In an attempt to capture the controversial political actions during the wartime era, popular cartoon artist Theodore Seuss Geisel portrays the evacuation of Japanese and Japanese-Americans through his piece “Waiting for the Signal from Home…” The image provides Geisel’s depiction of the actions made by the government in order to move Japanese and Japanese-Americans away from the West Coast. Notably, in the cartoon the term “Honorable Fifth Column” is a sly remark that is related to the empire of Japan rising against authority in order to undermine a nation. Further analysis shows the racial undertones provided by Seuss in hopes to relay the message that these people are not worthy enough to be trusted in the United States’ society.
Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss, was a popular American writer and cartoonist ironically known for his work with children’s books rather than wartime propaganda. His work was published throughout the wartime era by PM Magazine. As one of the few primary sources, this visual provides a foundation for criticism throughout my paper. The content provides an interesting vantage point, such that focusing more on the details enables the viewer to observe the sly innuendos of racism. Furthermore, the cartoon serves as a foundation in which it can be compared by its content and message to other works, such as the cartoon by Austin.
Sumiko Higashi, author of numerous books, sociologically takes apart media films and newsreels that were available during the years of World War II. Her claim focuses around the title of “melodramas” in which she categorizes these types of propaganda films. Furthermore, she uses the works from different authors, such as Foucault, Michael O’Malley, and others, to argue the melodrama...
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...of it as a whole, watching it from the start when authors DuBois and the Chicago School first presented challenges of race and ethnicity until the current comparative standpoints historically. Furthermore, Winant points out that the race has been constructed socially through politics and theory.
Howard Winant is best known for his work as a sociologist, with a special study in the theory of the construction of race. Additionally, he is a professor of sociology at the University of California, San Diego. This article is primarily as a way to inform the reader of the general concept of race; it serves as a foundation to my sub claim of race before I begin to complicate its existence within my claim. Pairing this reading with the Stokes reading, both have similar concepts despite the different years of publication because they deal with the sociological theme of race.
First, I will examine Omi and Winant’s approach. They made a clear distinction between ethnicity and race and only discussed how races are formed. They also define race as a constantly being transformed by political struggle and it is a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by
Much of what is considered modern Japan has been fundamentally shaped by its involvement in various wars throughout history. In particular, the events of World War II led to radical changes in Japanese society, both politically and socially. While much focus has been placed on the broad, overarching impacts of war on Japan, it is through careful inspection of literature and art that we can understand war’s impact on the lives of everyday people. The Go Masters, the first collaborative film between China and Japan post-WWII, and “Turtleback Tombs,” a short story by Okinawan author Oshiro Tatsuhiro, both give insight to how war can fundamentally change how a place is perceived, on both an abstract and concrete level.
This book addresses the issue of race all throughout the story, which is while it is probably the most discussed aspects of it. The books presentation is very complex in many ways. There is no clear-cut stance on race but the book uses racist language. The racist language durin...
Race-thinking: what is it? Isn’t the world past the issue of race? Do races even exist and if so, what does it mean to have a racial identity? Is colorblindness possible and how important is it? These are the questions Paul Taylor addresses in the book “Race: A Philosophical Introduction”. Paul Taylor is a self-proclaimed “radical constructionist” who will maintain that race is very real in our world and in the United States as a whole (p. 80). Taylor takes care to ensure he addresses the real needs concerning racial dynamics in the U.S., referencing historical events, prevailing policy affairs, and even pop culture to explain that everyone capable of forming opinions ought to have some sort of grasp of the concept of race-thinking. As Taylor will analyze, race and race-thinking “has shaped and continues to shape private interactions as well as the largest political choices” (p. 8). In other words, race-thinking encompasses everything we do and every interaction we have. In this paper I will attempt to interpret and expound Taylor’s views and definitions of race, concepts associated with race, and input my own interpretations as they are appropriate.
Critical Race Theory (CRT) began in the field of law and has been used as a theoretical framework in educational research for over 15 years (Savas, 2014). Gloria-Ladson-Bilings and William F.Tate IV’s wrote an article, “Toward a Critical Race Theory of Education”, in 1995 and began the use of Critical Race Theory as a lens for future studies in education. The first tenet of CRT looks at race and racism through historical contexts. To explore this tenet, I will take a brief glance back to the beginning of our country and the beginning of white as a superior race.
The bombing on Pearl Harbor impaired America, which brought an increase to racial tension. However, this impairment brought all nationalities together. “Thirty-three thousand Japanese Americans enlisted in the United States Armed Forces. They believed participation in the defense of their country was the best way to express their loyalty and fulfill their obligation as citizens” (Takaki 348). Takaki proves to us that the battle for independence was grappled on the ends of enslaved races. The deception of discrimination within the military force didn’t only bewilder Americans that sensed the agony of segregation, but also to the rest of world who honored and idolized America as a beam of freedom for
In the early days of World War II the everyday people of this country already sensed the great change to come. Interviews taken from the Library of Congress, in the collection labeled “After the Day of Infamy,” offer a window into the past. Into the America that existed in the early days after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entrance into the war. Inside the collection, the pulse of the nation is revealed. Ordinary people, some of whom do not reveal their names, are given a chance to record their opinion of the war, the Japanese people, and the race relations within the union. In these open letters to the president and the “Man on the Street” interviews, the American public reveals their prejudices and their concerns in the most candid of fashion.
In today’s society, it is acknowledgeable to assert that the concepts of race and ethnicity have changed enormously across different countries, cultures, eras, and customs. Even more, they have become less connected and tied with ancestral and familial ties but rather more concerned with superficial physical characteristics. Moreover, a great deal can be discussed the relationship between ethnicity and race. Both race and ethnicity are useful and counterproductive in their ways. To begin, the concept of race is, and its ideas are vital to society because it allows those contemporary nationalist movements which include, racist actions; to become more familiar to members of society. Secondly, it has helped to shape and redefine the meaning of
Classic narrative cinema is what Bordwell, Staiger and Thompson (The classic Hollywood Cinema, Columbia University press 1985) 1, calls “an excessively obvious cinema”1 in which cinematic style serves to explain and not to obscure the narrative. In this way it is made up of motivated events that lead the spectator to its inevitable conclusion. It causes the spectator to have an emotional investment in this conclusion coming to pass which in turn makes the predictable the most desirable outcome. The films are structured to create an atmosphere of verisimilitude, which is to give a perception of reality. On closer inspection it they are often far from realistic in a social sense but possibly portray a realism desired by the patriarchal and family value orientated society of the time. I feel that it is often the black and white representation of good and evil that creates such an atmosphere of predic...
Fyne, Robert. The Hollywood propaganda of World War II. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1994. Print.
To understand the viewpoint of W.E.B Dubois and his argument for having a well-educated African American population, his own background and life experience of the struggle to be African and American must be considered. DuBois is born in the north in Massachusetts where the so-called Negro problem paralyzing the
One could easily dismiss movies as superficial, unnecessarily violent spectacles, although such a viewpoint is distressingly pessimistic and myopic. In a given year, several films are released which have long-lasting effects on large numbers of individuals. These pictures speak
We live in a society where race is seen as a vital part of our personalities, the lack of racial identity is very often an important factor which prevent people from not having their own identity (Omi & Winant, 1993). Racism is extemely ingrained in our society and it seems ordinary (Delgado & Stefanic, 2000), however, many people denounce the expression of any racist belief as immoral (Miles & Brown, 2003) highlighting the complicated nature of racism. Critical Race Theory tries to shed light on the issue of racism claiming that racism is ingrained in our society both in legal, cultural, and psychological aspects of social life (Tate, 1997). This essay provides us the opportunity to explore this theory and its influence in the field of education. The fisrt chapter is about the origins and the purpose of CRT, the second chapter is an analysis of the methodological tools of CRT, the third chapter highlights the key themes of CRT, the forth chapter provide us some useful information about the racial inequalities in education and the last chapter is about the influence of CRT in education and the way that it helps us to understand some racial inequalities that they take place in the field of education.
According to Omi and Winant, the term race can be defined as “a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by referring to different types of human bodies.” From their framework of racial formation and concept of racial projects, Omi and Winant asserts that race is a matter of social structure and cultural representation that has been intertwined to shape the nature of racism. Racism has been seen since the events of early English colonization of the indigenous people and the racialization of African Americans through slavery, all in which the United States is molded upon as a nation. Thus, this social structure of domination has caused European colonials and American revolutionists to create racialized representations, policies, and structures in order to oppress indigenous and black populations in their respective eras.
That is where we see that the state and government have enormous power when it comes to defining what race actually is. The state can fundamentally shape your social status within their means. They have all access to one’s economic opportunities, including employment, and they also can control your political rights. The government pretty much has control of how you look and define yourself, but more importantly the control how others will define you. The state controls medical and research facilities and can influence all that fall under these categories, creating things such as race based