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Bryce Duvendack
Freimuth
ACS 2500
21 April 2025
In the Graphic Novel “The Best We Could Do” and in the documentary “Slavery by
Another Name”, painful truths about American history are brought to life. While both materials
present drastically different experiences and lifestyles, they reveal similar circumstances and
situations.
“The Best We Could Do” dives into the Vietnamese immigrant experience, especially the
impact that the Vietnam War had on the different aspects of Vietnamese life. The novel follows
Thi Bui’s family through their history, coming from war-ravaged Vietnam, and their turbulent
mission of making it to America. These previous traumatic experiences affect their family and
parenting dynamics drastically. Along with familial struggles, the main character and her family
also see conflict arise when Vietnamese values and traditional American values somewhat clash,
allowing us to see how her family (and many others, most likely) never fully become a
traditional “American” family.
“Slavery by Another Name” shows the African American experience in the South – the
post-Reconstruction South, to be exact. During the documentary, we see many instances of
injustice, oppression, and cruelty that are still being added to the burden African Americans held
during this time. This documentary broke down how, in many cases, despite slavery being
abolished, African Americans were still forced into unpaid work/convict leasing. These examples
presented in the documentary show how even though African Americans were “free”, deep-
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rooted systemic racism kept them from achieving what the promised opportunities of normal
American life.
I believe that of the 2 materials presented, “The Best We Could Do” expresses values
most like my own. Not only does this graphic novel present values relating to Family and the
values family resembles, but it also discusses perseverance and resilience against the
social/political climate at the time. I connect more with these values due to how they are familyoriented, and how Thi Bui is making efforts to understand her parents and their past. I feel like
the fact that the family moves around a lot in this novel is also relatable personally to me, as back
when I was young, my family would move very frequently. While I cannot connect with the
trauma brought along by fleeing from a war-torn country, I can resonate with how the family
throughout the book is looking out for one another and wanting to ensure a happy, successful
future for their children.
I feel like “Slavery by Another Name” expresses values the least like mine. I don’t
disagree with the values shown in the documentary, but I just can’t connect with a lot of the
values shown in this documentary. Many of the values African Americans had at the time were
smothered by systemic racism and biased legislation, making it hard to relate to said values
facing such unjust backlash. While none of my cultural values have faced any similar
circumstances, I understand the importance of learning the hardships African Americans faced
during that time.
Overall, I believe both of these materials bring experiences within American society into
the spotlight. While each of the cultures mentioned is distinct, they both reveal things about
history, trauma, and society. The Vietnamese immigrant experience, and the African American
experience (post Reconstruction) in the South, both can be seen struggling with issues such as
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being excluded from the “traditional” American cultures and having different values that the
usual American narrative.