A Challenge to Democracy

After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and brought America into World War II, all Japanese people in and near California where suspect of spying in the eyes of the U.S. government. This fear of espionage and a repeat of what had happened on December 7th, 1941 the American government evacuated all Japanese families to relocation camps. In the video “A Challenge to Democracy” shows what happened when a group of innocent people was imprisoned based solely on their race. While confined to this camp Japanese people formed their own community while in the abnormal and unjust situation they were forced into.
In their community the Japanese strived to make the camp seem as much like home as they could. Japanese men acquired jobs made available by the government but where given little money. The money they received was used to purchase items that weren’t provided by the government. They set up groups and organizations inside the camps like the Red Cross, Parent Teacher Association, and the Girl Scouts. The relocation camps had a school system, which taught Mathematics, English, and History to children and vocational training for high school students. A community government is present, which consists of evacuees who were voted in by those in the camp. A court system also exists which is headed by Caucasian men.
The films title “A Challenge to Democracy” as well as the films introduction and conclusion suggest that this film would be a criticism of the U.S. government during their unfair imprisonment of Japanese people in relocation camps. In reality this video only touches on the injustices and hardships the Japanese went through in these camps. The video focused more on the ways Japanese coped with the imprisonment, but did so in a way that made the camps seem like just another American community. It discuses the jobs and training Japanese men received that would help them when they would re enter the real world. It shows parades and foot ball games showing the Japanese people in these camps as happy. What it doesn’t show is the harsh effect it had on all those confined to these camps.
Why does this film claim to be a video about the injustices of a race of innocent people being confined and isolated in a camp? Why doesn’t the film mention the devastation that these people were put through when they were evacuated from their homes and lives? One possibility is because of the time it was made in. The film was made in 1944 when we were still fighting the Japanese in World War II. The film was produced by an organization associated with the government and by showing just how bad the Japanese were treated could have negative effects on moral towards the war. Whatever the reason the video should have shown the whole truth, with out the sugar coated reason of why this was wrong.