ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 explores the content and production of Contemporaries (‘Người Đương Thời’) one of the most famous talk shows on Vietnamese television. Contemporariesshowcased an extensive variety of successful personalities with more than 400 interviewees joining to share their journeys to success. Contemporaries directly connected the personal with the national by promoting individualist contributions instead of political duty. Such connection reflects the way Contemporaries enabled a new form of nationalist attachment in Vietnam, one that followed neo-liberal logics of private entrepreneurship. This new form of nationalist bonding, while departing from the socialist discourse of national collectivism, further naturalized the concept of the nation in the name of the will.
