[lit-ideas] Re: Is Huntington right?
- From: Omar Kusturica <omarkusto@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 18:26:30 -0700 (PDT)
Ah, Lawrence, I am not surprized that you would have a
liking for the Japanese. Here is an article (prompted
by a recent report) on Discrimination and Racism in
Japan.
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=10066
O.K.
--- Lawrence Helm <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> That's cute, Andreas. The Japanese have always
> interested me. I was there
> in 1953 on my way to and from Korea, studied
> Japanese history briefly and
> have read things off and on over the years. When I
> was considering
> Huntington's thesis, Japan was a "Civilization" that
> didn't seem to fit -
> from my perspective. We did indeed clash with them
> in 1941-1945, but once
> their militaristic government was overturned, they
> have evinced an enormous
> number of similarities to the U.S. One that is
> often presented in movies is
> that the Japanese revere their Samurais as we revere
> our Western
> Gun-fighters. Neither conception is quite true but
> that doesn't make any
> difference-they are true enough for modern purposes.
> Japanese and Americans
> can enjoy Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven
> equally.
>
>
>
> I remember being impressed by Fires on the Plain by
> Shohei Ooka. It's been
> reprinted recently. Here is the Amazon.com
> description: "The author's
> experience as a prisoner captured by American forces
> during WWII figures
> prominently in this haunting novel about the
> ultimate degradation of a man
> by war. Set in Leyte, where the Japanese army is
> disintegrating under the
> hammering blows of American forces, the story
> focuses on the disintegration
> of one man, Private Tamura. One by one, each of his
> ties to society is
> destroyed, until Tamura, a sensitive and intelligent
> man, becomes an
> outcast. Yet it is the novel's uplifting vision
> during a time of ultimate
> horror that has made it one of Japan's greatest
> novels."
>
>
>
> But in another realm there was Saburo Sakai, Japan's
> greatest World War II
> Ace. Here is the Amazon.com description: "Written
> by Martin Caidin from
> Saburo Sakai's own memoirs and journalist Fred
> Saito's extensive interviews
> with the World War II fighter pilot, Samurai!
> vividly documents the chivalry
> and valor of the combat aviator who time after time
> fought American fighter
> pilots and, with 64 kills, would survive the war as
> Japan's greatest living
> ace. Here are the harrowing experiences of one of
> Japan's greatest aces:
> from fighter pilot school -- where the harsh
> training expelled over half of
> his class -- to the thrilling early Japanese
> victories; from his incredible
> six hundred mile fight for life from Guadalcanal to
> his base in Rabaul, to
> the poignant story of the now-handicapped veteran's
> return to the air during
> the final desperate months of World War II."
>
>
>
> And who interested in poetry would not be affected
> by some of the fine
> translations of Japanese poetry available?
>
>
>
> If I had to choose one nation to stand with us in a
> crisis it would be the
> U.K., but if two, I would add Japan. Huntington be
> damned.
>
>
>
> Lawrence
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> On Behalf Of Andreas Ramos
> Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 10:00 AM
> To: Lit-Ideas
> Subject: [lit-ideas] Is Huntington right?
>
>
>
> Huntington's Clash of Civilizations may be right.
>
>
>
> Here's a Japanese video. It's proof that they have a
> totally different
> understanding of
>
> reality.
>
>
>
> http://www.devilducky.com/media/40572/
>
>
>
> yrs,
>
> andreas
>
> www.andreas.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
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