60 Years Later, It’s a Sensitive Topic

Two years ago, John Tateishi read of plans for a new Walt Disney film about the 1941 Japanese attack on U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor, to be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

“When I saw it was a Bruckheimer production, my immediate reaction was, ‘Oh my God,”’ said Tateishi, who considers Bruckheimer’s films more notable for their over-the-top special effects than subtlety, character analysis or sensitivity.

Tateishi had his reason to be concerned about the film project: At age 3, he was interned in the Manzanar detention camp during World War II. He is now the national executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), the oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization in the country.

In today’s atmosphere of increased sensitivity in Hollywood to special-interest groups, Tateishi immediately requested a meeting with top executives of the Walt Disney Co.--and got one. He met first with Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group Chairman Richard Cook, who assured him that steps were being taken not to offend the Japanese American community.

“We clearly did not want in any way any bad impressions of Japanese Americans of that time,” said Cook, in a telephone interview from Hawaii, where the premiere is taking place. “But we made it very clear we were not going to make a movie that was not true to the vision of what happened or in some way distort historical fact.”

And then Tateishi met with Bruckheimer.

“I said, ‘With all due respect, Jerry, people don’t go see your movies because of the love story or the deep character stories,’ ” said Tateishi. “ ‘They go for the action. They go for the special effects.’ ”

Rather than being defensive, Bruckheimer was also responsive, said Tateishi. In fact, he gave Tateishi a copy of the script. And some of the changes Tateishi requested were implemented.

“[Tateishi] had very legitimate concerns and we wanted to honor them,” said Bruckheimer, also from Hawaii. “If we feel suggestions don’t hurt us artistically, then we try to make changes.”

Tateishi, who has seen the finished film, “Pearl Harbor,” said he does not think it is offensive to Japanese Americans. “It’s done with some sensitivity,” he said. “There is some real humanity in these pilots. It is not your typical caricature or anti-Japanese or -Asian portrayal.”

Nevertheless, members of the Japanese American community are still bracing themselves for the $140-million picture’s release on Friday, worried that the film could foment anti-Japanese or -Asian sentiment around the nation.

The film, starring Ben Affleck, Josh Harnett and Kate Beckinsale, is a love story about two fighter pilots during World War II. They fall for the same girl, with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as the backdrop.

The studio was a little jittery about tackling such a touchy historical subject. In addition to meeting with Tateishi, the producers met with veterans’ groups, Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals in which the script and character development were discussed. Several consultants and historians read the script for accuracy.

These moves demonstrate the increasing attention Hollywood executives must pay to minority groups fighting stereotypical portrayals in film and television. After battling with groups ranging from Arab Americans against Fox’s “The Siege” in 1998 to gays and lesbians rallying against the Laura Schlessinger show at Paramount, studios have learned they cannot afford to ignore these interest groups.

“I don’t think we look at it as an insurance policy but instead as making sure we are sensitive to the way characters are portrayed,” said Cook.

“My biggest fear,” said Tateishi, “was that we would see some violence from [the movie] . . . with people having a very chauvinistic, xenophobic response and act out what they were feeling,” he said. “I’ve ordered the security in this building stepped up. I’ve talked to the directors of my organization around the country and sent out an alert action plan to chapters around the country.”

Pearl Harbor is a painful topic for many Japanese Americans who either suffered directly as a result of the surprise morning attack or have relatives who lived through the backlash in America. The Dec. 7, 1941, attack was the precursor to the internment of 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent through the war years.

Emotions are so raw that JACL held a press conference in Los Angeles on Monday morning hoping to blunt any negative reaction the film might bring against Japanese Americans. In addition, Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), who volunteered to fight in the war, lost an arm in battle and received a Congressional Medal of Honor for his service, has issued a statement.

“The movie ‘Pearl Harbor’ may well revive the emotion of 60 years ago and cause some people to reflect negatively upon the Japanese residents of our nation,” said Inouye in the statement dated earlier this month. “However, we hope that those who may be so inclined will recall that, notwithstanding the incarceration of [Japanese Americans], thousands of Japanese Americans volunteered to stand in harm’s way for our nation.”

In his conversations with Bruckheimer, Tateishi proposed adding scenes that would show Japanese American heroism during the attack. For instance, he proposed a scene at a hospital after the attack where a Japanese American doctor tries to help the wounded. The doctor, however, is confronted with a sailor who tells him, “I don’t want a Jap touching me.”

“I thought it was important for people to see that Japanese Americans were a part of this effort as much as anyone else,” said Tateishi. He raised questions about a scene in which a Japanese American dentist is phoned by an unknown person speaking in Japanese a day before the attack. That scene made it seem as though the dentist was conspiring with the Japanese, said Tateishi.

He asked Bruckheimer to take the scene out, but the scene was left in. Tateishi’s organization sent a letter to Cook on Monday asking that the scene either be edited out of the film or that Disney take full responsibility for any violence the film might incite against Asian Americans.

Cook said in an interview that it is clear the dentist is not conspiring and that the studio will not edit the scene out. He considers it “ridiculous” to hold the studio responsible for any outbreaks of violence.

Guy Aoki, president of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, a media watchdog group, read the script and said he wished the studio had included a Japanese American leading role to counter the Japanese attack.

“The only way it could have been better was to present a Japanese American hero to counterpoint the other stuff,” said Aoki, who has not seen the film. “I was pleasantly surprised that they had some balance to it. I thought they would have the Japanese salivating at the thought of hunting people down on a Sunday morning.”

The film comes at a time of strained Japanese and U.S. relations in the wake of the Navy’s sinking of a Japanese fishing vessel off the coast of Hawaii in February. In addition, a confrontation between a Chinese fighter pilot and a U.S. spy plane last month exacerbated Asian and U.S. relations, said Tateishi. The movie also comes on the heels of a recent poll that revealed that one-quarter of Americans hold “very negative attitudes” toward Chinese Americans and one-third question their loyalty to the U.S. Unfortunately, many people cannot differentiate between the Asian nationalities, said Tateishi.

Other members of Japanese American organizations agree.

“I just hope that when the movie comes out, regardless of whether it’s good or not, people will remember the fact that Japanese Americans were among those who were bombed in Hawaii and they were a part of the most decorated [U.S. military] units in World War II,” said Chris Komai, spokesperson for Los Angeles based Japanese American National Museum. “We hope people will remember that we are Americans too.”