Brief comments

This problem statement and project plan is well-presented. The problem is very clearly
explained and justification well argued. The assignment could elaborate a bit more on some
statements with examples to demonstrate knowledge. In addition, more details in the research
plan could improve its clarity. Overall, a well-considered assignment.

Propaganda and censorship in the digital age:

The case of Vietnamese cinema
Problem statment
This project aims to explore how the Vietnamese authorities' propaganda and censorship
system, which used to be applied successfully in the film industry in the past, adapts for use in
the context of the digital era. Much scholarly attention has been devoted to Vietnamese
cinema's theoretical, historical, and practical aspects in the pre-digital age (Charlot, 1989;
Worthy, 2004; Ngo, 2020). However, very little research has paid attention to the practice of
propaganda and censorship system in Vietnam's film industry and how the development of
digital technology has impacted this system (Vu, 2021).

The widespread use of the internet, which introduces new competition for public attention, has
challenged the capacity of governments to broadcast messages via propaganda and control the
flow of information via censorship (Hood & Margetts, 2007). For example, thanks to
technological advances, a film can be distributed via multiple platforms and devices (Walkley,
p.132) and the act of viewing has thus also been transformed from a collective experience to an
individual one (Wada-Marciano, 2012).

From a historical perspective, communication scholars have shown various channels for
propaganda dissemination, such as the press, broadcasting, books, and even spreading rumours
(Cole, 2006; MacLeod, 2019). However, cinema was often listed as one of the most influential
media channels used by a government for propaganda during the twentieth century, particularly
in wartime. Propaganda and censorship are likened to two sides of the same coin because both
are involved in attempting to manipulate opinion (Taylor, 2012). In the pre-digital age,
authoritarian governments propagandized to create singular national narratives and censored
political messages that conflicted with the government's view. However, the advent of the
Internet, which helps information disseminate rapidly and quickly, has challenged the existing
state-run systems of propaganda and censorship (Ma, 2016). These changes lead to a dilemma
for the current propaganda and censorship network that the Vietnamese government has. The
government maintain the state-run studios to produce propagandistic films that disseminate
national historical narratives, marketing the regime and state-sponsored ideology. On the other
hand, it is forced to strengthen its capacity to maintain the censorship system to control the
rapidly growing creation flow in private-sector movies. In addition, delivering films on
international digital platforms such as Netflix, YouTube, etc., has brought many challenges to
domestic censorship mechanisms (Vu, 2021).

It is common knowledge that the practice of propaganda and censorship has a long history in
Vietnam, engaging with the process of gaining absolute power and ruling the country of the
Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) from 1945 until now. Since Doi moi (Renovation) in the
late 1980s, Vietnam has experienced many changes in politics and economy that transformed a
relatively closed society into "a rapidly urbanizing one with a globalizing cultural outlook"
(Drummond & Thomas 2003). The new policy implemented in 2005 has allowed the private
sector to invest in both producing and distributing films (Hamilton, 2009). In the past, some
researchers focused on Vietnamese cinema's historical and content aspects, such as Worthy
(2004) or Charlot (1989). However, there is a gap in our current knowledge about the network
of propaganda and censorship that the Vietnamese government employ to control the movies
industry under the threat of free and open Internet.

Research plan
My study will focus on the practice of propaganda and censorship in Vietnamese cinema over
30 years (1990 – 2020). The propaganda and censorship theory will be applied to provide
insights into how the propaganda and censorship apparatus, which was adopted during wartime,
could adapt to the contemporary context of Vietnamese cinema.

To address the research question on the development of propaganda and censorship in

Vietnamese cinema, I plan to use interviews and document analysis to collect data. Firstly,
interviews will be conducted with members of the Board of Film Censorship and filmmakers.
Secondly, I will collect qualitative data from government documents and newspaper articles
that are within the timeframe of my study. While document analysis will focus on publicly
available government reports or media release, recruiting participants for interviews could be
challenging. I will use my personal, social and professional networs in the film and journalism
industry as a starting point for participant recruitment. Once I have a few participants, I can use
snow-ball sampling method to expand my participant group.

It is hoped that my proposed study will contribute to the communication research into how
Vietnam's authoritarian government has employed propaganda and censorship to control the
film industry in the digital age.

References
Charlot, J. (1989). Vietnamese Cinema: The Power of the Past. The Journal of American
folklore, 102(406), 442-452. [Link]
Cole, R. (2006). Propaganda, Censorship and Irish Neutrality in the Second World War.
Edinburgh University Press.
Drummond, L., & Thomas, M. (2003). Consuming Urban Culture in Contemporary Vietnam.
London: Routledge, 1 (1). [Link]
Hamilton. (2009). Renovated: Gender and Cinema in Contemporary Vietnam. Visual
Anthropology (Journal), 22(2-3), 141–154.
[Link]
Hood, C. C., & Margetts, H. Z. (2007). The tools of government in the digital age. Macmillan
International Higher Education.
Ma, V. (2016). Propaganda and Censorship: Adapting to the Modern Age. Harvard
International Review, 37(2), 46–50.
MacLeod, A. (Ed.). (2019). Propaganda in the information age: Still manufacturing consent.
Routledge.
Ngo. (2020, September 9). Điện ảnh cách mạng Việt Nam những ngày đầu lập nước
[Revolutionary Vietnamese Cinema in the early days of establishing the nation]. Nhân

2
 Dân. [Link]
nuoc-616097/
Taylor, P. M. (2013). Munitions of the mind: A history of propaganda from the ancient world to
the present era. Munitions of the Mind. Manchester University Press.
Wada-Marciano, M. (2012). Japanese cinema in the digital age. In Japanese Cinema in the
Digital Age. University of Hawaii Press.
Walkley, S. (2018). Cultural diversity in the French film industry: Defending the cultural
exception in a digital age. Springer.
Worthy, K. (2004). Striking home: trends and changes in Vietnamese cinema. CineAction, 46-
53.
Vu, Q. (2021, July 7). Quản lý phim chiếu trên không gian mạng [Controlling film delivery on
Internet]. Tuyên giáo. [Link]
khong-gian-mang-134247