The Killing Fields: War Correspondent Sub-genre

The Killing Fields, a Hollywood film about the relationship between New York Times reporter Sidney Schandberg and his Cambodian assistant Dith Pran, continues to be important for a variety of reasons.  Based on a series of articles Schanberg wrote in 1979 for the Times about their experiences, "The Death and Life of Dith Pran,"  the title of the film is now a synonym for intercultural genocide, such as those which subsequently took place in Rwanda or the Balkans.

The film is also one of the best examples of elevating the character of a war reporter from that of a mere plot device serving as a commentator on the action in a film, or as a stand-in for the audiences' view point, to that of a main protagonist.

There have been other films in this war correspondent sub-genre that have been diverting and well made, such as The Quiet American with Michael Caine, based on Graham Greene's life, or The Year of Living Dangerously with a young and unsullied Mel Gibson.  However, The Killing Fields is universally admired for its verisimilitude, right down to reproducing Cambodian passports accurately, or using ad-libbed Khmer Rouge dialogue that was not subtitled, adding much to the terrifying level of realism in the film.

The role of Schanberg as a main character also switches the war reporter from being promoter of the US military stand on the particular conflict being covered to one who is actually advocating for the oppressed people in the war.  Many will agree that this is imperfectly done in the Killing Fields because much of the film is about what was happening to an American, Schandberg, rather than the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot's impact on Cambodians and their history.

The Killing Fields, to this day, remains a worthy subject of film study and commentary. For further reading, please see the excellent essays by Stephen Badsey (2002) and David P. Chandler (1989).