visas & virtue

[Alan Kita]

There are a number of Japanese Americans (Americans of Japanese
descent), particularly in film and in the arts, and in academics, who
view the entire history of Japanese in American in terms of the
internment camps.  This is unfortunate, however, since 120,000 people
were involved - which was most of the population of Japanese ancestry in
1942, there are a lot of Americans who feel directly connected with that
period in American history.  And sadly, it is still neglected in most
history courses and classes.

Today, however, the ratio of the percentage of the Japanese American
population who have some connection to the internment camps is much
smaller than it has been.  A proper adjustment in the context of the
Japanese American experience is porbably necessary, and at the same
time, it is also pertinent for Japanese American who were not personally
affected (even through a grandparent) to learn more about it.

True there are other plights of atrocities against ethnic groups in
America that are greater (in terms of numbers, etc.)  But sadly, it
would be rare to find a person who is vocal that General Custer's life
should be avenged for example, whereas, there are a number of very vocal
people who would shout out that America's 10 concentration camps ever
existed.

The concentration camps were not death camps as they were in Europe. 
However, the sentiment at the time - if for some reason the Japanese
were winning the war, there are several reasons to believe that 120,000
Japanese descendants (the majority had American citizenship) - their
lives would have been in peril.

But in this particular case, I think the director and others of the film
"Visas and Virtures" probably overextended a comparison (or a cause).

The film did receive an Oscar for a short film - feature, which was
historical in the fact that very few Americans of Asian ancestry get to
go on stage at the Oscars to accept an award, and one of the few
filmmakers to do so.  Last year, The short documentary Oscar was awarded
to Janet Yu - who will be forever be imprinted on the Oscars as the
person to have said that her dress for that evening had cost more than
her film.


Although officially, the U.S. government had called the camps that
Japanese American were forced to enter "Internment Camps" on most of the
lips of the white "protectors" (you will have to wonder who was
protecting whom, since most of the soldiers - Americans _ had their guns
pointed inside the camps) as concentration camps.

The Japanese American National Museum of Los Angeles recently opened
their exhibit, "America's Concentration Camps" at the museum at Ellis
Island.  A very honored event.  The East Coast Jewsish groups were
highly critical of the use of "concentration camps" and proceeded to
block the opening of the exhibit through the courts, public opinion,
etc.  In the end, the name of the exhibition remained the
same...afterall, the West Coast Jewish groups understood, and a
definition footnote was placed as a peaceful concession of a
"concentration camp."

You can see why "Internment Camp," makes not a better name, because most
uses for interment seems to center around death, and an "internment
camp" seems euphemistic for "death camp."  Or at least a camp for
zombies and ghouls.

Alan Kita
California