The workshop received many contributions from artists and researchers - Photo: T.DIEU
It is a literary and artistic genre about revolutionary war and armed forces.
This is the common opinion of many writers and researchers at the scientific conference on 50 years of literature and art on the topic of armed forces and revolutionary war after the country's reunification: achievements, issues raised and development orientation organized by the Propaganda Department and the People's Army Publishing House on March 20 in Hanoi.
Not to pay off past debts
Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Duc, Director of the Propaganda Department, affirmed that after 80 years of accompanying the country, literature and art on the subject of armed forces and revolutionary war have always been a great source of inspiration for artists.
Poet Nguyen Quang Thieu - Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association - stated that from 1975 until now, writers in military uniforms and Vietnamese veteran writers of many generations are still a key and most important force in modern Vietnamese literature.
Not only contributing through their works, military writers such as Le Luu, Huu Thinh, Nguyen Khai, Chu Lai... were also the first peace messengers from Vietnam to come to the US to speak up about the Vietnamese people, about the war to protect the Fatherland, about the Vietnamese people's desire for peace.
Writer Nguyen Binh Phuong speaks at the conference - Photo: T.DIEU
Writer Nguyen Binh Phuong - Vice President of the Vietnam Writers Association - affirmed that from 1975 until now, there has been a literary and artistic stream that has been persistent and steadfast from beginning to end in a determined manner, reaping many quintessence, forming the foundation for modern Vietnamese literature to this day.
That is the literary and artistic genre about the theme of revolutionary war and armed forces.
Mr. Phuong believes that the persistence of the subject's appeal is not due to artists writing "to repay past debts" or to express their real-life experiences.
Writing about revolutionary war and soldiers is actually to contemplate about humanity. Therefore, it becomes a universal and attractive topic.
Writer Chu Lai even said: "The theme of war and revolution is a super theme and the character of the soldier also becomes a super character, the more it is exploited, the more fertile it becomes."
According to Nguyen Binh Phuong, the success of literature and art written about the themes of war, revolution, and armed forces in the past 50 years has created many values, most notably the value of clarifying the justice of our wars to defend our country.
Second, successfully building the central character of the era is the character of Uncle Ho's soldier.
From the elegant and gallant soldier of the anti-French war to the fierce and arduous soldier of the anti-American war, to the veteran soldier in the battle to protect the southwestern and northern borders, to the soldier helping people prevent storms, floods, natural disasters and economic development with boundless compassion...
In particular, the image of Uncle Ho's soldiers in recent works is no longer uniquely divine but shines in a simple way in the surrounding relationships.
The soldier not only has a sacred and noble mission but also begins to have the fate of an ordinary human being, making the image of Uncle Ho's soldier more vivid, closer, deeper, and more respectable.
Books on the subject of war and revolution published in the past 50 years by the People's Army Publishing House - Photo: T.DIEU
Many challenges
Despite many achievements, writer Nguyen Binh Phuong believes that literature and art on the themes of war, revolution, and armed forces are also facing many challenges.
The generation of talented writers and artists who went through the war were exhausted, while the next generation was limited in creative experience, awareness, and the realities of war and armed forces.
Currently there is no break in the literary and artistic flow on this topic, but one can feel the gap.
Another challenge is that no matter how liberal, writing about war and revolution must be serious and rigorous.
While other forms of entertainment are widely open. Therefore, this literary and artistic genre will have to compete with other forms of entertainment to find readers and audiences.
And an important challenge in today's vibrant and multi-dimensional life, the theme of revolutionary war and soldiers will find it difficult to maintain its role as the central theme of literature and art.
Mr. Phuong believes that there should be ways to ensure that this literary and artistic stream remains the mainstream. Because this is not just a memory, it is also propaganda and education about the qualities and spirit of the Vietnamese people in the future.
Talking about the achievements of literature and art on the themes of war, revolution, and soldiers, Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan cited that for a long time the world has known Vietnamese cinema as war cinema. Recently, the film Dao, Pho and Piano has caused a stir, once again demonstrating the appeal of cinema with this theme.
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