Vietnam

Clip 1: Australia’s not involved in any war

2 min 57 sec

Taken from the TV program Vietnam (1988)

Original title classification M – this clip chosen to be PG

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Curator’s clip description

In just a few carefully selected brush strokes, a middle class family is portrayed on the cusp of Australia’s entry into the Vietnam war. Drugs, sex and rock and roll are obsessing this younger generation and the war will bring things to a head.

Curator’s notes

Douglas Goddard (Barry Otto) is a typical authoritarian father of his era. His wife Evelyn (Victoria Lang) is a submissive housewife and his teenage children are set on a collision course with their parents’ life style and political views. Vietnam will become the trigger for a massive upheaval in society, eventually bringing down the conservative government, in power since 1949.

Janet Bell, curator

australian screen