At UBC, us students have the privilege to be a part of CAP, coordinated arts program, which allows us to further our learning in an intimate and engaging environment. We take three courses: sociology, political science and an English/writing course, where we are expected to draw connections between these classes. We should not see these courses as independent but rather interdependent. On Friday, September 15th our professors came together to host a joint lecture in which we watched a documentary titled, A Degree of Justice: Japanese Canadian UBC Students of 1942. As can be inferred from the title this documentary follows several Japanese Canadians’ first hand accounts of their struggles of having their life disrupted after the bombing of Pearl Harbour. Sadly, Japanese Canadians faced extreme ostracisation from the Canadian communities and were forced to quit school. Japanese Canadians were faced with having their father’s being taken away from them and families having to flee the country (Yoshizawa, Alejandro, director).
This documentary raises many dilemmas such as the notion of identity. For these students, albeit they were ethnically Japanese, they felt that they were and are “true” Canadians. But what does it mean to be a “true” Canadian? For people to claim that, physically, real Canadians are caucasian are completely off base. Caucasian Canadians are simply settlers of the country and therefore are no more “Canadian” than those of the Japanese students and their families. This resonates with me on a deeper level seeing as I am constantly battling my own personal identity crisis. By citizenship I am American, ethnically I am Irish Korean. Too complicate the situation further I have lived in six countries. The notion of “home” and “identity” is not so easily identifiable to world travelers such as myself. Having heard my father’s stories of being segregated and facing discrimination from “real” (white) Americans made me feel a deeper level of understanding for the victims in the documentary. My father was born in American and no less American than anyone else. Yet, because of his physical attributes it was easy for him to be an outcast.
Perhaps the most disheartening story I have heard from my father is how his mother and him would get rocks thrown at them as he was walked to school. Facing discrimination, his mother felt the need to remove their Korean culture in order for her kids to fit in. She felt that there was no other option than to appropriate to American culture and forget the one that they originated from. There was no space for having multiple identities that is much more prevalent in our modern day society now. Although we still do see systemic racism, it has become less of a contentious topic for the younger, more open-minded generation. As technology has become more popular it has helped broaden people’s understanding of the world and as a result gives them a deeper appreciation for people from different backgrounds. This is hopefully a trend that will continue to persist and eventually limit the amount of ignorance we are still faced with today. I truly believe that fear comes from the unknown and therefore in order to become a more cohesive and global society we must be open to others and their cultures.
Along with the dilemma of identity this film brings the idea of nationalism to our attention. Before the bombing of Pearl Harbour these students were accepted as Canadian however after the attack this inclusivity had completely perished. This isolation came from a place of fear, not unlike that of the fear we have seen recently in America with Muslim Americans. According to CNN, only 32 people have died from terrorist attacks in America whereas 33,599 people have died from gun violence (Bower, Eve). Not to minimise these deaths, however the proportion of the number of deaths and the amount of time that is spent on the news vilifying Muslims is completely disproportionate. Muslim Americans identify with being American because they are American. However, it becomes easy for a government to exclude a specific minority by using the tactic of fear. The acknowledgement of citizenship and rights goes out the window. Instead of looking at what is an actual issue (gun violence, for example) the media and government choose to target a minority in order to marginalise them just as we saw in the documentary.
This is an especially important issue in this age of globalisation. Being a citizen of a certain country does not mean you have to look a particular way. Borders have become blurred as people have become more globalised, travel more and identify with multiple places. However as seen in the documentary it shows how this idea of nationalism is imagined, just as Benedict Anderson suggested in his scholarly writing, Imagined Communities. Nationalism is no more than a conception created by society as a means to create a sense of loyalty to the country. Political elites can use it to their advantage, either as a means to out a group of people through the use of fear, or to bring people together (Anderson, Benedict). Once we are able to recognise that we all have prejudices we will then be able to be open to different cultures and become a more globalised society. It is important to keep in mind that having prejudices is part of being human and is not to be seen as a negative thing so long as we do not act upon them.
Work Cited
Anderson, Benedict. “Imagined Communities .” Imagined Communities , pp. 1–5.,
connect.ubc.ca/bbcswebdav/pid-4450611-dt-content-rid-22848673_1/courses/SIS.UBC.
SOCI.100.006.2017W1-2.97354/Anderson%20-%20Imagined%20Communities.pdf.
Bower, Eve. “American Deaths in Terrorism vs. Gun Violence in One Graph.” CNN, Cable News
Network, 3 Oct. 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/10/03/us/terrorism-gun-violence/index.html.
Yoshizawa, Alejandro, director. A Degree of Justice: Japanese Canadian UBC Students of 1942.
Youtube, UBC Library, 19 Mar. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8jGdYMmwfQ.