WHEN THE HIPCHICKS WENT TO WAR BY PAMELA RUSHBY TEACHERS NOTES BY ROBYN SHEAHAN‐BRIGHT Contents: • Introduction • Before Reading the Novel • Themes • Characters • Setting • Writing Style • Creative Arts Activities • Further Topics for Discussion & Research • Conclusion • About the Author • Bibliography • About the Author of the Notes When the Hipchicks went to War – Pamela Rushby Teacher’s Guide 2009 Page 1 of 18 www.hachettechildrens.com.au INTRODUCTION ‘I didn’t come back the same girl I was when I left.’ (p 1) Sixteen‐year old Kathleen O’Rourke receives the unexpected opportunity to escape the boredom of 1960s Brisbane suburbia and her apprenticeship as a hairdresser, when she successfully auditions as one of a trio of entertainers who meet at the audition and decide to call themselves the Hipchicks. The only catch is that they are to entertain the Australian troops serving in the Vietnam War. Kathy, Layla and Gaynor set off without having any idea of what is ahead of them. This is a rite of passage story with a difference – because Kathy’s transition from a sixteen‐year‐old teenager to an adult is not about her first kiss, or her first job, or her first loss – instead it’s about witnessing death, and horrifically wounded or traumatised soldiers. Her ‘growing up’ is dramatically hastened by what she witnesses in a war zone. Her life really will never be the same again. BEFORE READING THE NOVEL y Examine the cover of the novel. What does it suggest about the novel’s themes? y Read about the history of the Vietnam War and about the treatment of local people by foreign soldiers. y Read about Vietnamese culture and the influence of French Colonialism and later of powers such as the USA, China and Russia in the history of the region. y Read about the Australian Vietnam veterans who returned from war and their subsequent lives. THEMES Two major themes might be identified in this novel, and sub‐topics within them: 1. VIETNAM WAR Sub‐Topics to be covered in this theme include the history of the Vietnam War, French colonialism in Vietnam, Australia’s involvement in the war, conscription, protest and politics, the role of entertainers in the war, women in war, casualties of war, media ethics in war, war songs and celebrations, and the aftermath of the war. • History of the Vietnam War The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1959 to April 30, 1975. The war was fought between the communist North Vietnam – the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the communist guerilla army known as the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF or Vietcong) – supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States and other member nations of the Southeast Asia Treaty When the Hipchicks went to War – Pamela Rushby Teacher’s Guide 2009 Page 2 of 18 www.hachettechildrens.com.au Organization (SEATO). [See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War] It is also sometimes referred to as the American War, particularly in Vietnam. Essentially a conflict between North and South Vietnam, the US became involved largely because of the fact that North Vietnam was communist. Activity: Read about the background to the war, and the influence of the leaders in power at the time. There are still many conflicting views and some propaganda about the role of the parties involved. Activity: Read about Ho Chi Minh (1890‐1969), his creation of the Vietnamese Communist Party in 1930, and the division of Vietnam into the North(led by Ho) and the South led by Ngo Dinh Diem(1901‐1963) following the Geneva Accords of 1954. • French Colonialism in Vietnam Vietnam was under Colonial French rule from the latter nineteenth century until 1955. Activity: Research its colonial history. Question: What scenes in the novel demonstrated colonialist attitudes in any of the characters? Question: What traces of colonialism are evident in the action? • Australia’s Involvement in the War The US’s staunch ally Australia became involved in Vietnam from 1962, and in 1965 sent combat troops in a policy often paraphrased as ‘All the Way with LBJ’, referring to the President of the US, Lyndon B. Johnson who took office after the untimely assassination of John F Kennedy in 1963. Harold Holt, Australia’s Prime Minister, was a staunch supporter until he went missing while swimming at Portsea in 1967. There were three Liberal PMs subsequent to Holt’s death, and then a Labor PM Edward Gough Whitlam (1972‐5). Troops were withdrawn subsequent to a growing swell of protests in Australia culminated in the moratoriums in 1970, but Australia’s involvement was not proclaimed at an end by the Governor‐General until 11 January 1973. Activity: Research the history of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War [See the Australian War Memorial website including entries: ‘Vietnam 1962‐1975’ http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/vietnam.asp and ‘Australians in the Vietnam War: Reading List’ http://www.awm.gov.au/research/bibliographies/vietnam.asp] Activity: The novel doesn’t reveal very much about the local Vietnamese people, which is sadly descriptive of the nature of the engagement. Few of the US, Australian or NZ soldiers had any real contact with locals and if they did, they were sometimes seeking military information rather than attempting to forge real relationships with them. Research and discuss. When the Hipchicks went to War – Pamela Rushby Teacher’s Guide 2009 Page 3 of 18 www.hachettechildrens.com.au Activity: New Zealand also sent soldiers to the conflict. Read and compare their experiences to those of Australian soldiers. [See Leon Davidson’s Red Haze: Australians and New Zealanders in Vietnam Black Dog Books, 2006.] • Conscription The subject of Conscription is raised in the novel when Mick gets his call‐up (pp 14‐15) and the random nature of the process is queried. The ‘Save Our Sons’ movement is mentioned, as are the protests and the ploys (pp 16‐17) by which some men deliberately failed the medical in order to resist the draft. Activities: Research conscription and its outcomes. What was the fate of conscientious objectors? Had Australian attitudes to war changed by the 1960s, from the views held during the previous conflicts in the Korean War and WWII? Activities: One of the most famous of conscripts was Normie Rowe, then a famous pop singer in Australia. Research his life and the effect of the war on his future. [See Normie Rowe’s Website [http://www.normierowe.com/_frames/mfp_.htm]; and ‘Talking Heads with Peter Thompson Transcript of Interview with Normie Rowe’ [http://www.abc.net.au/talkingheads/txt/s1565435.htm]; and Normie Rowe singing one of his hits ‘Que Sera Sera’ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=‐YIuEHDzmsQ&feature=related] and a war song ‘Missing in Action’ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nT6SpNaekQ&feature=related] Activities: One of the most tragic stories of conscripts is that of Errol Noack (1945‐1966) the first national serviceman killed in the conflict. Some have suggested that he was killed by ‘friendly fire’, although others disagree. Read about his death. [See http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A150564b.htm] • Protest and Politics Every social issue attracts conflicting viewpoints, and protesters against Vietnam weren’t initially thought highly of by either the government or the general public. But as the war dragged on, opposition to it grew, and later the views of protesters moved closer to becoming the consensus view of the conflict, so that later many of the innocent men conscripted were consequently treated like pariahs. Activity: On p 47 Cheryl describes how politicians accused their protest group of being communists. This sort of reaction is typical of governments when challenged. In today’s environment protesters against recent issues such as the treatment of refugees or the invasion of Iraq have been labeled terrorist sympathisers. Discuss the difficulties involved in changing government policies. Activity: On p 102 the girls witness the horrific self‐immolation of a Buddhist monk protesting against the government. On June 11, 1963, Thich Quang Duc was the first to do so on a busy street corner in Saigon. [See http://www.worldsfamousphotos.com/burning‐monk‐the‐self‐immolation‐1963.html] [See further When the Hipchicks went to War – Pamela Rushby Teacher’s Guide 2009 Page 4 of 18 www.hachettechildrens.com.au information at ‘Thich Quang Duc’ Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%ADch_Qu%E1%BA%A3ng_%C4%90%E1%BB%A9c] Discuss the role of such incidents in turning public opinion. Activity: Kathleen gets a letter from Terry about the protests he is involved in at home and is furious, given that Mick and Scotty and Davo are doing such dangerous work (p 219) as soldiers. To people like her, the reality of war makes the protest movement seem naïve. Discuss. Activity: Kathleen’s working class background is contrasted to Cheryl’s more affluent family and to their liberal values. Both Cheryl and her older Brother Terry become involved in the struggle against the Vietnam war while Kathleen’s older brother goes to war and she goes there as an entertainer. Is protest often a class issue as well? Activity: Read this passage: ‘Home. I’d been away less than six months. But everything was different. No. That was wrong … It was me who was different.’(p 242) Discuss. Question: How is the protest movement depicted in this novel? Discuss. Activity: Watch the television mini‐series ‘Vietnam’ (Director: John Duigan Producer: Kennedy Miller Productions 1987) which deals with the experiences of those who stayed at home.