A subtle representation of racism within Hick’s film can be seen through his use of flashbacks. During these, the audience becomes aware that Ishmael and Hatsue were childhood friends as we see them enjoying many hours of fun together whilst growing up. As the flashbacks progress on the audience learns more about them and that in fact they had intimate romance together as teenagers. As the audience look closer at the flashbacks it soon becomes clear that both Hatsue and Ishmael are indulging in a forbidden romance with each other. This is shown through the film techniques used. For example each time the audience is shown a flashback both Hatsue and Ishmael are alone, filmed in isolated areas like the logs on the beach or in the hollowed out cedar tree. Hick’s use of low light in these scenes adds to the feeling that Ishmael, being a white boy, should not be with Hatsue, a Japanese girl. He is trying to give an indication of the racial tension within the community on the island of San Piedro.
Another effective representation of racism within Hick’s film is the scene where the young Hatsue is having her hair done by her mother. Through what seems like a bonding moment between mother and daughter Hatsue’s mother tries to emphasise the importance of a marriage to a Japanese man, telling her to “stay away from white boys”. (Hicks 1999). This is quite interesting in that it is kind of a reversal of what is usually expected. Instead of representing racism as just being a one-sided affair, Hick’s makes it into a two-way street. The racial disharmony can be seen from both sides as both the Japanese and the Americans refer to each race as the ‘other’. This suggests that both races were the inflictors as well as the victims of racial ideas rather then just one.
The movie ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ is clearly the text which offers a more profound insight into the issue of racism. A profound insight being defined as “penetrating beyond what is superficial or obvious.” (cited from < >, 2004). This is because of the fact that it is a movie and can therefore open to a wider audience and is more accessible to people then a novel is. Film is also a deeper medium in which to portray the issues of racism because it can explore more into the senses of people. Through film the audience can engage both the senses of sight and hearing through the use of visual graphics and audio stimulating materials such as music soundtracks. Film techniques can also be taken advantage of for example high or low camera angles which can be used during the process of filming to help present the issues within the film. Interest of the audiences and depth in certain characters and the events they are involved in or environments they are in can be grabbed by the use of camera angles. In the end the audience is engaged more and ends up getting a deeper understanding of the issues within the film.
Within many of the courtroom scenes in ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ Hicks uses these camera techniques. For example the Japanese community all sit behind Miyamoto and the camera angles used when focusing in on them often tends to be high and as a result it seems as if the audience are looking down on them from above. This angle gives forth a feeling of inferiority of the Japanese. On the other hand Ishmael, is filmed in a reversal manner to the Japanese in that they use a low camera angle so that it looks like the audience is looking up to him. It gives off the feeling of power and control. As well as the use of camera angles, environments and settings can be created which can help to explore the issues within the film. For example with the deserted beach and the hollowed out cedar tree these were used by Hick’s as isolated settings to add to the telling of the story. These settings all help in the discovery of racial issues and attitudes towards mixed relationships. These add to the effectiveness of the text as the audience can appreciate the message the text is trying to portray on a different level.
Although Endo’s ‘The Sea and Poison’ is effective in some way it is clearly at a disadvantage in that it is a novel and because of this fact it struggles to show the audience the same insight into the issues of racism than that of ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’. Another reason for the novel only being effective to a certain extent is because it has numerous minor themes within. The issue of social inequality within the Japanese race arises as the main theme addressed especially through the long, descriptive and emotional passages of the old lady’s operation. When comparing this to the treatment of Mrs Tabe, the old lady is treated with complete disrespect. For Mrs Tabe her doctors are seen to be confident that she will make a full recovery from a successful operation, whereas even thought it seems to be a similar operation for the old lady she is given no chance of survival. The whole hospital just accepts the fact that she will not live.
Issues of social inequality are explored through the treatment of both of these patients who undergo similar operations. There is a clear distinction between the professional and optimistic treatment of Mrs Tabe to the neglected and pessimistic treatment of the old lady. This is so touching that it takes the readers thought away from the main issue of racism to the issue of social inequality within Japan. Because of this the issue of racism which is supposed to be the major theme within the novel now becomes a secondary theme. Thus leading more to the fact that Endo’s novel is less profound than Hick’s film in bringing forth the issues of racism. Although in ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ there is evidence of minor themes within the story just like that of ‘The Sea and Poison’, there is a difference. The Minor themes in Hick’s film do play some part within the issue of racism, whereas in Endo’s novel his minor themes can be linked to broader social issues like social inequality like mentioned before. For example in Hick’s film there is the romance between Hatsue and Ishmael, which is powerful issue but it does not take control over the main racism issue, infact in some way they actually compliment or help to emphasis the racism issue. The romance being that it is forbidden shows the audience of the attitudes of the community towards mixed relationships and it gives the audience an understanding into the influence of racism as it is this influence which splits Hatsue and Ishmael apart.
Both ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ and ‘The Sea and Poison’ look at and characterize the issue of racism in different ways. Hick’s uses emotive language and harsh expressive tones but he has an advantage in that he can use film techniques such as camera angles and has a medium which is more popular then that of a novel, which can offer a more profound insight into the racism issues. Endo also uses harsh tones and emotive language to fill his readers with an awareness of the issue of racism but also about morality and social discrimination. ‘Snow Falling on Cedars is arguably superior to that of ‘The Sea and Poison’ because the audience is more engaged due to the fact that it is a movie and not a book.
Bibliography
The Online Dictionary, 2004, viewed 8th April 2004, < >.
Endo, S. The Sea and Poison (trans. Michael Gallagher). New York: New Directions, 1992 ( f.p. 1958). pp. 17, 86, 87.
Snow Falling on Cedars 1999, motion picture, Los Angels, Universal Studios, Director Scott Hicks.
Ashcroft, B. 1998, ‘Race’, London & New York Routledge, (E-Reserve), pp. 198.
Racial - of or characteristic of race or races or arising from differences among groups; "racial differences"; "racial discrimination"
The Sea and Poison written by Endo deals with the two surgical interns, Suguro and Toda. They are the low men on a totem pole of power. Their aging chief is one of two contenders for the Dean's position. He and his assistants devise methods of gaining attention for the promotion which include risky surgical procedures and, ultimately, vivisection experiments on American prisoners. The story line is carried by the acceleration of evil actions as the pressure for power increases. The motivations and internal deliberations of the two interns and the nurse called Ueda, whose characters are explored in some depth, provide the human tensions. The issues of inhumanity, absence of regard for human life and personal autonomy, and the power of the medical profession are explored in this rather poorly structured Japanese novel.
The sense of hopelessness and loss of belief in the future is nicely presented and the sea as metaphor for overwhelming external power and personal failure works well. There seem to be at least four narrators, and the viewpoint changes episodically. The transitions are abrupt and sometimes unclear, making the identity of the new first person narrator difficult to grasp.
The story is morbid in its lack of humor and sense of prevailing evil and impending doom. From it one can study the progressive loss of humanity in a dehumanizing atmosphere, made all the more frightening because the actions are directed against innocent and ignorant hospitalized Japanese, as well as helpless American prisoners. No health care professional takes a stand against the injustices, which go unpunished to the end. There are no heroes in this sordid tale, and the reader is left with a fearsome sense of total moral decay in the health care professions during this time and in this place.
Endo creates a haunting portrait of characters caught up in the vivisection of an American prisoner of war during the latter days of the Pacific War and their reactions to their crime. Through the separate narrations of each character, we see how the nihilism that swept Japan's prewar intelligentsia prepared each character for his or her role in the vivisection. Evocative of the understatement in Camus's "The Stranger," Endo's characters relate their stories in straight line, cinematic narrations which reveal the desensitivity to life and suffering that Japan's prewar society had conditioned them to, and in doing so Endo offers readers a sober warning of the dangers of living in a moral vacuum.
There is evidence of racism thru the use of words to describe other races such as chinks, bastards, puny men and inferiority used to describe people. There is also reference to a white mannequin in Dr Sugero’s lab in the prologue. There is also racial difference in the way the doctors treat the patients, they do operations on then to just benefit there careers for example the old lady and when she died they just covered it up and told them she died a day later just so the old man didn’t loose any face in his climb to the top of the ladder to become dean. Also there is reference to skin colour with one nurses asking the doctor “Is a white person’s skin hard to cut?” and “I had no idea that the skin of white people got so dirty”. Also towards the end there is reference to the US prisoners skin as being white as it says “broad white stomach” with “fine golden hair growing on it” and also “white man, an American soldier”. There is also a hit of racism in that the main doctors wife if a European women German infact and the other Japanese nurses don’t like her but don’t show it to her face they act all nice and polite around her but when she gone disrespect her. Also when Ueda wanted to touch her little child to say hello she pulled him away like she was a disease and stuff saying for her to not touch her child because of the diseases going around she wants to be safe but it is really because she is a Jap. There is also evidence of racial difference with how some of the men treated the women as it says “But we had our fun in china too. Did whatever we wanted with the women. Any bastard that made any complaints we tied to a tree and used for target practice.” There is also reference to racism with Suguro as he expressed his hatred for the US prisoners and it’s like they mean nothing to him as it says “Suguro felt neither pity and sympathy nor hostility and hatred towards these men. He passed them on the path with the lack of concern he felt towards men whom he expected never to see again in his life and whom he should soon forget.” There is also racial difference seen with regards to the killing of the US soldiers as they didn’t think that it was wrong in killing the soldiers without them knowing they just thought it would be better for them then dieing any other way as people are talking to Suguro and they say “The bastards, what did they do but bomb indiscriminately? They’ve already been sentenced to be shot by the Western Command. Wherever they’re executed it’s the same. Why, here they’ll get ether and die in their sleep”. Another reference to racial difference within the book can be seen with the way they acted towards the vivisections in that they saw it as an “advancement of medical science” and also as a means for a meal where they say “Well…thanks to the prisoners, we’ll be able to dine on a bit of American liver.” There is clearly some difference within the two races as to them it seems normal to eat a prisoners body part whereas to the Western race it would seem as barbaric. There is also hatred to there Asian cousins when they say “Will we have to have anything to do with the Chinese?” Also there is racial difference with the way they act to the Manchurians especially nurse Ueda. At first she didn’t understand why they treated them the way they did and it scared her but soon she got used to it happening from her neighbours. She said that “Ueda told me that it was the way these Manchurians were. You had to knock them around; otherwise they wouldn’t do anything”. Then it happened she soon too got a little Manchurian servant and “soon got into the habit of hitting her, for no reason at all”. There is also racial difference seen when it comes to Mrs. Hilda for she was a European women in a Japanese hospital trying to do what she thought was helping the patients and the nurses but in actual fact was making things worse and causing them to hate her but then have to pretend to be nice to her face because she was the chief doctors wife. As it says “Afterwards I realized that they were being catty about her visit to the ward patients every time she came to the hospital…..the fact is that we nurses didn’t appreciate her goodness very much”. Also later they refer to her again in that they say “She barged in again today, didn’t she? But doctor, you have so much respect for her. Respect for her, eh? Just for the fun of it, I’d like to sleep with that white women once……Hey, why don’t you try your luck with Dr Hashimoto? That would really fix old Hilda.” There is also much racism within the character of Toda through the way he treats his patients in that he seems to have conscious whatsoever. “A patient would die…..and I would put on a sad, sympathetic expression. But once out in the corridor, the spectacle would pass out of my mind.” And also later how he treats any female he comes into contact with “What flashed through my mind was not a feeling of concern that I had marked this girl for life but rather that there would be hell to pay if a baby were born.” There is also racial difference seen with regards to the vivisections and how Suguro chickened out of them as was stuck in the room as they conducted the operations on the US soldiers and one of the Japanese officers saw him and became angry as he says “How can a young Japanese be so weak?” To the Japanese it was considered a sense of weakness to not go through with the vivisections like Suguro did as it was not like it was their own people it was the enemy. Compare that to the Western race it wouldn’t be considered a weakness they would be considered human because unlike the Japanese race they have a conscious.
Conclusion
Snow falling on Cedars provides a better representation of race. Although both are ficticious, even Sea and Poison provides historical ideology, Sea and Poison could completely confuse the issue of racial attitude.
