educating people about landmines, genocide, and the effects of war.
As she narrates, she could redeem herself from her resentment of the Khmer Rouge, its executions, and its slavery. Instead, she feels empowered to educate people, and she is no longer afraid to speak the truth. The book is a sad narration of people’s events in Cambodia. Therefore it was a relief to read the part “Then on June 5, 1980, Meng returns from the camp officials’ office with his face flushed with excitement. He announces that we have found a sponsor. “We’re going to America!” Eang and I scream and cry with happiness.” (Ung 246). This is the most remarkable passage because it is a relief that their lives were about to change.