Swimming to Cambodia - Film

One of the most intriguing parts of Swimming to Cambodia, as performed by Spalding Gray, is the transition between his different anecdotes. His story is set up as a collection of seemingly random little tales of his time as an actor in The Killing Fields. While on the surface his stories seem to have little or nothing to do with each other, they all serve a purpose in his broader message. I believe that the key to understanding the connection between these anecdotes is in the final lines of each segment and the transition to the next.

As far as I can tell, Spalding Gray's movie has 7 transitions between segments of his larger story, and 5 of these segues end with a broad political message that pertains to the American role in Cambodia in 1975.

First, Gray says that an invisible cloud of evil fell over Iran, Germany, Cambodia........ and America. He is essentially blaming America for the worst "auto homeo genocide in modern history by the Khmer Rouge" for not helping

At the end of the following scene, Gray talks about why he moved to Manhattan - he wanted to move to an island "off the coast of America." Instead of being somewhere that he felt had no identity (America), he wanted to be somewhere with only a few people (Manhattan qualifies I assume) and be able to have a grasp on the place in which he lives.

Next, Gray discusses Renee's neighbors who play the music too loud, and how he wants to eventually "take a stand." This is a metaphor for America, asking when America will stop running away from problems and worrying about its own reputation when it should be standing up to the "bullies." He eventually throws a bottle at the door, but runs away in cowardice. He wonders aloud to himself, "How does a country like America begin to find the language to negotiate with a country like Russia or Libya if he can't even begin to do it with his neighbors in New York City." His situation is a microcosm of the situation between America and the rest of the world. He feels that we as a country have shut ourselves off so much that we can no longer relate, and therefore can no longer offer aid to others who need it.

At the end of the next segment, Gray quotes Jaffe, saying "Morality is not a movable feast." This is a part of the movie that I had a question with - to be honest, I really don't understand what he means by this. I got the sense that Gray disagreed with this sentiment but I don't know why. Nevertheless, he also makes the point that we know about Germany's holocaust because we have association with the country, but no one is able to determine what is happening as 2 million people die in Cambodia because we don't have enough interest in them as a country and as a people.

I don't understand the end of the movie (or book for that matter) also. I felt that I was following his words until he said his last line "I think I know what it is that killed Marilyn Monroe." This made absolutely no sense to me.

Despite my questions as to the meaning of some of Gray's narration, I believe that he is implying his love for Cambodia as a country. While I was watching the movie, all I could think about was one of the first lines of The Killing Fields, "A country that I came to love, and pity." I believe that this connection between Schanberg and Gray - how they both experienced Cambodia differently but both came to love the country, and how they display this in their works - is what I will be writing on in my upcoming paper.