Educational Media Reviews Online

The legacy of the Khmer Rouge regime continues to impact Khmer culture both in Cambodia and in expatriate communities. About 80% of Cambodian artists, dancers and musicians were executed by the Khmer Rouge and another 10% are estimated to have died of disease or starvation. This practically insured the loss of the oral tradition that allowed Cambodian artistic culture to be passed from one generation to another. What little documentation of Khmer culture that existed was also systematically destroyed.

Through the determined efforts of a handful of remaining dancers worldwide, the revival of classic Cambodian court dance has proven quite effective in supporting Khmer culture. This is particularly evident among the 20,000 ethnic Cambodians living in Lowell, MA, for example, where the young often learn to speak English first and then must be instructed in Khmer social structure. In Kampuchea as well, court dance provides a link through which the Khmer may consider and perhaps resume a cultural identity.

This interesting story is threaded around the life of Thavro Phim, a refugee of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, who now dances the role of Hanuman, the magical white monkey of classical court dance. Thavro returns to Cambodia and visits Ankor Wat, the Killing Fields, a prison museum and the Documentation Center of Cambodia. The role of dancers at Phnom Penh's University of Fine Arts in performing and promoting court dance in Kampuchea is also documented.

There seems a human longing to try to better understand ourselves through family, tradition, history and nation - in short, to recognize our culture. The urge to understand oneself as a member of a culture does not decrease as others try to obliterate that culture. This video is recommended for academic and public library media collections in modern history and culture. It will be especially helpful as an adjunct to a discussion of cultural cleansing, likewise to discussions of "culture" or "heritage."