"I Had Lost Everything" Analysis
By Kaelan Saley

In the short digital story clip “I Had Lost Everything” from the American Experience Series, there are various techniques used to present the digital story. First, the story makes use of older videos, modern interview videos, and audio in order to present the digital story. Through these mediums, the digital story conveys a mood of drastic change that came from the fall of Saigon. The topic discussed, which was the lowering of the South Vietnamese flag and the raising of the US flag, was further emphasized by this tone.

            Furthermore, the use of the audio in the clip helped to emphasize the saddened message of defeat. This message is conveyed through two different techniques. First, the use of sad music in the background of the beginning of the clip helped to convey a message of defeat and bad change. This classical music has the tone of negativity, and as a result, helps to change the mindset of the viewer to one that is congruent with the message that the story is trying to convey. The second use of audio comes from the former South Vietnamese naval officer singing his old national anthem. This piece of audio is particularly moving, as it is a former countryman singing his old national anthem in the wake of a major military defeat. Combined, these two pieces of audio help to make a large impact on the viewer.

            Among the visual elements used in this digital story are old pieces of film that were taken from the days following the Fall of Saigon. The images of the large amount of South Vietnamese people on the deck of a battleship initially convey a message of loss and displacement, one that is consistent with the Fall of Saigon and the loss of the homes of those people. The image of children walking aboard the ship are also particularly moving, as a battleship is not a place were children are typically seen. Later in the clip, the use of footage of the South Vietnamese flag being lowered help to contribute to the sense of loss that the viewer feels, as the lowering of a flag is typically associated with a major loss. Coupled with the singing of the South Vietnamese anthem, this image holds a particularly powerful message. Lastly, the raising of the United States flag, shown late in the clip, helps to fully emphasize this feeling of loss that the South Vietnamese had after the Fall of Saigon. The visual practice of replacing one flag with another makes an extremely effective impact by implying that a large group of people had lost their identity and were being relabeled as part of a completely different nation. This is confirmed and reaffirmed when the former South Vietnamese officer says, “I felt like I had lost everything.”

            The last piece of media that is used is the modern-day interviews with the US naval officer and the South Vietnamese officer. This media is used to set a historic tone to the piece by showing these interviews in between old footage from the Fall of Saigon. Additionally, the interview with the former South Vietnamese naval officer helps to show how long ago the events being discussed took place through the differences between the film and his appearance and age in the modern day. Overall, the combined use of these three types of media help to effectively contribute to telling the story of the Fall of Saigon from the perspective of the South Vietnamese, and specifically emphasize how the South Vietnamese felt like they lost who they were.