<i>Bargirls</i>and<i>Street Cinderella</i>: Women, sex and prostitution in Le Hoang's Commercial films1

Do, Tess

doi:10.1080/10357820600714256

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Gai Nhay (Bar Girls) struck the audience as an unconventional story, highlighting the public's craving for local films about daily life instead of grand narratives about wars and revolutions. With a mere $78,000 in funding, the film managed to meet the public's needs and gain profit many times the original budget [5]. With its dark scenes, such as gang rapes and a young girl injecting heroin into her arm, the film seems to have outcompeted other films and caught the attention of young audiences; the seats were filled for four weeks straight at the cinema.…”

Section: Appealing To a Bigger Audience Basementioning

confidence: 99%

An Analysis of the Reasons for the Continuous Development of Vietnams Film Industry

2024

CHR

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In recent years, the Vietnamese entertainment industry has seen an increase exceeding the worlds average growth rate. The growth reflected the Vietnam governments long-term goal to build its cultural industry and entertainment industry from 2020 to 2030. The entertainment industry will include a broad range of interrelated industries that produce entertainment products and services, especially the film industry, which has seen significant growth throughout the years. To dive deeper into the development of Vietnams film industry, this study presents a comprehensive analysis of the drivers behind the growth trajectory of Vietnams film industry, examining the interplay of cultural, political, and economic factors. The research methodology employed in this study involves an extensive review and synthesis of existing scholarly literature and reputable sources pertaining to the development of Vietnams film industry. This shift in the film industry is attributed to factors such as the abolition of censorship, the industrys appeal to a broader demographic, the diversification of content, and the transformative impact of streaming platforms. Additionally, while the industry exhibits notable progress, challenges persist, including the need for policies to nurture emerging talent and address the shortage of skilled professionals in various production roles.

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Section: Appealing To a Bigger Audience Basementioning

confidence: 99%

An Analysis of the Reasons for the Continuous Development of Vietnams Film Industry

2024

CHR

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“…In contrast to Collective Flat , Bargirls tackles head‐on the negative effects of the inroads made by global capital on life in the contemporary city, foregrounding the urgent issues of drug addiction and HIV‐AIDS, but doing so in a way that proved attractive to young urban spectators. Lê Hoàng had initially intended to make a semi‐documentary film on the life of an HIV‐positive bargirl, but came up instead with an unconventional female‐centred underworld film, which cleverly combines youth‐related themes with innovative cinematography, drawing on a young, sexy cast, beautiful imagery and graphic violence, and using short sequences and fast editing techniques (Lê Hoàng, 2003; also see the description of women and prostitutes in his films in Do, 2006). In order to achieve strong performances from his cast, which includes popular local South Vietnamese stars Minh Th and Mỹ Duyên in the leading roles of bargirls Hnh and Hoa, Lê Hoàng had encouraged his actresses to observe bargirls at work in the nightclubs of Ho Chi Minh City, subsequently attracting a large number of them to see the film ( Vietnam Express , 2003).…”

Section: Bargirls (2003)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Outsider and insider views of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City: The Lover/L'Amant, Cyclo/Xích lô, Collective Flat/Chung c and Bargirls/Gái nhy

Tarr

2008

Singap J Trop Geogr

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This article addresses representations of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City in four films made since d -ô i mo i, the opening up of Vietnam to western influences, initiated in 1986. The Lover/L'Amant (1992) is a Franco-British heritage film which reconstructs the city from a Eurocentric neocolonial perspective, while Cyclo/Xích lô (1995), a French-funded film made by a France-based Vietnamese filmmaker, is a contemporary poetic thriller which treats the city expressively as the site of present-day corruption and violence. The nostalgia evident in these two 'outsider' films is contrasted with the more complex views of the city in two state-funded low-budget 'insider' films by local Vietnamese filmmakers, Collective Flat/Chung cu (1999) and Bargirls/Gái nhay (2003); the first, an intellectual fable set in the decade or so following reunification/Independence in 1975 which recalls an attempt at collective living, the second, a hugely popular treatment of contemporary urban realities, both corrupt and progressive. Examining how the mise-en-scène and narratives of the city differ from film to film, the essay takes the representation of the city through changing historical, political, social and economic times, from colonial-orientalist Saigon to corrupt, capitalist Ho Chi Minh City via the slow degeneration of the postwar socialist/collectivist experiment. In so doing, it confirms the importance of the films' moments and contexts of production in the construction of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City as a cinematic 'city-text'.

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Normalising Hồ Chí Minh in Vietnamese cinema, 1990–2020: Ideology, popular appeal, and the market economy

Dror¹

2022

J. Southeast Asian stud.

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The article discusses the representation of Hồ Chí Minh in modern Vietnamese cinema from 1990 to the present. The first feature film on Hồ Chí Minh's life was produced only in 1990, 31 years after his death. Since then, 6 more films have appeared. I explore the reasons why there were no feature films about Hồ Chí Minh before 1990 and why they eventually began to appear. I address the filmmakers’ attempts to reintroduce Hồ Chí Minh, especially to younger generations who know of him only through propaganda depicting him as a celibate paragon of virtue and through viewing his embalmed body in the Mausoleum he had objected to. I argue that these cinematographic projects to promote Hồ Chí Minh to younger Vietnamese have done very little to develop, or even maintain, his personal cult, a cult that the state endeavours to exploit to (re)establish its connection to the people, to overcome a prolonged crisis of legitimacy, and to garner popular support for the continuing leadership of the Vietnamese Communist Party. The market economy and openness to the world have inevitably undermined the Hồ Chí Minh cult and ideological constructs supporting it.

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BargirlsandStreet Cinderella: Women, sex and prostitution in Le Hoang's Commercial films1

Cited by 4 publications

References 1 publication

An Analysis of the Reasons for the Continuous Development of Vietnams Film Industry

An Analysis of the Reasons for the Continuous Development of Vietnams Film Industry

Outsider and insider views of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City: The Lover/L'Amant, Cyclo/Xích lô, Collective Flat/Chung c and Bargirls/Gái nhy

Normalising Hồ Chí Minh in Vietnamese cinema, 1990–2020: Ideology, popular appeal, and the market economy

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