Review of The Killing Fields (1984) by Eve P — 27 Sep 2011

The film âThe Killing Fieldsâ? was about what happened during Cambodiaâ(TM)s civil war. Sydney Schanberg and Dith Pran are two reporters trying to cover whatâ(TM)s happening. When the war gets too unsafe, Sydney is evacuated, but since Dith Pran is a citizen he isnâ(TM)t allowed to leave. The film then splits into two different storylines. The first is Sydneyâ(TM)s story of trying to tell America the tragedy that is happening in Cambodia while trying to find his friend Pran. The other is Pranâ(TM)s story of being taken into a camp where Pol Pot and his followers are killing people that do not live up to their standards. Pran finally escapes and is reunited with his family and Sydney.

I thought it was a terrible, but eye-opening film. It showed what really happened in Cambodia during the civil war and it wasnâ(TM)t pretty. Everyone was getting killed, including innocent children. It was rather graphic and a few parts were very disturbing. I was expecting the film to be in the form of a documentary, but instead it was in story form. I liked it this way, but I also thought it took away from the realness of what happened by only focusing on two main people. A few parts were unclear, I think the movie could have been explained better and some parts should have been translated with subtitles. Overall it was a good movie that really made me think. It makes me sick to know that the American government knew what was going on but did nothing to stop it and even dropped bombs themselves.

I think knowing of this historical tragedy is important to an Emerson student because we need to be aware of what is happening in the world around us. Things beside whatâ(TM)s happening in our lives should be important to us. I think it is also important for a student taking this Media/Society class to see how important the media is in telling the world what is going on.