This article explores case studies related to South Vietnam and Japan, relating them to the controversial history of the Second Indochina War (US-Vietnam War). The first is the adoption of South Vietnamese antiwar music in Japan, a peacetime country with a conflicted role in Southeast Asia. The second is a Japanese film exposing the role of Japan in South Vietnam. Cultural media productions, from two nations allied with the United States during the Cold War, exposes the popular struggle for peace against the rising tide of military violence and capitalist exploitation. Through interviews, archival research, and textual analysis, the talk argues for a deeper understanding of the transnational alliances and forms of what we call “creative citizen peacebuilding.”

A light lunch will be provided.