Episode 55: The Killing Fields (1984) (Guest: Alexandra Meise)

Episode 55: The Killing Fields (1984) (Guest: Alexandra Meise)

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The Killing Fields (1984), directed by Roland Joffe, depicts the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia and the genocide that followed, which resulted in the death of approximately 2-3 million people. The film is based on the experiences of New York Times journalist Sydney Schanberg (Sam Waterson) and Cambodian journalist Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor). It provides a haunting depiction of mass violence as well as a moving story about these two colleagues and friends. In the wake of the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia, it is worth revisiting a film that is as powerful and relevant today as when it was released.

Guest: Alexandra Meise

Alexandra (Xander) Meise joined the Northeastern University School of Law faculty in 2021 as associate teaching professor in the Legal Skills in Social Context program. Professor Meise’s research on sovereignty, statecraft, national security, and human rights stands at the intersection of policy and public and private international law. Previously, Professor Meise spent over a decade in practice preventing and resolving international disputes, including in human rights litigation, in treaty-based international arbitrations and public international law forums, and in designing and implementing legal reforms and human rights best practices.  Her professional experience has spanned five continents, including work for the Pre-Trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia through the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials (UNAKRT), for the U.S. Department of State at posts in Europe, and in international development in countries such as Yemen and Bosnia. Since Fall 2023, Professor Meise has served as a visiting professor at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where she is also the chair of the Women, Peace, and Security program.

Timestamps:

0:00      Introduction

2:16       The Khmer Rouge and Year Zero

6:04      The U.S. contribution to the Cambodian genocide

8:14        The role of journalists in Cambodia and conflict zones

17:34      The treatment of journalists under international law

18:46     The killing fields and the film’s impact

24:08    Sydney Schanberg and Dith Pran, and journalistic ethics

34:10     The ECCC and transitional justice in Cambodia

42:44     Journalists and international criminal proceedings

47:50     Haing Ngor and his tragic fate

53:26     Civil society endeavors to bring history to life

55:21      The fall of Phnom Penh

59:03    The failed attempt to get Dith Pran out

1:00:15  The risks facing journalists today

Further Reading:  

Becker, Elizabeth, When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution (1988)

Brown, Mark, “Genocide Films, Public Criminology, Collective Memory,” 53 (6) The British Journal of Criminology (2013)

Chandler, David P., The Pol Pot Regime (1991)

Kiernan, Ben, Genocide in Cambodia (Revised ed. 2008) 

Ngor, Haing (with Warner, Roger), Survival in the Killing Fields (1987)

Nunn, Nora, "Rose-Colored Genocide: Hollywood, Harmonizing Narratives, and the Cinematic Legacy,” 14(2) Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal 65 (2020)

Schanberg, Sydney H., The Death and Life of Dith Pran (1985)

Shawcross, William, Sideshow (1979)

Publication Date

3-10-2026

Disciplines

Law

Episode 55: The Killing Fields (1984) (Guest: Alexandra Meise)

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