This is my second time to watch this movie. My first time was 5 years ago, so I haven’t remember well how I felt after watching this movie. However, I remembered one thing really clear what I felt, when I watched it first time. It was that Walt who was the main character looked like my grandfather. So, Walt remained me the memories with my grandfather. Both of them were too stubborn in their ideals. Also they had kind of racial ideals. My grandfather used to be a soldier at the Japanese Chinese War, so he went and fought there. I can understand the reason why people who had experiences fighting as militaries had stereotypes against foreign people, because they had opposed other counties. In this movie, his son said “he is still in Korean.” I agreed with his words. His mind had been in Korean before he felt people’s love. However, when I saw his tear for Thao, I thought he was released from himself finally. Until then, because he closed his mind, he couldn’t feel people’s love. The fault was in himself, but he blamed others as being a racist. He could change his mind, thanked to have connections with people who had different backgrounds. Today, through this movie, I felt again that making connection with people is good way to be gone racism in this world.

CHAPTER 10-13

From these chapters, I learned not only Japanese Americans but also most Asian Americans had hard time when they moved and they lived in America. Before reading this book, I thought I knew well about Japanese American because I had studied about Japanese American last quarter. However, what I knew about Japanese American was an only one wave, and I didn’t know they had a second wave. As well as fashions are changing every day, people who immigrate to America were also changing every generation.

-First wave

Most of Asian Americans who moved to America before World War ii sough jobs to get money, because of poor in Asian countries. So, they couldn’t speak English well and also couldn’t get good educations in America. They only had hard works to get money and to send them for their family in Asian countries. These times were hard for their physically and mentally. Then, being successful or not made their later life. People who were successful making money could take college educations and get steady wealthy lives. Their children could also go to colleges not to have hard time when their parents experienced. On the other hand, people who didn’t success became having opposite lives. They got low incomes and unfortunately some of them just had to become gangs.

-Second wave

Between first wave and second wave, there was the crucial difference the reason why they moved to America. Most of people who came here after the war already had technical knowledge in their countries. To study more and gain experience were their aims. The reason was different, but the discriminations caused by their different backgrounds were still there. And also, they also faced the problem which made by different cultures between Asian countries and American. In this book, there was one culture different which I could agree deeply.

“Now that I think about it I sometimes would like to move back to India. Why? Because there is too much individualism here in America. I am getting old and I am afraid my children will grow up and will not be near me. In India, children take care of their parents. This doesn’t happen in this country. So there is a price to be paid for coming here. The family isn’t as close here.”(Takaki, p.448)

Although depending on the family thoughts, in Japan, most of people also think about that it is natural children take care their parents after they get old. Some people live with their parents even they married and have their children. They are thinking that to take care their parents is good to their parents. Also their parents also think it is normally they help when their parents are old. However, I heard most of people don’t count on their children’s helps in America. Their thought is that their children also have their lives, so they go to nursing homes not to trouble their children. I also might not accept this culture different, if I’m in the same situation.

Reading this book, I was surprised that Martin Luther King, Jr was in this book, because this assignment due to his day. I felt it had meaning that I read and thought about the discriminations today, and I was glad thinking about the racism today. Nobody knows when racisms are gone in this world. However, I think one of the good resolutions is to know about their own roots. To do so, they can find the connection like Takaki. We can’t expect where we have connections around us, I think all people are connecting all over the world. We can’t live by ourselves, and we are not just in one country. Thinking about like that don’t made the reason where we are from.

Honestly, I couldn’t understand clearly what the movie wanted to say. Or, I should say that I couldn’t accept the movie’s stereo type. This is because Asian Americans in this movie looked like gangsters. Using their smart brains, they became bad people. Although they all were high school students, they smoked, traded the drugs, and had guns.

Especially, I couldn’t understand the fact which was that young people had the guns in their daily life. Surprisingly, just today, I talked with my classmates about weapons. They have knifes with them for some reasons; to protect their selves, to use something cut, and so on. I was surprised they talked naturally, but at the same time, they were also surprised about me because I didn’t have it. Now, I know this is one of the American customs, but I think few people bring them in Asia comparing with in America. So, this strange mixed culture in this movie might be able to call “the Asian American culture”.

In addition, I like the parts which shown the gold fish. The golden fish shown the Ben’s life. First, he did a little bad things like cheating, but he became to do wrong more and more. Watching these flowing in this movie, I supposed that his bright life was gone, and the fish also dead. I know this was because he didn’t feed the fish, but there was not only the reason. His mind shown up his fish. That was interesting for me.

This was my first time to watch the movie about Asian Americans except about Japanese Americans. However, I found that every movies about Asian American made me really sad. Because of the poor, their life were really hard, and had bad experiences. In this movie, I was impressed by the word; “wherever you go, you are poor.” Even he was poor, Binh had a dream to meet his parents However, the dream was not sure to come true. With thinking about his situation, I am sure that the word might have affected his mind. Wherever he went, he was poor. In the ship to move from Vietnam, their life was terrible. Through this movie, I found that people couldn’t live together under the harsh condition and in one space. Weak people would die, and powerful people would control there. The environment change the life of people there.

I think one of the reason why Asian people came to America and why they choose to be Asian Americans is caused by the wars. There might be a lot of couples between Asian people and American people. And more, quite a few people separated each other like Binh’s parents. Binh’s father had the reason why he didn’t be back to Vietnam. I could deeply understand the reason, but I couldn’t help being sadness for Binh’s mother. If the age in the movie was now, it was impossible to live all of them together. I am still frustrated against the problem.

I appreciated watching this movie with our class because I have learned from the previous quarter to view movies while being consciously aware of the intrinsic and extrinsic view. I’d like to write about the ‘differences’ and the ‘Japanese characteristics’ in this movie. First, in this movie there were a lot of differences between what Japanese people made and American’s interpretation. In the movie, the clothes, hair styles, and even the wedding entertainment were a little odd to me. I had never seen the kimono which Mika wore, and also the hair style too. Shown below are two images: usually in history dramas in Japan, they wore kimonos without a neckband, and all their hairs were up except when they went to bed. Through this movie, I didn’t want everyone who watched it to think that this movie accurately portrayed the Japanese historical style, because it was so different.

↑This picture was from Japanese historical drama talked about “Atsuhime(1836-1883) broadcasting 2008 in Japan.

↑This picture was from “47 ronin” advertisement.

On the other hand, this movie included many Japanese impressions. The movie was filled with a lot of beautiful colors; clothes, cherry blossoms, and so on. Especially, I have never seen so many swords in one movie. They were shown me that how important they were to connect with Japanese history. Through this movie, I’m glad to know how American people thoughts about Japanese history, because I could find Japanese wonderful culture and what I should be proud about with my history.

I heard this movie was released in Japan first, because it’s about Japanese history.

It’s about Japan but It’s from Hollywood, so I’m interested in the movie.