A Century on Film

The Vietnam Shock (2x9)

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In this and the next episode, we explore a superpower shaken to its foundations as the war in Vietnam drags on. Through the 1960's, South Vietnam receives massive American support to prop it up against the communist north. In Saigon, a Buddhist monk immolates himself to protest the South's dictatorial regime. In 1963, African-Americans launch large-scale demonstrations against segregation under their leader, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. "We Shall Overcome" is their anthem. After the assassination of President Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson embarks on a major expansion of the war in Vietnam.