Surname Viet, given name NamFilmmaker Trinh T. Minh-ha explores the role of Vietnamese women historically and in contemporary society. Through the use of dance, printed texts, folk poetry, and the words and experiences of Vietnamese women in Vietnam, both North and South, and the United States, official culture is challenged by the voices of women. The documentary is a theoretically and formally complex work that explores the difficulty of translation, critiquing both traditional society.