An Assessment between the Movies, Japans War in Color and Why We Fight

An Assessment between the Movies, Japan's War in Color and Why We Fight The films â€Å"Why We Fight† and â€Å"Japan’s War in Color† are vastly different from one another due to objectivity of the films. The ways that these two films present themselves give hint to the purpose that these films were trying to make. The film, â€Å"Why We Fight† was commissioned by the Department of Morale, and was meant to give reason for America’s involvement in Asia. The film’s purpose is obviously meant maintain and gain support for the war effort on America’s mainland. The film is targeted at American citizens living in places like Atlanta, Georgia, Washington D.C., or in Portland, Oregon. The film, â€Å"Japan’s War in Color† offers an analytical approach to the various causes of the war in Asia. The objective of this film is to provide a more accurate depiction of the causes and effects of the war in Asia. This film being targeted towards scholars of this area of history. The first contrast that needs to be made between these two films is the nature of their narrators. It seems to be that in the film â€Å"Why We Fight†, the entire dialogue is made by what seems to be a masculine American voice. When the narrator is interrupted, it is in place of an American source, such as the ambassador of China speaks about Japan’s occupation in China. Even when the US ambassador is speaking, he seems to be reading allowed cue cards. Now this is purposively done in order to make the US a hero as much as possible. Even the use of a masculine voice is done purposively to bring about sentiments of honor and duty. Now in the other film â€Å"Japan’s War in Color†, different perspectives are given, which themselves are spoken in a Japanese dialect. Both sides are shown, such as small pockets of rebellion against the military emperorship of Japan, and even hardline militarist Japanese testimonies. What makes that special is that little room fo r biases are left, since both sides are shown in equal proportions. Now this is done simply because this how the academia works, evaluation and detective work must be done. Next what needs to pointed out is what type of footage is shown between the two films. I could not but help but get a sense that military demonstrations were the bulk of the film â€Å"Why We Fight†. Then oddly enough, a few scenes seem to be taken from Hollywood films, especially when they were describing the old Chinese culture. One scene describing the Great Wall of China, the footage of men on horse back in what seemed to steppe bandits looked very Hollywood clichà ©. But the over use of military demonstrations, marches, soldiers storming trenches, close ups on Japanese soldiers looking menacing is done with the objective of making the US seem a hero in comparison of the Japanese. Even the depiction of the Chinese make it seem that they are under the US responsibility. The use of debasement is placed on the Chinese, sense one they are not given any representation other than the narrators own view of them, and makes it seem that they can not help themselves from the Japane se forces. The footage in the film â€Å"Japan’s War in Color† is extremely different from â€Å"Why We Fight†. First off, footage of typical Japanese life is shown, such as people working in the fields, footage of Tokyo on a normal day, footage various festivals. The footage attempts to encapsulate the whole human experience in the 1930’s and early 1940’s in Asia. Indeed, there is footage of war, but in this film it is hard at times to distinguish who is harming who. War is depicted as messy and full of collateral damage. Much rather this film isn’t attempting to call for more war, but expose the vices of war. While trying to find some similarities between these two films, they only seem to agree based on the large historical facts, for example Japan’s occupation of Korea and Manchuria, Japan being the single most powerful state in Asia, and Japan’s imperialist campaign in Asia. But how these are expressed and analyzed are in different formats. For example, in â€Å"Why We Fight† these events are expressed in a outsiders point of view, which in this case is described as Japanese aggression. In the film, â€Å"Japan’s War in Color†, opinions are expressed from mainland Japan, people in China, intellectuals, soldiers on both fronts opinions are expressed to see their motives and explanations for taking part in the war. In summary, the contrasts overweigh the similarities between the films. These two films have two complete different objectives. The makers of each film had in mind a certain way of depicting the war in mind. In the â€Å"Why We Fight†, it was a propaganda film meant to maintain support for the war in America. Certain things were done to achieve this such as refusing to use Japanese sources, focusing on the military aspect of Japan, and debasing the Chinese as helpless people needing American assistance. The film â€Å"Japan’s War in Color† was a academic piece meant to expose the different views that were held during this time in Asia. To explore both the militarist, the common folk, the liberals, the radicals, and the unaccounted for. The film was meant to explore the human experience that occurred in this time of human civilization.

Amistad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Amistad - Essay Example The Spanish colonies of Cuba and Puerto Rico would continue to tolerate the outlawed slave trade until the 1860s, but eventually outlaw slavery by the end of the 1870s2. By the time of the Amistad incident, the feeling in America towards slavery had polarized. Feelings ran the gamut from the abolitionists that called for an immediate ban on slavery, to the people that felt a constitutional amendment was long overdue, and included the advocates that argued slavery was a states' issue and wished to prolong the practice, primarily in the rural South for economic reasons. In the Northern States, "the rising voices of black, as well as white, abolitionists are partly responsible for ending slavery in the Northern states during the first part of the nineteenth century"3. According to Jackson, "if many were sympathetic to the Africans, there were plenty of others among the American press and public with only contempt for them", and Cinque, the leader of the mutineers, was described by one journalist to be "as miserably ignorant and brutalized a creature as the rest"4. Many people such as "Lewis Tapan, a prominent New York businessman, Joshua Leavitt, a law yer and journalist who edited the Emancipator in New York, and Simeon Jocelyn, a Congregational" could sense the coming of the civil war over this unresolvable issue and "decided to publicize the incident to expose the brutalities of slavery and the slave trade"5. In 1839, the nation was deeply divided over the slavery issue and many people were willing to take a hard stance either for or against it. C. Legal aspects of the Supreme Court's decision. Though there was significant political and emotional pressure placed on the court, the eventual decision was a correct legal finding. The case rested on three principles; jurisdiction, the mutineer's status as slaves, and the concept of slaves as property. "The Spanish minister pointed out that the Amistad mutiny took place on a Cuban vessel traveling between Cuban ports and was thus beyond the jurisdiction of American courts"6. The court ruled that the mutineers were "kidnapped and free Negroes, the treaty with Spain cannot be obligatory upon them; and the United States are bound to respect their rights as much as those of Spanish subjects"7. The court rightfully found that they had been kidnapped, since they had been taken in violation of international agreements, and since they were being held as kidnapped captives, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's decision. "The court declared that the blacks had never been lawful slaves and that they were kidnapped and illegally transp orted to Cuba. Their mutiny was an act of self-defense"8. Adams challenged the Court to find a more sweeping decision "on the basis of natural rights doctrines found in the Declaration of Independence"9. However, the majority opinion "found slavery repugnant and contrary to Christian morality, he supported the laws protecting its existence and opposed the abolitionists as threats to ordered society. Property rights, he believed, were the basis of civilization"10. D. Impact of the Amistad incident on slavery. The impact of the Amistad incident gave the abolitionists a social and political boost that would continue to echo into the future. "The importance of the Amistad case lies in the fact that Cinque

Comparative Advantage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Comparative Advantage - Essay Example It is however, critical to note that this advantage is relatively low as compared to other countries. In sectors like Mineral fuels and apparels, US is comparatively at disadvantage as compared to other countries and may be the net importer of goods and services following in both these categories. Finance and insurance sector also seem to lose its competitiveness as compared to other countries such as Japan and Switzerland. The data in table 5.1 indicates that US may not have comparative advantage in different sectors as compared to other countries. This may be owing to different factors including lack of room for economic expansion during recent years. Further, US economy is believed to be transitioning towards service based economy therefore different sectors of the economy may be losing their comparative advantage as other countries may be picking up from where US firms left the competition wide open for other economies. (Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Panagariya, & Srinivasan, 1998) Japan seems to enjoy greater level of comparative advantage in producing vehicles. This suggests that vehicle production in Japan is relatively cheaper as compared to other countries and Japan can enjoy relative comparative advantage in this sector. As compared to US, Japan is far ahead in producing vehicle much efficiently and at lower costs. Japan also seems to enjoy greater level of comparative advantage in producing electronic equipment and enjoys greater advantage over US. This may also indicates that Japan’s economy is still industrial based with strong focus upon maintaining industrial base of the economy through achieving better comparative advantage. A relatively positive comparative advantage is also enjoyed in the finance and insurance sector indicating that financial sector in Japan is relatively more efficient as compared to financial sector of US. This may also be