I found this website while browsing around. I post it here for discussion among us.
First thing, I, Baron von Rassilon do not necessarily support the opinions of this website.

This is a part of what it says;"This site is dedicated to examining the influence of John Wayne's films on American perceptions of Asians and, subsequently, American foreign policy in Asia."
"The reviews and papers on this site were generated from a course offered through the Honors Program at Pacific University, Oregon. This site is hosted by the Matsushita Center for Electronic Learning."

They also examine several John Wayne films, such as; The Fighting Seabees, They Were Expendable, Sands of Iwo Jima, Operation Pacific, The Wings of Eagles, Blood Alley, The Barbarian and the Geisha, In Harm's Way, and The Green Berets.

Here is the link: John Wayne's Asia (http://mcel.pacificu.edu/jwasia/index.html)

I could be wrong (not that it would be the first time), but from what I gather from this site, JW was very anti-Asian. Well, if you wish, what do you think of this site and teachings?

P.S.
itdo, if you want symbolism in John Wayne movies, this website reports a lot of them. Look at the Film Clips section. My advice, take asprin before you veiw this! :dead:

I could tear some of their thinking apart, but will wait for others to post here first!

Funny you should post this, Baron, as I just saw the link this morning in my Favorites folder right before coming here. I happened upon it a couple of months ago and spent some time reading some of the film analyses.

Anyway, I didn't get where they were accusing the man himself of having negative feelings toward Asians. It seemed more that they were directing their focus more toward the attitudes that were prevalent during the time in which Duke lived. He was a product of that. I think it was pretty common for people to feel anti-Asian at that time. I mean, my husband's grandfather, who is in his 80s, still has negative feelings toward the Japanese. (He was stationed in Hawaii not long after Pearl Harbor.) He lived in a different time than I do and I have to understand that this makes a huge difference in the way we perceive the world and the people in it. Plus it's important to remember that Duke was just an actor; even if he was one of the most influential American icons of all time, ultimately he only carried out the vision of the filmmakers he worked with.

But I guess I'd have to look a little closer to say for sure. I'll be sure and get back to you!

hi jen,

i have to agree with you on i feel that they were talking about the fellings of most of the people at the times of the making of these movies we all have to remember that feelings were not all that different in the euopean area. there is still a lot of hate towards the japanese down under as we have found out that their children were not taught things about ww2 like we were they were never told about the forced marches and such. they were told that the enemy were the aggressors and that they were set upon by the westeners. so the racist attuide goes both ways it is how we deal with it now that makes a difference.

i don't think that the duke was any different from all of the rest as he was only a man not a god (though there are some who would liked him to be :lol: )

cheers smokey

Interesting to hear your perspective, Smokey.

Yes, as you say, nobody's perfect - not me, not you, not the filmmakers, and not even our beloved Marion Michael/Mitchell Morrison.

Or whatever his middle name really was. ;)

I do not believe that John Wayne was anti-Asian. His movies depicted the view of the United States during that period of time. I am sure that as much as the Japanese were Villanized by the U.S. it was done in equal amounts by the Japanese. Every thing that I read indicates that those that acted in the movies were treated equally. If you look at the Green Berets, 99% of the enemy were actually Americans dressed up to look like Vietnamese.

I think his statement about hyphenated American kind of says it all. We are all Americans (In the U.S.). We only divide ourselves by putting a prefix before American.

Let's pull this one from a while back -

I think many from that generation of WWII had a general distaste toward the Oriental races, specifically Japanese simply because of the times and the situation. My wife's father, as a member of the Armed Forces, was at Pearl Harbor when the attack happened. Years later, when he returned to visit with my wife's mother (she is a Hawaiian), he went to the Arizona Memorial and came to tears when he saw how many Japanese tourists were there. Events shape all our prejudices to some degree!.

Regards - Jay :uhuh:

I'd like to (bump) this to the top again. I don't know if our esteemed Japanese member, Hisataka, has had opportunity to see the referenced web site, but I would be most interested in his opinion, as an Asian and as a John Wayne fan.

Of course, I welcome the thoughts of any member who would care to comment.

Mrs. C :angel1:

I'd like to (bump) this to the top again. I don't know if our esteemed Japanese member, Hisataka, has had opportunity to see the referenced web site, but I would be most interested in his opinion, as an Asian and as a John Wayne fan.

Of course, I welcome the thoughts of any member who would care to comment.

Mrs. C :angel1:
Hello Mrs.C
Today is the anniversary of the end of war as for Japan.
I saw this web site little.
About 60 years ago, Japan and U.S. were the warferes.The people of both
country hated and killed each other. It is a war.
It is said the movie will reflect the age of production this time.
therfore,it is natural that feelings when fighting against the war remains in the war films produced before and after the WW2 in the 30's -50's.
John Wayne was a rare actor that become a hero performing himself.
but, he was also a professional actor at the same time.
Duke killed many Japanese,many Mexicans, many Indians in his films,but in his real life,Did he have negative feeling toward them? Never.
I hate war,but,i like war movies.

regards.
Taka (please call me Taka)

Propaganda taught Americans to hate the Japanese during the Forties because of their surprise attack upon Pearl Harbor. I’ve read extensively about the history of that period and I’d have to say that the Japanese went to great lengths to avoid war but because of antagonistic policies by the American government (led by Roosevelt), were almost forced into it. I highly recommend John Toland’s book “The Rising Sun” for anyone who wants a view of the conflict that differs considerably from the propaganda we were spoon-fed by the American government.

I lived through the days of WW2 and had two uncles, plus other relatives, who fought in the Pacific theater. But since then, I’ve grown to very much admire the Japanese and certainly bear them no malice. During the Fifties, I visited Japan many times while serving in the U.S. Navy and was extremely impressed with the Japanese people. In my opinion, they are some of the cleanest and most hard-working people I’ve ever known - in fact, of all the Asian countries I visited during my military career, the Japanese impressed me the most. And their economic recovery from that war has been nothing short of miraculous.

Hello Mrs.C
Today is the anniversary of the end of war as for Japan.
I saw this web site little.
About 60 years ago, Japan and U.S. were the warferes.The people of both
country hated and killed each other. It is a war.
It is said the movie will reflect the age of production this time.
therefore, it is natural that feelings when fighting against the war remains in the war films produced before and after the WW2 in the 30's -50's.
John Wayne was a rare actor that become a hero performing himself.
but, he was also a professional actor at the same time.
Duke killed many Japanese,many Mexicans, many Indians in his films,but in his real life,Did he have negative feeling toward them? Never.
I hate war,but,i like war movies.

regards.
Taka (please call me Taka)
Taka, I so appreciate your perspective (and not surprisingly, agree with it :wink_smile: ). When people become offended by movies of the past, I wish they would remember the times in which the film was made, and as you so rightly point out, that actors are ACTING in a way that coincided with the times.

Stumpy, you have made some excellent points about commonly held perceptions regarding history, and the reality that few know.

Mrs. C :angel1:

Taka, This is For You !
:wink_smile:
The War was almost 60 Years ago now, and most of the People on This Web-Site were Not Even Here Then , But I was !
:glare:
I have Many Good Friends in Japan, and they Visit Me Here in Cowboy Country all the time, and I visit them in Samurai Country "Japan."
(bud)
The War Was A Long Time Ago !
:yeaahh:
I am Flying out in about one Hour for the "Wild West Junction" and Museum, and will talk to You Next Week.

http://www.ranch26bar.com/JUDOA.html

Bill
:cowboy:

Stumpy, you have made some excellent points about commonly held perceptions regarding history, and the reality that few know.

IMO, Pat's comments (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/08/blowback_from_bear_baiting.html)about the Russian-Georgian conflict carry a considerable amount of truth too.

Too often, Americans take the words of our presidents as gospel, when in fact such words are always (let's face it) biased in favor of the American government's point of view. Obviously, the Russians have a different point of view concerning Georgia's actions.

I often agree with criticisms leveled at this country of imperialism. Whether we want to admit it or not, other countries often march to the beat of a different drummer.

Stumpy,

Pat generally hits the nail on the head 9 times out of 10.

He's right about this one too. The words of our founding fathers ring truer and truer with each one of these foreign entaglements.

The words of our founding fathers ring truer and truer with each one of these foreign entaglements.

Amen, brother. Damn Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson!!!!