The Senjinkun: The Propaganda Film

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Of course, the focus on warfare by the United States did not simply increase the amount of correct information that was obtained. The fixations on warfare ultimately also led to some shortcomings when it came to understanding Japan. Instead of considering the brutal actions of the Japanese imperial army as a reflection of the effects of war in general, they considered them a reflection of the Japanese people and their own sentiments. Within the first ten minutes of the film, it is stated that the Japanese justify “treachery, brutality, rape, and torture” specifically against non-Japanese people (Know Your Enemy 5:30-5:46). However, such actions were not sanctioned by the Japanese to the extent that this quote would lead someone to believe. …show more content…

Thus, although horrific behavior on the part of the Japanese occurred in instances such as the Rape of Nanking, to argue that such behavior was supported or even sanctioned by the Japanese and Japanese society appears to be an unfair and inaccurate judgement. Through this, the propaganda film’s definition of Japan, its society, and its values are visibly warped by the presence of a wartime lens. A similar distortion can be seen with regards to the propaganda film’s view on education and the youth in Japan, who it argues are hammered into “images of the samurai” (Know Your Enemy 51:20-52:50). Know Your Enemy: Japan thus, in its fixation with Japanese militarization and the Japanese war effort, fails to acknowledge any nuance with regards to Japan’s education. Ultimately, this shortcoming in understanding as a result of fixation also occurs regarding anti-Western sentiment in …show more content…

There was horrific anti-Japanese sentiment in the United States during this time; it therefore makes sense for there to be at least some anti-American/anti-Western sentiment in Japan during this time. However, if one fixates on this idea too much, they will end up with misconceptions regarding Japan, which ultimately appears to be the case in Know Your Enemy: Japan. The film clearly views Japan’s anti-American sentiment as imperative to understanding the country; although the film only has around an hour to convey its message, it makes time in order to emphasize Japan’s rejection of certain pieces of Western culture, including things as seemingly benign as baseball, in favor of more traditional culture (Know Your Enemy 43:10-45:39). This prioritization grants insight into the film’s reliance on this anti-American/Western lens through which it examines Japan. The resulting distortion is perhaps most visible when it comes to historical discussion. The propaganda film describes Japan’s rejection of Christianity as a rejection of the values associated with Christianity, specifically peace, equality, and tolerance (Know Your Enemy 24:55-25:28). It thus ignores the other situational factors involved in Japan’s rejection of the West and Christianity, specifically those involving the Tokugawa shogunate’s attempts to maintain order (Hall Tokugawa 161). A similar inaccurate assertion is made when the propaganda film

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