Snow Falling On Cedars- “You People”
Courtesy- Fandango
I’ve written of this on a few occasions over the years and have jested upon being in foggy environments “Snow Falling on Cedars.“ I recall viewing the film as a kid. The works were a fictional account rooted in America’s history of discrimination, animosity, mistrust, and injustice towards Immigrants and specifically Asian Americans. Furthermore in those days to cross the color, cultural, and or religious line was socially impermissible especially during and following the WWII era of Pearl Harbor. The government would spy upon the personal lives of innocent citizens, placed Japanese and even Chinese in interment camps because hell we all appeared alike to the corrupt powers that be of the era and the propaganda of society, and of course the rancor towards Asian Americans. It was yet another ugly stain on America of it’s systematic ethnic cleansing and racial injustices.
Courtesy- TED Ed
The irony of this was albeit America fought against Nazism but yet were enacting the identical violations of Human Rights and ethnic hatred as Nazi’s. America has never been squeaky clean in it’s management of Brown and Black people. This was yet another instance of this. There never was an “American Dream.” Therefore when people spout the rhetoric of “Make America Great Again.” Precisely which era was that? When Indigenous people were slaughtered, cheated of our lands, pushed onto reservations, discriminated to death, trafficked, our Girls and Women raped and killed at a higher rate than any other group despite the fact our population stands at less than 2%, was it when Africans were enslaved and had no human rights swinging from trees having to fight for a country free from violence against us? A struggle that continues to this day. Was it “great” upon Asians having our possessions stripped away uprooted then relocated to internment camps, or upon the Hawaiian Islands being ripped from the hands of the people?
The relationship portion of the story. People did cross those lines but it was not only frowned upon mostly but as eloquently said in Hairspray “Oh, so this is love? Well, love is a gift, a lot of people don’t remember that. So, you two better brace yourselves for a whole lotta ugly coming at you from a never-ending parade of stupid.” There was at one time a discussion of all the grounds why to not forge ahead into those relationships because of not only the social backlash that would inevitably occur but also what it would “do to the children.” That was any color line that never existed because virtually everyone in America is mixed with peoples somewhere.
There is a section where the character of the spouse of the deceased stated to the accused “You people”… in reality anytime anyone says that they are a raging racist and bigot. It is a poignant scene upon the character of ,Ismael’s, Father passing away the regional body of Japanese citizens attended the funeral to pay their respects because he stood for the people upon the sense of pervasive retaliation against Asian Americans Japanese especially post the Pearl Harbor attacks. It speaks on the principle that the only thing that matters in life is not your vocation, accomplishments, possessions, but how many quality people attend your funeral when you transition because of the good that was done. The works also speaks of the issue of war and the destruction it causes. Near the end Ismael’s character put aside his grudge for his heart being shattered by Hatsu and thus did right in his last act of love for her before cutting loose his tether to the as fate would have it she was married to and had a family with the defendant in the story therefore realizing the life he sought with her as a youngster was not meant to be. He needed to cut it loose and pursue uprightness for everyone IE the closure to shift forward. That is true to real life in any sense.
