Day 67: Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll

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Tonight one of the local cafes did a showing of the documentary of Don't Think I've Forgotten. I knew nothing about Cambodia prior to arriving. In fact, the volunteer coordinators got a good chuckle from Shelby and I recounting how 1 week before wanting to start we contacted them to set it up. Typically, they set things up 6 - 10 weeks in advance for people. They asked if we wanted to do anything besides the temples. We asked "What temples?" and their jaw dropped..."You really don't know ANYTHING and really fly by the seat of your pants!!!" So seeing this movie was a must because how can I remember something I don't know. The highlight of the cafe was two full walls of book exchange potential. The documentary was a flashback to high school American Culture tying together the music, fashion/fads with current events. It was incredibly informative and entertaining (high recommendation). Here are the highlights of what I learned:


• Cambodia's music was heavily influenced by both their heritage and western European styles.
• Once America helped to organize a military coop and was fighting in Vietnam, American styles became prominent because of the radio stations broadcasted for the soldiers.
• The music/dancing scene was vibrant and creative with many large names dominating the radio
• When the Khmer Rouge (Pol Pot) took control in 1975, they shut down the radio stations and told musicians they had 1 month to write new music for their propaganda campaign
• Later, they evacuated the cities and transplanted all urban dwellers into the countryside in an effort to restructure the country into an agricultural state
• During these four years, many musicians were asked to be either puppets for the new government and many were arrest/taken away and never heard from again
• The musicians were targeted because they represented prior work to propel Cambodia into the future and capitalism which was everything Pol Pot wanted to turn away from
• When Vietnam took over the country in 1979, they asked people to come back to the cities. Musicians were vital to this process because once they were on the air again, it signified it was safe.
• This was a daring act to come forward, but many did. However, many never did return and there are various accounts of what happened to each of them.
• In all over 2 million people (1/4 of the population) were murdered in these four years.

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