Dear Cô Marie Tô,
As I am sitting here entering the 35th anniversary contest, I thought I would take some time to write you this quick letter to share with you my deepest regards about Paris by Night. I never had the courage to walk up to you because I was too shy to introduce myself the last time I went to go see PBN 115 and 123. So here's my chance to introduce myself.
My name is Myson and I just want to tell you how much Paris By Night has changed my life. I'm a 23 year old college student living in a small city in Louisiana since I was 2. My parents are considered the stereotypical Vietnamese family, they both own & work at a nail shop from 9 am to 9 pm almost everyday. They were busy for most of my upbringing so I spent most of my youth watching VHS tapes of PBN at home with my younger sisters. As a Viet kid living in Louisiana, I felt very isolated because I was usually the only Viet kid in a school full of non-Asians. Watching Paris By Night made me feel like there was a sense of community. I felt like I belonged and a sense of familiarity with these people on the TV screen even though I have never met these people in my life. This was the beginning of my love for Paris By Night.
As I went through middle school, I became addicted. I sort of turned into everyone's worst nightmare actually. I loved collecting Paris By Night so much that I would make my parents take me to EVERY single Vietnamese music store or bookstore in all the cities we visited. I would rummage through dusty bookshelves and TV cabinets at my parent’s friend’s houses to see what tapes they had or ones I didn't own yet. I would also call all the video stores in my city every month to check to see when the newest show would release and rush my mom to take me to the video store that had the first shipment. Till this day, I still search local stores and bid on eBay for old VHS tapes. Now, I own EVERY SINGLE Paris By Night VHS, DVD, BLURAY from #14-124, not to mention all the karaokes, cds, special shows, like Giã Biệt Sài Gòn, or singer related dvds, like Dạ Vũ Quốc Tế, that I own too. I even created a blog called Paris By Night Centre to share with the world my collection and I scanned VHS boxes of every single PBN myself. At that time, I was probably 13 years old when I created that blog and posted ReCap series on the Thuy Nga Forums. In high school, I would spend some weekends making Wikipedia pages for old Paris By Night's as well. That's how much I love PBN.
A few months ago, I saw Ky Duyen on the Youtube livestream video mentioning how you might end Paris By Night after the 35th anniversary show. It immediately sent a shockwave through my body, similar to what I had felt when I heard rumors swirling about that PBN 100 might've been the last. Because of that, I felt that it was urgent that I write this letter to you. I can't imagine a future without PBN because my life revolves around it so much.
I can't sum up how much Paris By Night has changed my life in just one letter but I can tell you how PBN has shaped me to be the person I am today. Not only do you change the lives of singers, but you also change the lives of the viewers as well. Not only does PBN provide quality entertainment, it also inspires younger viewers, like me, to learn about the language and the culture. I have learned the language so well that I can now fluently speak Vietnamese to my parents and people in my community. I even text full sentences on my phone in Vietnamese to my parents and family now. Since I fluently know the language, I can understand songs and their meanings to better appreciate them. I can't tell you how many times I have cried just listening to Vietnamese music on PBN. Adele can't even make me cry, but Vietnamese music can. Every year around Black April, I turn on PBN 77: 30 Năm Viễn Xứ and I cry my heart out to the soul wrenching performances. Through your shows, I learn so much more about the Vietnam War than I do in school. Watching PBN is such a brilliant way to learn about Vietnamese history without being bored from reading it in a textbook.
Not only has PBN taught me about history, language, and the culture, it has also taught me a lot about fashion and design: the way clothes should be put together, the way colors should fuse on stage, the art of camera angles and editing, the way sets are designed to accommodate the theater and make the stage look big, etc. Because of my attention to these kind of details, I am able to be creative with my mind and body, like the way I creatively think and creatively put together my outfits for example. And for that, I am forever grateful for Paris By Night. Without it, I wouldn't be the creative, fashionable soul I am today.
But regardless of whether Paris By Night continues after 35 years, at least you know....you have touched one life - my life. And that life wants to thank you. I saw you on livestream the other day on Vietface and I could feel your frustrations and concerns when you spoke about the false accusations against TNPBN. You don't deserve enough praise for what you do. I have so much respect and admiration for what you do. I want you to realize the impact you have left on me and many other young Viet kids growing up in America. Through Paris By Night, I have established a new found love for my culture and heritage that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Paris By Night unifies people from all parts of life from around the world through music and art. Preserving the culture through molding young children to love Vietnamese music is the greatest accomplishment Paris By Night could ever achieve.
Thank you for providing the Vietnamese community with quality entertainment for the past 35 years. I pray that God will bless you and the whole Thúy Nga family lots of health and prosperity and may you continue the path of Paris By Night for generations to come. Thank you ❤