Read Tales of the Lô Tô Troupes: The Uniquely Vietnamese Resistance Against Homonormativity
To perform is to defy: to represent a unique identity in the face of a larger culture which may or may not condone the existence of the performer. For Addie Dung Manh Nguyen, in this essay, a uniquely Vietnamese brand of performing art becomes representative of the struggles of Vietnam’s LGBTQ+ population as a whole. Dung follows a vivid analysis of the film Madam Phung’s Last Journey with a history of Lô Tô troupes, who have been “frequently associated with transgender women and queer men.” Fascinatingly, Dung’s ambition goes far beyond pitting the existence of these troupes against mainstream heteronormative values, instead emphasizing the role of western powers in Vietnam and the lingering influence of Confucianism. Along the way, Dung displays an impressive flare for description; ambitious, well-constructed paragraphs; and a broad range of well-chosen and cleverly integrated research. While this paper was submitted for WAI, the university’s intro-level writing course, it reads like work by a student with an extensive background in critical and gender theory, and I’m very glad to see it published in The Hundred River Review.
—Kyle Muntz