Professor Takashi Fujitani, the Dr. David Chu professor and director in Asia-Pacific studies at the Asian Institute, has been working recently on a book on American war memory about Asia and Clint Eastwood films. Specifically, Fujitani is interested in the intersection of cinema and society in relation to three of Eastwood’s major works: Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, and Gran Torino. The first two are sequels about World War II, the last portrays racism in the American Midwest. Fujitani compares the films with one another, but also with the sociopolitical climate at the time of their production and its effects on the way Americans perceive Asian minorities.
Americans typically think of the World Wars as the Great Wars: Americans rallied around the flag, fought against a common enemy, and eventually won. Hollywood films do much to perpetuate this narrative (think Pearl Harbor and Guns of Navrone). “There was a disavowal of racism, this was supposed to be a moment in which the United States was standing for racial equality.” Said Fujitani, “but at the same time as these films were being made, Japanese-Americans were in internment camps.”
The way race is portrayed in war movies has changed since the first WWII films were made, especially in regard to Asians and Asian Americans. One of the most dramatic shifts in the portrayal of Asians came during the Cold War. “Suddenly Japan had to be the United State’s greatest ally against Communist in the Cold war, so they can’t continue to depict the Japanese like vermin,” said Fujitani. “They need to rehabilitate the Japanese.”
This is where films like Iwo Jima come in. “These films are really trying to remake the image of Japan,” said Fujitani. “The relations in these films seem much more cordial.” Specifically, Clint Eastwood portrays the Japanese similar to Americans. “The way that the audience is made to feel sympathy or empathy with the Japanese is done because the Japanese are so much like Americans,” said Fujitani. “The Japanese look like a civilized people In the Iwo Jima films [...] We feel extreme humanity towards them.”
With this in mind, it would seem like Eastwood’s films about Asia genuinely did work to end racism against Asians. However, Gran Torino exposes a more insidious type of racism still present both in Eastwood’s work and the American consciousness. Although the protagonist appears to undergo a transition away from racism over the course of the movie, Eastwood’s portrayal of the Hmong people in Gran Torino is problematic. Rather than the model Japanese minority, similar to Americans and altogether relatable to the audience, the Hmong are portrayed as foreign and uncivilized. “The whole story is centered on Clint, not on the Hmong. It’s about his rehabilitation and redemption,” said Fujitani. “The Hmong people are never treated as equals to Clint Eastwood. They’re childlike or immature, or they’re primitive.”
The racism present in the film reflects a perception of the Vietnam War far different than the American conception of WWII. Rather than a justifiable war, wars fought during and after the Second World War have been far less popular. “There was something not quite right about that war, in contrast to WWII, where it seemed like morally the correct thing to do, that wasn’t the case with the Vietnam War,” said Fujitani. “There’s a sense of collective American guilt which plays out in this film as Clint Eastwood’s need to sacrifice himself again for these primitive people.”
Ultimately, Fujitani’s research highlights a concerning reality in the US today. “I think for most Americans, there are two Asias. Japanese Americans tend to be considered the model minority. Then there’s the other Asia that is represented as the opposite,” said Fujitani. “There’s a story of how the Hmong people are uncivilized. There’s a sort of primitive quality to the Hmong.”
Clint Eastwood’s films are not part of a niche market; they’re emblematic. Because of his influence, Fujitani feels that Eastwood’s films are an accurate reading of the insidiousness of racism against Asians. “His films are so influential and they’re so reflective of American ways of thinking about Asia. There’s a certain kind of American populism that I think he’s tapping into,” said Fujitani.
-written by Rachel Ball-Jones, a second year student double majoring in political science and peace, conflict, and justice studies at the University of Toronto
This article is part of a series of articles written by undergraduate students affiliated with the Asian Institute about Asian Institute affiliated faculty.
