| ID | 113348 |
| Title Proper | Curious memoirs of the Vietnamese composer Pham Duy |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Schafer, John C |
| Publication | 2012. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | This article reviews the memoirs of Ph?m Duy, a famous Vietnamese composer, who in the late 1930s and 1940s composed some of the first modern Vietnamese songs. His memoirs describe his time with the anti-French Resistance, his break with it in 1950, and his years in Saigon and the United States. My review focuses on curious aspects of these memoirs: Ph?m Duy's careful listing of his many love affairs; his insistence that he needed lovers to compose songs; and his failure to acknowledge that he profited from a culture that glorifies the self-sacrifice of women. After considering whether Ph?m Duy's behaviour as depicted in his memoirs conforms to cultural norms for Vietnamese male artists, I argue that it is best seen as, in Judith Butler's expression, a 'hyperbolic exhibition' of the natural. I conclude by speculating about how Ph?m Duy and his memoirs may be viewed in future years. |
| `In' analytical Note | Journal of South East Asian Studies Vol. 43, No.1; Feb 2012: p.77-110 |
| Journal Source | Journal of South East Asian Studies Vol. 43, No.1; Feb 2012: p.77-110 |
| Key Words | Memoirs of Pham Duy ; Vietnamese Songs ; Vietnam ; Saigon ; United States |