The Truth ‘We Have Forgotten the Truth’

The truth is we have forgotten the truth, Graham Greene said. How this short-story writer defines the truth is somewhat peculiar, unexpected! The Blue Film reflects the truth the writer saw, thought, felt and believed during his stay in Vietnam that, at the time, was suffering from French colonization. The author uses two major characters, Mr. and Mrs. Carter, to deliver this fact. Packaged in a dry humor story line, the story conveys his opinion on what seemingly flared up in the minds of the Vietnamese: pessimism or optimism in relation to the possession of their motherland. 

At hundreds of times, people fall into pessimism. People underrate their treasure as if it is unseen, meaningless. The two characters of the story purposefully reflect the blind side of this human trait. The major male character, Mr. Carter, degrades the presence of his beautiful wife and thinks that “a woman who is not desired” is better than “no company”. At the same time, Mrs. Carter complains about the discontentment of her life while being jealous that “other people enjoy themselves”. The couple looks at others’ possession as a comparison. But, rather than  questioning the core cause, they make an excuse and consider it a matter of time. This thought was perhaps what Vietnamese put into their minds during a prolonged period of war under the authority of French. The Vietnamese desired to have a national independence as other nine ASEAN countries did; at the same time, they felt hopeless and exhausted for the war.

Optimism can only be seen in the absence of pessimism. Optimism and pessimism are contradictory and cannot walk in the paths side by side. Only by considering the discontentment,  blaming no one, giving a chance for new life, people can deal with pessimism. Mr. and Mrs. Carter teach us how to respond to such a situation. Mrs. Carter considers her nonsense discontentment by spilling out the confession “I’d forgotten how nice you looked” toward Mr. Carter. Thus, after “screaming like an angry and hurt bird”, she concludes that “It’s years since that happened”. This clip nicely shows how she gives a chance for new life. Similarly, Mr. Carter realizes his narrow mind makes him betray “the only woman he loved” – the unseen treasure. In this clip, he writer places his hope in relation to the Vietnamese’s pessimism. He indirectly encourages the Vietnamese that their motherland is owned by no one but the natives, themselves. Thus, only they are able to determine the fate of the motherland.

For those who are just looking for the way to keep their faith on fire, this motivational story “The Blue Film” is recommended. Through the simple story line, all can learn about pessimism and optimism, a contradictory couple that is commonly forgotten, and how to transform pessimism into optimism. This way, we should not be one of those who have forgotten the truth. 

Image credit: flickeringmyth.com