I recall sitting in the gym locker room in junior high listening to a boy next to me singing the chorus to that song. I turned to him and said matter-of-factly "No it's not." He looked at me a little stunned until another kid said to him "Sody's from Cambodia." He responded by upturning his head and nonchalantly saying "Oh." I don't know why I bothered saying anything. I doubt he understood the references to Cambodia. Even for myself, only years later did I learn to appreciate the song's social commentary concerning the hypocrisy of upper-class liberals and its simple but truthful representation of the Khmer Rouge period.
In the mid-1980s, the award-winning movie "The Killing Fields" launched the Cambodian tragedy into the public consciousness. The movie was well-received by Cambodians and non-Cambodians alike. Within the Cambodian community, most survivors felt the movie accurately represented their experience and its presentation of the horrors of the Khmer Rouge period made the public more understanding and sympathetic to our plight. As a college student in the early 1990s, I read a book narrated and co-authored by the movie's Oscar-winning actor, Dr. Haing Ngor. The graphic details of his own tale overshadowed even the horrors depicted in the movie. Both the movie and book spoke to me because they were not merely the story of particular individuals but took on the greater role of representing the plight of the Khmer people. In Haing Ngor's movie and book, I saw the experiences of my aunts, uncles, and cousins who did not survive the earthly hell.
Now a lecturer who teaches college students about the Cambodian experience, my desire for the Khmer people's struggles to be
accurately represented has taken on an importance beyond the personal. "The Killing Fields" movie is no longer in the public consciousness and younger people, including many Cambodian American youth, have very little knowledge about why and how the Khmer Rouge came to power and why and how they destroyed Cambodia. The publication of several books about the Killing Fields experience in 2000 – the year marking the 25thanniversary of the Khmer Rouge's takeover – has had the affect of somewhat revitalizing interest in the Cambodian tragedy. The public and the younger generation of Cambodian Americans have used these books as resources from which to learn about the horrific experience of the Khmer people. Like Haing Ngor's movie and book, these stories represent not only the narrators' own tragedies but that of an entire nation. The personal stories are mediums through which readers may gain greater insight into the horrors of the Killing Fields.
accurately represented has taken on an importance beyond the personal. "The Killing Fields" movie is no longer in the public consciousness and younger people, including many Cambodian American youth, have very little knowledge about why and how the Khmer Rouge came to power and why and how they destroyed Cambodia. The publication of several books about the Killing Fields experience in 2000 – the year marking the 25thanniversary of the Khmer Rouge's takeover – has had the affect of somewhat revitalizing interest in the Cambodian tragedy. The public and the younger generation of Cambodian Americans have used these books as resources from which to learn about the horrific experience of the Khmer people. Like Haing Ngor's movie and book, these stories represent not only the narrators' own tragedies but that of an entire nation. The personal stories are mediums through which readers may gain greater insight into the horrors of the Killing Fields.