Excerpt from "Ghost Tape #10," a film by Sean David Christensen
vimeo.com/ondemand/ghosttape10
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Created by the U.S. Army during the American War in Vietnam, "Ghost Tape #10" was one of many tapes engineered as part of "Operation: Wandering Soul," a psychological operations campaign designed to intimidate and demoralize the North Vietnamese Army.
These audio tapes would echo throughout war zones, their soundtracks consisting of actors portraying grieving family members or voices from the dead, longing to be reunited with their loved ones.
Exploiting the traditional Buddhist belief that, if denied a proper burial in their homeland, the dead wander the world aimlessly, these recordings were originally conceived of as attempts to weaponize an opposing culture's religious beliefs against them.
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Works cited:
Recorded interview excerpt from BBC Radio program, "Witness."
Originally reported by Alex Last, "US Psychological Warfare in Vietnam."
Broadcast date: July 21st, 2017
Special thanks to Kirsty Reid at the BBC World Service & SGM Herbert A. Friedman (Ret.)
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CREDITS
Music, Sound Editing, Sound Design & Mixing
Ricky Lee Berger
Field Guide
Pham Thu Hang
Translation & Transcription
Ca Dao "Cookie" Duong
Mastering
Case Mastering
Figurines
Jedadiah (Joseph) Cracco
Miniatures & Animation
Sean David Christensen
Support provided by the Dorothy J. Leonard Bequest.
Produced in the Master of Arts in Visual Anthropology (MVA)
Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California
in collaboration with Media Arts + Practice, USC School of Cinematic Arts
Copyright 2018, Sean David Christensen & the University of Southern California.
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Stay connected with Sean David Christensen:
linktr.ee/seandavidchristensen