This chapter definitely shows the racism of World War Two. The alien appearance of the Japanese helped American soldiers kill the enemy. It showed how unique World War Two really was. The extreme racism and unknown enemy was one factor, but there were many others as well. Air power is a key theme in this book. So is the suicidal, "honorable" mentality of the Japanese. Never in modern history have individual soldiers had such a little emphasis on live. The Spirit Warriors even go on to make every Japanese citizen expendable. They took total warfare to a whole new level. Noncombatants were killed in the Pacific Theater in unbelievable numbers. It seems that more Japanese killed themselves than the Americans did.
Though Bradley did an excellent job explaining the chaos of self-destruction and "shattering jewels" I'm still confused about the cause. I can't bring myself to believe that logical adults would throw themselves off of cliffs to escape the Americans. I just wish I knew more about the propaganda or shaming that went on in Japan, because it must have been effective and extreme. Besides that, I am equally as impressed by the number of noncombatant deaths and the racism that played an integral role in the violence of WWII.
I, too, find the racism that was present in World War Two helped further the desire of Americans to win the war. However, I wonder at what cost did that win come? It is true that the enemy was, at the time, foreign to us- but how were both sides so content to kill one another? Many soldiers who fought at this time argue that it wasn't, but they also say that being separated from those who they were killing allowed them to do so with more ease than what would seem to be normal. Americans at the time were given such a distorted view of who they were killing that we justify their actions- but the Japanese's views of us were morphed as well. In a war that used racism to achieve it's goals, is it really a wonder that so many were willing to die to escape the enemy that they had heard so little good about?
I agree that the "appearance" of the Japanese lead to help fight them in battle. Many were affected by the race problems caused by the war. Also, I think it's interesting to think how much the air power impacted the war. By the end of the war, many new technologies, including the atomic bomb, would be used for the first time in history.
I had heard before about the high mortality rates and high suicide rates on the Japanese side. I had never understood why this was the case. I feel Bradley explains this well. I find the Japanese mentality fascinating and believe it requires further study.
It has often shocked me that war could produce such horrendous outlooks on people from other walks of life. This chapter, though, re-inforced this frightening idea; that war morphs the thoughts of almost all involved. The willingness of the Spirit Warriors to sacrifice themselves for their country was appalling because they seemed so domesticated- like servants reporting to their masters. The Spirit Warriors were taught not to fear death; that they were fighting and dying for their country and that was the only reasoning they needed. It seems so strange to me, though, that these soldiers would rather die than face captivity by the Americans. What could have provoked them to throw themselves off of cliffs in order to escape Americans? Could it really just be the utter hatred of us that drove them to do so, or something more? It seems so surreal- as though they were possessed. Mostly, it's just hard for me to see how any sane person could do what they did. What also shocked me about this chapter, though, was the portrayal of the Japanese in America as well as Americans in Japan. Both sides put a great deal of effort into morphing citizens' views of one another. While the Americans didn't do so to such an extent as the Japanese, they definitely worked to portray the Japanese as "rats" who needed to be destroyed.
The Japanese were posessed by their God, their Emperor. Much like religion today, many fanatics exist and do ridiculous things for their God. The same reasoning applied in the 1940s. Much like a suicide bomber today fulfilling his jihad, Japanese of WWII were only fulfilling their obligation to their God by doing his bidding.
The drive of the Spirit Warriors was truly unbreakable as is evident in this chapter. The spirit warrior sense of nationalism is incredible to say the lease. It baffles me to understand how one can just throw their self off of cliff rather than be taken prisoner. Furthermore, how is killing their self beneficial to the long term objectives of their war? I feel like if the Spirit Warriors placed more emphasis on practical battle tactics rather than extreme nationalism they would have experienced better results. Regarding the racism of WWII, I was not surprised. I was well aware of how Americans portrayed the Japanese Enemy in America. In museums I have seen real propaganda posters that portray Japanese as short, vermin like creatures with buck teeth and glasses. Alternatively, in the same museums I have seen real Japanese propaganda posters which portray Americans as huge, menacing "devils" like the ones described in this chapter. Certainly, the dehumanization of each side only furthered the carnage that would ensue until the dropping of the atomic bombs.
As portrayed in the chapter, the Spirit Warriors would sacrifice anything for their country. The Japanese viewed surrender as a worse punishment then death. Death was noble in the Japanese culture, and even glorified in most aspects.This had been true since the time of the Samuri Warriors. It was glorified further during WWII. The Japanese were told to relentlessly kill the American enemy. They were instructed to do this because they believed themselves to be superior. However Americans believed themselves to be superior, thus a battle of superiority began. Due to this it became easier for each side to kill the other. The Americans had created propaganda against the Japanese that depicted them as sub-human, and disgusting. Thus American hatred for the Japanese grew, and vise versa.
I was also shocked at how prepared the Spirit Warriors were to kill themselves. It was definitly something that was passed down from generation to generation. The war had a certain impact on the lives of Japanese, since they had to be taught that death was noble. This could be shown by the Kamakazi attacks the Japanese orchastrated.
This chapter definitely shows the racism of World War Two. The alien appearance of the Japanese helped American soldiers kill the enemy. It showed how unique World War Two really was. The extreme racism and unknown enemy was one factor, but there were many others as well. Air power is a key theme in this book. So is the suicidal, "honorable" mentality of the Japanese. Never in modern history have individual soldiers had such a little emphasis on live. The Spirit Warriors even go on to make every Japanese citizen expendable. They took total warfare to a whole new level. Noncombatants were killed in the Pacific Theater in unbelievable numbers. It seems that more Japanese killed themselves than the Americans did.
ReplyDeleteThough Bradley did an excellent job explaining the chaos of self-destruction and "shattering jewels" I'm still confused about the cause. I can't bring myself to believe that logical adults would throw themselves off of cliffs to escape the Americans. I just wish I knew more about the propaganda or shaming that went on in Japan, because it must have been effective and extreme. Besides that, I am equally as impressed by the number of noncombatant deaths and the racism that played an integral role in the violence of WWII.
DeleteI, too, find the racism that was present in World War Two helped further the desire of Americans to win the war. However, I wonder at what cost did that win come? It is true that the enemy was, at the time, foreign to us- but how were both sides so content to kill one another? Many soldiers who fought at this time argue that it wasn't, but they also say that being separated from those who they were killing allowed them to do so with more ease than what would seem to be normal. Americans at the time were given such a distorted view of who they were killing that we justify their actions- but the Japanese's views of us were morphed as well. In a war that used racism to achieve it's goals, is it really a wonder that so many were willing to die to escape the enemy that they had heard so little good about?
DeleteI agree that the "appearance" of the Japanese lead to help fight them in battle. Many were affected by the race problems caused by the war. Also, I think it's interesting to think how much the air power impacted the war. By the end of the war, many new technologies, including the atomic bomb, would be used for the first time in history.
DeleteI had heard before about the high mortality rates and high suicide rates on the Japanese side. I had never understood why this was the case. I feel Bradley explains this well. I find the Japanese mentality fascinating and believe it requires further study.
ReplyDeleteIt has often shocked me that war could produce such horrendous outlooks on people from other walks of life. This chapter, though, re-inforced this frightening idea; that war morphs the thoughts of almost all involved. The willingness of the Spirit Warriors to sacrifice themselves for their country was appalling because they seemed so domesticated- like servants reporting to their masters. The Spirit Warriors were taught not to fear death; that they were fighting and dying for their country and that was the only reasoning they needed. It seems so strange to me, though, that these soldiers would rather die than face captivity by the Americans. What could have provoked them to throw themselves off of cliffs in order to escape Americans? Could it really just be the utter hatred of us that drove them to do so, or something more? It seems so surreal- as though they were possessed. Mostly, it's just hard for me to see how any sane person could do what they did. What also shocked me about this chapter, though, was the portrayal of the Japanese in America as well as Americans in Japan. Both sides put a great deal of effort into morphing citizens' views of one another. While the Americans didn't do so to such an extent as the Japanese, they definitely worked to portray the Japanese as "rats" who needed to be destroyed.
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese were posessed by their God, their Emperor. Much like religion today, many fanatics exist and do ridiculous things for their God. The same reasoning applied in the 1940s. Much like a suicide bomber today fulfilling his jihad, Japanese of WWII were only fulfilling their obligation to their God by doing his bidding.
DeleteThe drive of the Spirit Warriors was truly unbreakable as is evident in this chapter. The spirit warrior sense of nationalism is incredible to say the lease. It baffles me to understand how one can just throw their self off of cliff rather than be taken prisoner. Furthermore, how is killing their self beneficial to the long term objectives of their war? I feel like if the Spirit Warriors placed more emphasis on practical battle tactics rather than extreme nationalism they would have experienced better results. Regarding the racism of WWII, I was not surprised. I was well aware of how Americans portrayed the Japanese Enemy in America. In museums I have seen real propaganda posters that portray Japanese as short, vermin like creatures with buck teeth and glasses. Alternatively, in the same museums I have seen real Japanese propaganda posters which portray Americans as huge, menacing "devils" like the ones described in this chapter. Certainly, the dehumanization of each side only furthered the carnage that would ensue until the dropping of the atomic bombs.
ReplyDeleteAs portrayed in the chapter, the Spirit Warriors would sacrifice anything for their country. The Japanese viewed surrender as a worse punishment then death. Death was noble in the Japanese culture, and even glorified in most aspects.This had been true since the time of the Samuri Warriors. It was glorified further during WWII. The Japanese were told to relentlessly kill the American enemy. They were instructed to do this because they believed themselves to be superior. However Americans believed themselves to be superior, thus a battle of superiority began. Due to this it became easier for each side to kill the other. The Americans had created propaganda against the Japanese that depicted them as sub-human, and disgusting. Thus American hatred for the Japanese grew, and vise versa.
ReplyDeleteI was also shocked at how prepared the Spirit Warriors were to kill themselves. It was definitly something that was passed down from generation to generation. The war had a certain impact on the lives of Japanese, since they had to be taught that death was noble. This could be shown by the Kamakazi attacks the Japanese orchastrated.
ReplyDelete