My family didn’t see movies in the theaters when I was growing up, and I missed a lot of films. It’s only as an adult that I’m catching up on movies from my childhood. I recently watched the original Karate Kid with my son, and I was struck by the role of Mr. Miyagi. Pat Morita did a beautiful job in this role.
I had seen snippets of Karate Kid over the years, but never the entire movie from start to finish. When my son and I got to the scene where Mr. Miyagi’s back story comes out, I was overwhelmed by the gravity of it. I appreciated immensely that this bit of history was portrayed. Perhaps if I had seen Karate Kid in 1984 when it was released in theaters, I would not have been such a clueless teenager. Unlike me, my middle schooler won’t end up in college before learning about the Japanese Americans who fought for the United States while their families were interned in camps. My education did not include this history lesson.
It is estimated that 33,000 Japanese Americans served in the U.S. military during World War II, and among them, around 800 were killed in action. The 442nd Infantry Regiment, consisting almost entirely of second-generation Japanese, became the most-decorated unit in U.S. military history. As they fought for U.S. interests, 127,000 people of Japanese ancestry across the U.S. were forcibly relocated and incarcerated in concentration camps. They lost homes, wealth, and health while their loved ones fought for the country they all called home. You can read more here.
The wealth of information that is now available to us is perfect for my quest to find as many movies, shows, and books as I can that depict the Asian experience in America for my son. He’ll learn from them, and so will I.
