Brief Assignment 2

Multimodal Analysis

Assignment Prompt

First Draft

Japanese Relocation 1942 Propaganda analysis

Propaganda has a heavy influence on the interpretation of information. After Pearl Harbor, one such example of propaganda influencing interpretations of an event is the film Japanese Relocation produced by the United States Government. The purpose of the film was to influence the American populations opinion of the Japanese relocation. The use of propaganda alters the viewer’s perception of the Japanese relocation. A segment of the film that has various propaganda techniques used is in the last 3 minutes. The propaganda used in this section of the film is trying to get the American people to view the Japanese Relocation as just a necessity of war. The music of the film, along with the narrator and the clips shown, impact the audience’s interpretation of a serious event.

Over the last two minutes of the film, the music choice in the video greatly affects the message received from certain media. The last minute of the video has music that seems upbeat and proud. The music also seems to be to be increasing in volume slowly building until the end when the narrator finishes talking. The music being upbeat and proud behind the voice of the narrator produces a feeling that the relocation of the Japanese was successful. The music matches with the narrator’s claims of fair treatment of the Japanese Americans. The music seems to make the topic of the film to be less serious and more lighthearted. Music is also influential in the beginning of the last three minutes. From 6:03-6:17, the music sounds like an Americanized version of traditional Japanese music. This music reminds the viewer that the people are still Americans. The music is like a blend of culture between the Japanese and American way of life. This could symbolize to the viewer that the Japanese Americans are Americanized.

Another example of a propaganda technique being used in the video is that there is selective filming. Selective filming plays into the technique of omission because the filmmakers are deliberately leaving out parts of film that show the whole story. The film only shows scenes that support the interpretation that the film creators wanted. One such example of this being used is at 6:19 in the film. The film depicts the Japanese getting off the bus arriving at the internment camps.

The film only shows one man who appears to be in the military. The other people are Japanese welcoming the others to the camp. This is only a small part of the truth. The camp was more like a POW camp instead of the depicted village. In the camps, the “troops guarding them shot and killed unarmed inmates, most of whom were protesting conditions (Daniels 461). Later in the film, there are young children receiving glasses of milk.

This would lead the viewer to assume that the kids were receiving the proper nutrition and attention. One kid can even be seen pouring some of his milk on the table. By showing this to the audience, the audience would feel that they must have plenty of food if the kid was willing to waste his milk on the table. Looking back at history and the accounts of those affected, the Japanese were not given a lot of food. The camps had a lack of food to give out. The Japanese people “had absolutely no fresh meat, vegetables or butter since we came here. Mealtime queues extend for blocks” (Concentration 369). This is a sharp contrast to what the film wanted the viewer to believe.

The narrator in the film plays a role in the way a person interprets the film. The narrator can develop the ethos of the film. In this film the narrator is speaking for the government. There is only one narrator throughout the film. This gives people just one perspective of the event. The audience is left to trust that what the narrator is saying is the truth. The narrator, Eisenhower, stated that the Japanese people “immediately wanted to go to work.” (7:43-7:47). This is a suspension of disbelief because the narrator is making a claim that is not supported by the film. He is claiming the people wanted to go to work, but that section of film just shows people walking around. It then cuts to film of people working in the camps, but they do not appear as wanting to complete the work they are given.

The audience has been set up to trust the narrator’s explanations. This makes the audience put aside their interpretations of the film shown in exchange for the narrator’s claims. The narrator wants the audience to think that the people happy with going to work in the camps. This is a suspension of disbelief because the narrator is making a statement that is not supported by the film being shown.

The United States Government used various propaganda techniques in its film to change the perception of the Japanese relocation by the American people. When comparing the film Japanese Relocation to historical accounts of the Japanese Americans that experienced the camps firsthand, it becomes clear that the Governments account of the events has been skewed. While the Japanese internment camps were not as extreme as others around the world at that time, they were still not fair to the people who were forced out of their homes and businesses. This is primarily because of the “anti-Asian sentiment present in the western United States since the arrival of Chinese as laborers” (America at War). The support of the internment of the Japanese Americans was based on the public’s views on Asian-Americans. The Japanese people were relocated away from the military bases and strategic resources, but the government extended it to all people of Japanese descent in the West coast area. This means that there was more than just a military action behind the relocation of the Japanese people. The government was trying to disguise the relocation as just a war necessity. The propaganda tries to steer the audience away from the interpretation of racism being involved in the governments decision to relocate the Japanese People.

Bibliography

“America at War: The Internment of Japanese Americans.” American Decades, edited by Judith S. Baughman, et al., vol. 5: 1940-1949, Gale, 2001. Gale eBooks, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3468301522/GVRL?u=newpaltz&sid=GVRL&xid=77f4a6fe. Accessed 29 Sept. 2019.

“Concentration Camp: U.S. Style.” American Decades Primary Sources, edited by Cynthia Rose, vol. 5: 1940-1949, Gale, 2004, pp. 367-371. Gale eBooks, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3490200951/GVRL?u=newpaltz&sid=GVRL&xid=59722d24. Accessed 29 Sept. 2019.

Daniels, Roger. “Japanese American Incarceration.” Dictionary of American History, edited by Stanley I. Kutler, 3rd ed., vol. 4, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2003, pp. 459-462. Gale eBooks, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3401802171/GVRL?u=newpaltz&sid=GVRL&xid=ef2dfc35. Accessed 29 Sept. 2019.

Japanese Relocation. Produced by OWI & BMP, 1942. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gric3lTanQU

Reflection

Upon completing the multimodal analysis, I learned about the process of constructing arguments and creating persuasive material. The multimodal analysis allowed me to learn about the strategies used in propaganda. The multimodal analysis changed the way that I watched the film because it caused me to really look into the techniques used in propaganda to see when the truth was stretched and distorted. Before trying to look for the techniques of propaganda, I didn’t really investigate the claims made during the film. After starting the multimodal analysis, I needed to take each claim and really look at just how truthful each claim was. The most difficult aspect of the multimodal analysis was determining exactly which type of propaganda was used for some of the parts of the video. There was often multiple types at play, and it was difficult to find which one had the biggest influence over that part. After completing the revisions of the multimodal analysis, I found that I had similar problems as with the compositional analysis. I struggled in some places with sentence structure and I also struggled with the clarity of some of my claims. The aspect of the multimodal analysis I enjoyed the most was determining what techniques were used in the propaganda film. This was the most difficult part of the multimodal analysis, but the difficulty made it enjoyable when you figured out what techniques were being used. After conducting the multimodal analysis, the elements of the writing process that I need to take into the next writing project are finding the ways images are manipulated to create different meanings. I need to also work on my clarity and sentence structure.

Final Draft

Japanese Relocation 1942 Propaganda analysis

Propaganda has a heavy influence on the interpretation of information. After Pearl Harbor, one such example of propaganda influencing interpretations of an event is the film Japanese Relocation produced by the United States Government. The purpose of the film was to influence the American population’s opinion of the Japanese relocation. The Japanese relocation was an event that took place after Pearl harbor in order to move anyone of Japanese descent away from military installations. The use of propaganda alters the perception of the government’s intentions. of the . A segment of the film that uses various propaganda techniques used is in the last 3 minutes. The propaganda used in this section of the film is trying to get the American people to view the Japanese Relocation as just a necessity of war. The music of the film, along with the choice of narrator and the editing of the clips, impact the audience’s interpretation of a serious event.

Over the last two minutes of the film, the music choice greatly affects the message received from the film. The last minute of the film uses music that seems upbeat and proud. The music also seems to be to be increasing in volume slowly building until the end when the narrator finishes talking. The music being upbeat and proud behind the voice of the narrator produces a feeling that the relocation of the Japanese was successful. The music matches with the narrator’s claims of fair treatment of the Japanese Americans. The music seems to make the topic of the film to be less serious and more lighthearted. Music is also influential in the beginning of the last three minutes. From 6:03-6:17, the music sounds like an Americanized version of traditional Japanese music. This music reminds the viewer that the Japanese are still Americans. The music is like a blend of culture between the Japanese and American way of life. This symbolizes to the viewer that the Japanese Americans are Americanized.

Another example of propaganda is selective filming. Selective filming plays into the technique of omission because the filmmakers are deliberately leaving out parts of film that show the whole story. The film only shows scenes that support the interpretation that the film creators wanted. One such example of this in action is at 6:19 in the film. The film depicts the Japanese getting off the bus arriving at the internment camps. This segment of the film only shows one man who appears to be in the military. The other people are Japanese welcoming the others to the camp. This is only a small part of the truth. The camp was more like a POW camp instead of the depicted village. In the camps, the “troops guarding them shot and killed unarmed inmates, most of whom were protesting conditions” (Daniels 461). Later in the film, there are young children receiving glasses of milk. This would lead the viewer to assume that the kids were receiving the proper nutrition and attention. One kid can even be seen pouring some of his milk on the table. By showing this to the audience, the audience would feel that they must have plenty of food if the kid was willing to waste his milk on the table. Looking back at history and the accounts of those affected, the Japanese were not given a lot of food. One Japanese American stated there was “absolutely no fresh meat, vegetables or butter since we came here. Mealtime queues extend for blocks” (“Concentration” 369). This is a sharp contrast to what the film wanted the viewer to believe.

The choice of narrator along with his voice in the film plays a role in the way a person interprets the film. The narrator establishes ethos because he is the mouthpiece for the government. There is only one narrator throughout the film. This gives people just one perspective of the event. The audience is left to trust that what the narrator is saying is the truth. The narrator, Eisenhower, stated that the Japanese people “immediately wanted to go to work.” (7:43-7:47). This is a suspension of disbelief because the narrator is making a claim that is not supported by the film. He is claiming the people wanted to go to work, but that section of film just shows people walking around. It then cuts to film of people working in the camps, but they do not appear as wanting to complete the work they are given. The voice of the Japanese Americans are not heard in the film. The audience has been set up to trust the narrator’s explanations. This makes the audience put aside their interpretations of the film shown in exchange for the narrator’s claims. The narrator wants the audience to think that the people happy with going to work in the camps. This is a suspension of disbelief because the narrator is making a statement that is not supported by the film footage.

The United States Government used various propaganda techniques in its film to change the perception of the Japanese relocation developed by American citizens. When comparing the film Japanese Relocation to historical accounts of the Japanese Americans that experienced the camps firsthand, it becomes clear that the Government’s account of the events has been skewed. While the Japanese internment camps were not as extreme as others around the world at that time, they were still not fair to the people who were forced out of their homes and businesses. This is primarily because of the “anti-Asian sentiment present in the western United States since the arrival of Chinese as laborers” (America at War). The support for internment of the Japanese Americans was based on the public’s views on Asian-Americans. The Japanese people were relocated away from the military bases and strategic resources, but the government extended it to all people of Japanese descent in the West coast area. This means that there was more than just a military action behind the relocation of the Japanese people. The government was trying to disguise the relocation as just a war necessity. The propaganda tries to steer the audience away from the interpretation of racism being involved in the government’s decision to relocate the Japanese People.

Bibliography

Japanese Relocation. Produced by OWI & BMP, 1942. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gric3lTanQU

Multimodal Analysis

Assignment Prompt

First Draft

Reflection

Final Draft

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