‘Paradise’ Lost

Regarding “The Filmmakers vs. the Crusaders,” your report on political correctness (Dec. 29):

For the second time in a year, The Times has given an inaccurate account of the Japanese-American community’s dealings with Alan Parker on his film “Come See the Paradise.”

In a 1989 interview in the Rafu Shimpo newspaper, Parker said he was talking with community leaders to ensure accuracy in his depiction of the Japanese-American internment camps of World War II. He said he wanted to make a film we could “embrace.”

So some of us took Parker up on his offer. We had misgivings about several aspects of his film, the main one being that once again, a white male outsider (Dennis Quaid) was romantically paired with an Asian female (Tamlyn Tomita). The way they quickly fell in love was not only implausible but also insulting to Asian-American women, because it again depicted them as living up to the fantasies of white men.

The problem was that Parker didn’t really want to know about our concerns. After being deservedly blasted by the African-American community for his revisionist “Mississippi Burning,” he learned to protect himself by appearing to be open to dialogues with ethnic communities.

Ours was not a case of a special-interest group imposing its views on an “innocent, unsuspecting” filmmaker. We were merely taking Parker up on his offer. Too bad it wasn’t sincere.

GUY AOKI

Glendale