Paris By Night - Controversies

Controversies

As an overseas Vietnamese production and classified as a "reactionary cultural product" by the Vietnamese government, Paris By Night cannot be legally purchased in Vietnam, although pirated copies can be easily obtained in the black market. It sometimes features performances that are related to historical events, critical of the ruling Vietnamese Communist Party. In 2004, in Paris By Night 74, Hoang Oanh sang a song about Operation Passage to Freedom and a video montage was shown depicting beleaguered-looking northern Vietnamese fleeing to the anti-communist south during the partition of Vietnam, where they were met by Ngo Dinh Diem and his government's officials. This performance coincided with the 50th anniversary of the migration. In 2005, Paris By Night 77 was devoted to the 30-year anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, and included songs explicitly critical of communist rule, lack of human rights, accompanied by montages of the closing stages of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, the flight of distressed anti-communist refugees, and interpretative dancing critical of VCP ruls, such as throat-slitting gestures. It also included documentary segments on the progress of Vietnamese immigrant communities since 1975, including one segment praising American support for South Vietnam and Operation Babylift—the communist government views the babylift of orphans as "abduction"—and gave awards to Vietnamese humanitarians and American political officials who helped Vietnamese refugees, as well as the Vietnam Air Force fighter pilot Nguyen Quy An.

In Paris By Night 91, for the 40th anniversary of the Tet Offensive, one medley involved Quang Le singing about the beauty of the former Huế, backed by female dancers, before an explosion knocks them and the bridge over the Perfume River to the ground, something perpetrated by the communists during the Battle of Huế during the Tet Offensive. Khanh Ly then proceeded to sing Trinh Cong Son's "Song for dead bodies" about the communist massacre at Huế, which killed thousands. A video montage of the massacre, inconsolable relatives and the subsequent exhumation and religious reburial was shown in the background during Khanh Ly's performance.

It is also the subject of some controversies among the overseas Vietnamese population due to what some perceive as its support of the current government of Việt Nam. Paris By Night 40, with the topic of motherhood, featured a song by the composer Trịnh Công Sơn entitled "Ca Dao Me", which was performed by Don Hồ. The song included a reenactment of a bombing during the Vietnam War and showed a mother grieving over the death of her child and her husband. Some were offended by the song's antiwar message while others see this as an indictment against American and South Vietnamese troops even though the scene did not make it clear which side was doing the bombing. After a boycott, Thúy Nga reissued Paris By Night 40 with the bombing scenes removed. Ironically, Paris By Night 40 is the most commercially successful production. The director of the segment, Lưu Huỳnh, later went on to direct The White Silk Dress in Việt Nam, a film with similar themes.

In a recent episode, Thuy Nga Productions's Nguyen Ngoc Ngan, wrote a skit about a Vietnamese American gay, starring Bang Kieu. This sparked conversations among Vietnamese Americans parents's and their gay children. It helped built more tolerance for Vietnamese American Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender community oversea. This proves the company's cultural influence over the Vietnamese American culture, experience and audience.