Propaganda against Japanese-Americans during World War II

Propaganda against Japanese-Americans during World War II

            During World War 11, there was evident propaganda against Japanese Americans. Between 1941 and 1945, Japanese-Americans were put in seasonal camps after they were transferred from the West Coast. There has been a raging debate as to whether there was propaganda against the Japanese people.

Some feel that the Japanese were discriminated and the statements that were sent through newspaper articles and motion pictures were based on racial prejudice, political dictatorship, and panic. On the other hand, some feel that discrimination against the Japanese was justified. In this paper, we affirm that the discrimination was based on racial prejudice and political dictatorship.

Mizuno (208) assessed how the Federal government played a role in the spread of propaganda about the Japanese during the Second World War. He insinuated that the Federal government became selective of the type of information that is spread to the people. For instance, the government would constantly translate negative information published by the Japanese media for its people to have a negative attitude towards the country.

The above further meant that the government limited the contents of the Japanese press to verbatim translations.  The intentional wrongful translations reveal that the discrimination against the Japanese was based solely on racial bigotry and chauvinism. Mizuno (210) further explain that the Federal government limited the amount and type of information that came from the Japanese press.

Since the government knew that not many people understood Japanese, it ensured that its translators only translated information that would tarnish the name of Japan. However, this was going against the rights and freedoms of the press.  The fact that the Americans coerced the media to tarnish the name of the Japanese reveal unravels how discriminative the Americans were towards the Japanese.

Moon (335) assesses the issue of music production during the Second World War. Most of the artists produced music to spread propaganda about the Japanese and other people that they did not want. Most of the music also concentrated on the aspect of racializing the Japanese and agitating for white supremacy. Similarly, most of the composers and publishers always made music to pass the emotions of their nations towards the war enemies. The above significantly spread false information about the Japanese.

Americans used the entertainment industry to spread propaganda about particular groups. This case not only spread false information about the Japanese to others but also created the aspect of hatred and racism in the whole world. Although the role of music is to entertain the audience, it is essential to use it to spread the message of peace and not propaganda, just like during the Second World War.

Sheppard (304) assessed how different nations used cinema as a method and medium of spreading propaganda about others. For instance, the United States, through its multibillion-dollar Hollywood industry, had created films that depicted negative things about Japan and its people. Also, music was incorporated into spreading false ideas about Japan. Countries such as the United States knew that the entertainment industry would have a wide range of audiences across the world. Therefore, it would be the best medium to spread false ideologies about others as a way of justifying attacks on them.

Countries such as the USA used their cinema industry to spread propaganda about their enemies to the rest of the world. People who watched movies and listened to music produced during and after the Second World Warring era confirmed that most of the things said about the Japanese were false. The fact that even people even confirmed that the assertions were wrong is soundproof that the government was committing atrocities that even the citizens did not support.

Otsuka analyzed the suffering of one Japanese family at the hands of Americans during the Second World War. It follows their journey after being transferred from their home in Berkeley to Utah, where they are transferred to an intermittent camp. They spend two years in this camp before returning to a different home from the one that they lived before. The book reveals the struggles of the Japanese family after the arrest of the husband by the FBI.  It unravels the issue of discrimination in a Japanese family in the intermittent camp.

While the American government had tried to depict the relocation of the Japanese Americans as an issue of national security according to the then-president Carter, it is clear that the assertion was only a cover-up. The endless detentions and exclusions were meant to showcase the supremacy of the Japanese against the Americans. It adds to showcase the extent of the rivalry between countries after the Second World War and the extent to which some countries went in their supremacy wars.

In conclusion, it is evident from the study that there was clear discrimination against the Japanese. Therefore while some have tried to defend the atrocities that were committed against the Japanese, it is clear that the discrimination was based on racial prejudice and political autocracy. The study lucidly identifies how this discrimination occurred and further confirms our position that there was indeed propaganda against Japanese Americans. The study unearths that there is little information to affirm the contrary, and the study, therefore, avows that there were indeed propaganda assertions against Japanese Americans.