Individual Medium post #2
Question: What each of the groups of people that we have discussed thus far share, is being treated with suspicion due to their societal treatment as somehow not fully belonging (here, I am talking about the Chinese in Honolulu, Koreans in Befu, and Okinawans on the battlefront). We have also seen how these people fought back at times, and at others, simply tried to carve out other socialities to survive and to live out their own ideas of abundance. We have not yet discussed place-making in terms of the creation of art, of music, of literature, etc. What place do you think that these things, which we might put together as “cultural productions,” has in analyses of the eruption of political struggle? Your observations do not have to be based on research, per se. Think about how art, music, literature, and other cultural productions have shifted your own understanding of belonging, of community, and of the kind of world you want to bring into being, in meaningful ways.
I think we should analyze every historical issue in the light of the background of the times. Because the specific social background has a great influence on people’s behavior and thinking. What seems so common to modern people may bring totally different results in different times. For example, in today’s society, whether it is the music literature or other cultural products that we want to discuss, or even the news or the gossip of stars, the dissemination speed of these information is very fast. But in the social background of Okinawa soldiers that we have read, or before the era of information explosion, not all information will be spread quickly.What makes these cultural products stand out is their unique beauty and catchy taste.And these unique properties are powerful, they make the information spreadable and make people willing to understand the information.It is the powerful beliefs in these arts that influence one person after another who hears or sees them. In this way, all these efforts to make a small difference after another can actually change people’s mind and push the oppressed people to resist.This is the charm of cultural products. A single spark can start a prairie fire.
Even in today’s society, cultural products play an important role in political issues. “We now have Frank Sinatra doctrine,” Soviet Foreign Ministry spokesman Grasimov said in an interview with the US TV program Good Morning America. “He has a song called ‘I did it my way’. So each country decided to go its own way. ”This is literally a example for how music can be so important to have effect on politics.
In conclusion, I believe the power of all cultural products, no matter in what time or under what social environment, can not be ignored. They have their own unique way to evoke people to fight for themselves and do the right thing.
