Browse > Genre > Drama

37 articles

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American Pastime (film)

Films and Video
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama, History, Sport
Widely available

A 2007 feature film directed by Desmond Nakano that is based on true events that occurred at Topaz , an American concentration camp in Utah which held thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II. The film's story focuses on the Nomura family, whose mother and father are both Issei , and their two Nisei children, Lane and Lyle. Following the signing of Executive Order 9066 in February 1942, the Nomuras, along with over 120,000 other Japanese living on the West Coast, are forced into desolate government camps across the country. To boost the morale of the younger inmates and help build a sense of community, Mr. Nomura, who was once a professional baseball player, forms an in-camp league within the concentration camp, in an attempt to to instill some sense of normality into their lives.

American Sons (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
Empowerment, Evils of racism, Quest for discovery, Role of men
Widely available

Docudrama by Steven Okazaki about four Asian American male characters talking about the role of race in their lives. Though played by actors, the words spoken by each character come from interviews with real people.

American (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama, War
Heroism – real and perceived, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Wisdom of experience
Widely available

Short narrative film starring George Takei as a Nisei veteran and Japanese American National Museum docent named Clinton Nakamoto. While on duty one day at the museum, he meets a woman with a young daughter and starts to give them a tour. The woman mentions that her grandfather had fought in the "422" and shows Clinton a picture of him on her phone. The picture sends Clinton back to the 1942, recalling his anger at the forced removal and later of serving in the 442nd with the grandfather, who was killed in the rescue of the Lost Battalion . He takes her to visit the Go for Broke memorial, where they find his name on it. On the way home on the bus, he strikes up a friendship with a young Muslim boy.

American Fish (film)

Films and Video
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Short, Drama
Available

Short dramatic film about two Nisei women who run into each other at a grocery store and the dance that ensues when neither can remember who the other is. Humorous at first, the tone shifts when one asks about "camp" and other replies that she was in Tule Lake , invoking stereotypes of the camp and its inmates in the other. Directed by Jesse Wine, "American Fish" was based on the short story of the same name by R. A. Sasaki. It was screened as part of the Tule Lake Pilgrimage in 1996.

Come See the Paradise (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama, History, Romance
Everlasting love, Family – blessing or curse, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice
Widely available

The content in this article is still under development. A completed version will appear soon!

Conversations: Before the War/After the War (film)

Films and Video
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
Injustice, Power of the past
Limited availability

A 1986 dramatic film by Robert Nakamura that is based on the play "Truth of the Matter" by Karen L. Ishizuka. In Conversations , three characters discuss their life experiences, feelings and the facts of the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans, exploring the changes in their lives and long term effects of their wartime experiences. Though taking the form of oral history interviews, the three characters were nonprofessional actors playing composite characters based on their own experiences and that of others. The cast included Kimiko Nakamura—the mother of director Nakamura—along with Warren Furutani , playing a role based on his father, and Grace Ino, playing the part of a younger Nisei . in a 2009 interview, Nakamra said that the film "was experimental in that we used the experiences of the non-actors themselves reading transcripts of interviews, and a little bit of coaching." [1]

Day of Independence (film)

Films and Video
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
Coming of age, Family - blessing or curse, Self-reliance
Available

A 2003 short dramatic film about one Japanese American family's World War II experience in an American concentration camp, told through the narration of a young baseball player, whose life is traumatically altered by the forced removal and his father's decision to expatriate back to Japan. The screenplay is based on the real-life experiences of playwright and executive producer Tim Toyama's family and adapted from a play Toyama wrote entitled "Independence Day".

Eagle Against the Sun (film)

Films and Video
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
Loss of innocence, Coming of age, Evils of racism
Limited availability

A dramatic short film by John Akahoshi centering on a 17-year-old Japanese American high school girl and the impact the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor has on her life.

Farewell to Manzanar Educational Kit (curricula)

Curricula
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Memoir, Drama, History
Coming of age, Displacement, Evils of racism, Family - blessing or curse, Growing up - pain or pleasure, Injustice, Patriotism - positive side or complications, Power of the past
Limited availability

In 2003, the Farewell to Manzanar Education Initiative distributed 10,000 copies of the Farewell to Manzanar Educational Kit to California public schools and public libraries. The kit consists of the book, Farewell to Manzanar and Related Readings (1998), a teaching guide for the book (1998), a VHS cassette of the Farewell to Manzanar made-for-television movie (1976) with an additional 35-minute classroom version, and a video study guide (2002). Separate elements of the kit are available for purchase (except for the video study guide).

The First Battle: The Battle for Equality in War-Time Hawaii (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary, Drama
Limited availability

A 2006 film by Tom Coffman about the multi-racial group of civic and military leaders in World War II Hawai'i that monitored race relations and supported Hawai'i's large Japanese American community. After Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941 , the Committee for Interracial Unity and the Morale Section led by Chinese American YMCA Secretary Hung Wai Ching and Japanese American school principal Shigeo Yoshida , worked to protect the civil liberties of the people of Japanese ancestry living in Hawai'i, which ultimately led to the decision against a mass removal of Japanese Americans from the islands. In addition to interviews with some of the key figures and archival footage and stills, The First Battle also recreates several key scenes with actors playing key historical figures such as Ching, Yoshida, and Hawai'i FBI head Robert Shivers . Major funders included Central Pacific Bank, the Gerbode Foundation, the Hawaii Pacific …

Forgotten Valor (film)

Films and Video
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Heroism - real or perceived
No availability

Dramatic film about a 442nd Regimental Combat Team veteran who was among those awarded the Medal of Honor in 2000, but who refuses to attend the ceremony and subsequently disappears.

Half Kenneth (film)

Films and Video
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama, Short
Coming of age, Loss of innocence, Family - blessing or curse
Limited availability

Short dramatic film about two mixed race brothers at Manzanar in 1945. A 21-minute short, Half Kenneth was made by Ken Ochiai as a master's thesis film at the American Film Institute.

Hito Hata: Raise the Banner (film)

Films and Video
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
Immigrant experience
Limited availability

Landmark feature film produced by Visual Communications (VC), a Los Angeles based non-profit in 1980. Centering on the life story of an Issei man, Hito Hata was likely the first dramatic feature film about Asian Americans by Asian Americans since the silent film era.

Ho'onani Makuakane (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
Power of the past, Injustice, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Quest for discovery
Widely available

Episode of the Hawaii Five-0 TV series from 2013 that featured a Japanese American internment-related storyline.

Hyakunen no monogatari (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
Love and sacrifice, Role of women
Available

Japanese television drama—whose English title is 100 Years —that follows the fortunes of four generations of women over the course of the twentieth century. The three-part drama first aired in Japan on TBS on August 28 to 30, 2000, and was subsequently shown on Japanese language TV stations in the United States. The first segment begins in 1920 and ends in the late 1930s, the second begins in 1949 and covers the early postwar years, and the third takes place in 2000. Each segment stars Nanako Matsushima, who plays Aya Togura, born in 1901 in the first segment, her daughter in the second, and her great-granddaughter in the third. The second segment includes two major Japanese American characters, both of whom were incarcerated in American concentration camps.

I'll Remember April (film)

Films and Video
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
Coming of age, Loss of innocence, Fear of other
Available

Dramatic film directed by Bob Clark and written by Mark Sanderson set in April 1942 about four young boys who discover a Japanese sailor. One of the boys is Japanese American, and he and his family also prepare for their imminent forced removal and incarceration. Pat Morita plays the boy's grandfather.

If Tomorrow Comes (film)

Films and Video
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
Love and sacrifice, Evils of racism
Available

Made for television movie that tells the story of a Romeo and Juliet type romance between a Nisei man and a white woman against the backdrop of World War II. Produced by Aaron Spelling Productions, "If Tomorrow Comes" debuted on CBS on December 7, 1971. It was directed by George McCowan from a teleplay by Lew Hunter and starred former child star Patty Duke opposite newcomer Frank Liu. The movie was originally titled "My Husband, the Enemy," with protests by the Asian American community leading to a name change.

The Magic of Ordinary Days (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama, Romance
Beauty of simplicity, Love and sacrifice, Role of women
Available

Made-for-television movie under the Hallmark Hall of Fame banner about the arranged marriage of an educated urban woman carrying an illegitimate child and a kindly farmer. The film includes a subplot about a friendship between the woman and two Japanese American sisters from Amache who are among the farmworkers.

Midway (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama, War
War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Available

Epic war movie that tells the story of the Battle of Midway, the turning point of the Pacific War, from both the American and Japanese perspectives. Made for a modest budget despite its all-star cast, Midway was successful at the box office. In addition to employing many Japanese American actors in the roles of Japanese naval officers, the movie has a subplot involving the internment/incarceration of Japanese Americans.

Moving Day (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama, History
Evils of racism, Power of the past, Injustice
No availability

UCLA student film that dramatizes the wartime eviction of a Japanese American farming family. Silent scenes of a family of five (presumably two Issei parents and their three Nisei children) eating, packing their possessions, making musubi for the voyage, and other preparations for removal are accompanied by first-person narration by a female voice, presumably the daughter of the family. The film begins with the words of John DeWitt read in his voice justifying the need for the forced removal of Japanese Americans. The film ends with a coda about the passage of time and how many have forgotten—or have never known about—the events depicted. Moving Day is one of the first—if not the first—film by a Japanese American that depicts the travails of World War II.

No No Girl (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
Family – blessing or curse, Power of the past, Quest for discovery
Available

Full-length feature film by Paul Daisuke Goodman about the long shadow of the World War II incarceration on a Southern California Nikkei family.

On the Go: Little Tokyo (film)

Films and Video
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
Power of the past
Widely available

Segment of Jack Linkletter's On the Go television show set in Little Tokyo that focuses on the wartime incarceration and its aftermath. Linkletter interviews three Japanese Americans on the sidewalks of Little Tokyo: Eiji Tanabe (referred to only as "Mr. Tanabe"), a Nisei businessman who had been active in the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) before and after the war; Mr. Shimizu, the Issei owner of Asahi Shoe Store; and John Aiso , then a municipal court judge. In Tanabe's segment, the longest, he describes his work for the JACL (which is not referred to by name), the loss of his hotel businesses—for which he received token compensation through the Evacuation Claims Act —and his " voluntary evacuation " to his hometown of Spokane, before returning to Los Angeles and starting a travel business. Shimizu describes in halting English his arrest on the night of December 7 and subsequent internment …

One of Many (film)

Films and Video
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
Injustice, Disillusionment and dreams, Patriotism - positive side or complications
Widely available

Short dramatic film written and directed by Byron Yokomi centering on George Miyamoto, a young man at one of the Arkansas concentration camps facing major life decisions brought on by the loyalty questionnaire crisis. Yokomi made the film as an MFA student at Florida State University.

Only the Brave (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
War, Drama
Death – inevitable or tragedy, Power of the past, Role of men, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Feature film that dramatizes the rescue of the "Lost Battalion" by the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in France and its aftermath.

Sanga moyu (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
Family - blessing or curse, Patriotism - positive side or complications
Limited availability

Japanese television series that dramatized the Japanese American experience. Sanga moyu (Burning Mountains and Rivers) was a 1984 series produced by NHK, Japan's national broadcasting network. Consisting of 51 episodes that ran 45 minutes each, the series debuted on January 8, 1984, and ran through December 23, 1984. The story was based on the novel Futatsu no sokoku (Two Homelands) by Toyoko Yamasaki and focused on the Amo family of Los Angeles whose three Nisei sons chose different paths during World War II while the family was incarcerated at Manzanar : one who volunteers for the U.S. Army and fights in Europe, another who serves in the Military Intelligence Service during the war crimes trials and American occupation, and a third who is trapped in Japan at the outbreak of war and drafted into the Japanese army. Japanese American organizations in the continental United States objected to the portrayal of …

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