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Living as One Should

Name: Living as One Should
Director: Trần Văn Thủy
Released: 1987
Duration: 43 min

Representation Score

8.3/10

Excellent

1987

Director

Trần Văn Thủy

Runtime

43 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Trần Văn Thủy’s documentary is a philosophical inquiry into morality and the human condition. It succeeds by shifting the focus from state-mandated structures to the internal ethical lives of individuals. This creates a profound study of kindness amidst hardship. The film excels at providing a localized, non-Western perspective that avoids the outsider gaze. By prioritizing empathy over institutional mandates, it deconstructs traditional social hierarchies and offers a more humanistic view of existence. However, the film's broad themes mean it lacks specific representation for certain identities. While it avoids harmful stereotypes, it does not explicitly center LGBTQ+ or non-assuming gender matches what was assigned at birth narratives.

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Category Breakdown

Does Living as One Should have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film focuses on universal human suffering rather than specific LGBTQ+ identities. While it avoids exclusionary stereotypes, it lacks explicit stories or characters that explore LGBTQ+ experiences.

How does Living as One Should portray gender?

Fair

By emphasizing empathy and communal kindness, the documentary elevates the importance of domestic and social interactions. This approach challenges traditional patriarchal hierarchies and state-driven power structures.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Living as One Should?

Good

The film provides an authentic Vietnamese perspective, offering a departure from Western-centric viewpoints. It maintains narrative authority through a non-Anglo-Saxon worldview.

How does Living as One Should represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The narrative challenges rigid social expectations and dogmatic moralities. It prioritizes a nuanced, humanistic perspective on how individuals navigate complex institutional systems.

Does Living as One Should include disability representation?

Good

The exploration of human suffering naturally includes physical and psychological vulnerabilities. Subjects are portrayed with dignity and control over their lives rather than as objects of pity.

Present on Screen

Provides an authentic, localized Vietnamese perspective that avoids Western-centric biases.
Elevates communal and empathetic values over traditional patriarchal or state-driven power structures.
Portrays vulnerable subjects with dignity and control over their lives rather than as spectacles of suffering.
Challenges rigid social norms through a nuanced, humanistic exploration of individual morality.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit representation or specific narratives centered on LGBTQ+ identities.
Does not provide specific evidence of diverse gender-specific storytelling beyond general empathy.

Official Synopsis

A Vietnamese documentary on human suffering and the meaning of kindness.

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