saigon

mui ne, vietnam

walk around ho chi minh city for a day and tell me you haven't been teleported into the life of kevin arnold from the wonder years. not to say that you would physically take on his attributes (clear complexion, cracking voice, the strong jet-black wavy hair of an aspiring politician) so much as interact with a world that is metaphysically identical to his own. once you get past a few superficial barriers (there were no $1 pho carts in those six glorious seasons) it becomes hidden in plain sight that the two are ontologically unified.

to take it from the top, you are kevin arnold. the age does not matter. the world around you is vaguely familiar: you have never lived on that street in that fictional suburb, but you still recognize it. so too in saigon. the city around you is new aesthetically (frenetic traffic, vietnamese signage, uncle ho propaganda), but it is not something you could not have anticipated. if we take it beyond the setting and into the plot structure (both episodically and of the narrative arc of the work as a whole), they are similar. there is a whole world around you, young kevin, filled with occurences, but nothing is really happening. the baser of our emotions (laughter, shock, anger) are not stimulated in either. the deeper are, but that is only through immersion into these worlds. just as the relationship with becky slater is only significant with deeper understanding of the dynamics vis-a-vis winnie cooper, so too do the smaller events in saigon only gain import with a deeper understanding (relationships, etc). even though there is nothing readily apparent to pique your interest in one (episode, day) of either, you find yourself watching nonetheless.

does it end there? of course not. because through the course of your rambles, dear kevin, you could not have failed to notice the propaganda. the posters, street names, statues, even the whole damn town is named after ho chi minh. and who is that, kevin? i mean, really, who is that? that is your father, kevin. that is jack arnold. he's got strong forearms and he's tired at the end of the day. he is gruff and he is stern but all of that is for you. there are expectations if you live under his roof, but if you follow his rules, father dan/uncle ho will take care of you.

and norma, your dear mother, you recognize her, don't you? she is all around. her visage can be found in the new skyscrapers rising along the river and the glass air-conditioned malls, as well as the festooned narrow lanes and in each hand of the traditional streetside card games. she is a quandary. she is stuck in the existential crisis of modernity. she runs a good house and understands what is expected of her as dan's (ho's) spouse. she does an excellent job in raising her children. but there is something about her. something inside her is crying out for more, for independence, for freedom from the traditional role she has been cast into. she is aching for the chance to spread her wings, yet she also feels conflicted about how far she wants to fly. your mother is the development crisis.

and of course, it doesn't end there. your older brother, wayne? he is the reason you need to hold your backpack close, keep your mind keen on your surroundings, be resolute in your negotiations with xe oms. if you let your guard down, wayne will get you.

winnie cooper? she is that unattainable intangible. she is the language you do not speak but want to know. she is the cultural barrier that prevents the accurate interpretation of the greater world around you. she is an enigma.

paul? let's face it, asians can be dorks. spending all of their free time and money in cyber cafes with role-playing games. the obsession with animation. the clothing with poorly translated english phrases. yet, endearing. you, kevin, you want to stand up for them.

your older sister, karen? well, there are a ton of hippies running around. i would like to throw in something for chuck, but at this point i'm merely showing how much television i used to watch.

and, lastly, importantly, seminally, both the wonder years and ho chi minh city share an important backdrop: vietnam.