Come See
Prejudice. Discrimination. Hate. Genocide. Concentration camps. Ethnic cleansing. Throughout the course of the history of the world, it has experienced many dark and evil times. From the Nazi's of Germany, to the recent tragedies of September 11th, we as a society have come together time and time again to rise from the peril and become even stronger. What happens though, when our own country decides to go through with a grave injustice? The feelings and reactions to this were portrayed excellently in the film, Come See the Paradise. The movie relives a time during World War II when we as Americans decided to discriminate Japanese-Americans. In this memo I will include a synopsis of the movie and will also my add my personal feelings and reflections on the effect of this movie.The movie opens in Brooklyn, New York. The year is 1936. We are introduced to our main character, Jack (played by Dennis Quaid) inside a movie theater. Jack and his group of Union members set fire to this theater. It is then learned that he is a member of the movie theater union in New York. This failed attack on this theater prompts our Irishman lead character to be kicked out of his union and told to lay low for awhi
Jack's previous record leads him to have to join the army in active duty. He is sent to Tacoma for his basic training. The one positive aspect of this move was that he was near his wife's camp. Jack came to visit often as the conditions and attitudes of Lily's family got worse. The unfair treatment of people of a different race continues today. The attacks last year on September 11th have left a bad taste in the mouths of many Americans. The newly harassed people are the ones with a middle eastern background. It was amazing to see how quickly Americans views of Arabian-Americans changed. I am reminded of a recent Robin Williams performance when I think about this. He did a bit on "random" bag checking. Impersonating a flight attendant he made sure the audience realized it was strictly "random." Robin listed off 7 names of Arabic origin and a Jane Smith. This country has become so paranoid, that is has lost touch with treating everyone with respect. The cliche says, "One bad apple spoils the bunch," but why? As educated people, we must look at the bigger picture. Throughout our history we should have learned that discrimination and hatred gets us no where. Everyday I read in the paper of another mistaken arrest of someone of middle eastern background. It has to stop. We have no right to persecute these people. These people are our friends, neighbors and colleagues, not our enemies.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Jane Smith, Japanese American, Love Jack's, Harbor Lily's, Jack Lily's, Washington Fast, War II, Jack Union, Nazi's Germany, Robin Williams, lily's father, september 11th, world war ii, world war, war ii, jack lily's love, paradise movie, eastern background, camp jack, middle eastern, returns home, lily's love, middle eastern background,
Approximate Word count = 1385
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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