Power, hate, political tensions. What do these three things have in common? All common themes, that, when entangled into one, results in mass murders, also known as a genocide. A genocide is defined as: The deliberate killing of a large group of people, esp. those of a particular ethnic group or nation. But how could something so violent and ruthless even happen in our world? One of the main reasons is hate. Take, for example, the genocides that took place in Rwanda during the 90's. Nate Carter writes, "Such a violent and horrific display of actions is nothing short of a political outrage between two groups of people in a country." In this excerpt Nate talks about how two political groups fought and killed in mass numbers just because the two sides didn't like one another and didn't want to see the other group come into power. This is a perfect example of why genocides take place. They almost always happen because of a dispute over power or because one group hates another. It is senseless violence resulting in innocent people being murdered.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Japanese Occupation of Korea
Korea has had a long and violent history of foreign occupation. Although there have been many offenders, none is worse than the nation of Japan. Colonial rule of Korea began in 1910 and extended until 1945 upon the surrender of the Japanese Imperial Army. Over these thirty-five years the people of Korea lived under an iron fist as the Japanese strove to strip Korean citizens of their independence and cultural identity. Although the Japanese were cruel and stern in their occupation they, at the time, argued that they were improving Korea and the change was good for the Korean people. This idea of improving peoples lives and the world through mass murder and suppression is a common theme among genocides throughout history.
During the thirty-five year occupation of Korea, Japan strove to destroy any aspect of Korean culture. During the first ten years of Japanese occupation the Japanese military was the main force behind the campaign as they pushed Korean culture and ways of life out of the minds of the citizens. In a history of Korea during the 20th century the author writes, "People were forced to adopt Japanese names, convert to the Shinto (native Japanese) religion, and were forbidden to use Korean language in schools and business." These actions taken against the Korean people are a direct attack and are a clear attempt to dehumanize an entire ethnicity. Even more disturbing is the fact that these two countries are neighbors to one another and share many of the same ethnic roots.
Although the Japanese were cruel and ruthless they truly believed that their occupation of Korea was just. So, as Hitler crusaded to create a better world in Europe the Japanese strove to do the same to the West. Japan claimed that by occupying Korea they were actually helping the Korean people, ushering them into the modern world. In an online article about development of Asia the author touches on said topic. They write, "many recognizably modern aspects of Korean society emerged or grew considerably during the 35-year period of colonial rule. These included rapid urban growth, the expansion of commerce, and forms of mass culture such as radio and cinema, which became widespread for the first time. Industrial development also took place..." This justification resembles very much what Hitler told the German people to justify the killing of millions of Jews. I believe, however, that this is not true. Japanese occupation of Korea took place while Japan was wrapped up in imperialism and expansion. This is the reason for occupation, not to build up Korea. japan has never been in the business of nation building so why all of a sudden start.
There have been many horrific cases of genocide throughout the course of history. Japanese occupation of Korea, I believe, falls into the category as being one of the worst. This is true because of it's length and the content of which the Korean people were stripped of. Although it may not be the same as taking a life, (not to say the Japanese didn't do that as well) being stripped of your identity and being forced to follow foreign customs is still a daunting blunder to try and deal with.
During the thirty-five year occupation of Korea, Japan strove to destroy any aspect of Korean culture. During the first ten years of Japanese occupation the Japanese military was the main force behind the campaign as they pushed Korean culture and ways of life out of the minds of the citizens. In a history of Korea during the 20th century the author writes, "People were forced to adopt Japanese names, convert to the Shinto (native Japanese) religion, and were forbidden to use Korean language in schools and business." These actions taken against the Korean people are a direct attack and are a clear attempt to dehumanize an entire ethnicity. Even more disturbing is the fact that these two countries are neighbors to one another and share many of the same ethnic roots.
Although the Japanese were cruel and ruthless they truly believed that their occupation of Korea was just. So, as Hitler crusaded to create a better world in Europe the Japanese strove to do the same to the West. Japan claimed that by occupying Korea they were actually helping the Korean people, ushering them into the modern world. In an online article about development of Asia the author touches on said topic. They write, "many recognizably modern aspects of Korean society emerged or grew considerably during the 35-year period of colonial rule. These included rapid urban growth, the expansion of commerce, and forms of mass culture such as radio and cinema, which became widespread for the first time. Industrial development also took place..." This justification resembles very much what Hitler told the German people to justify the killing of millions of Jews. I believe, however, that this is not true. Japanese occupation of Korea took place while Japan was wrapped up in imperialism and expansion. This is the reason for occupation, not to build up Korea. japan has never been in the business of nation building so why all of a sudden start.
There have been many horrific cases of genocide throughout the course of history. Japanese occupation of Korea, I believe, falls into the category as being one of the worst. This is true because of it's length and the content of which the Korean people were stripped of. Although it may not be the same as taking a life, (not to say the Japanese didn't do that as well) being stripped of your identity and being forced to follow foreign customs is still a daunting blunder to try and deal with.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Mentor Text- Hoodwinked
For my mentor text this time I chose to watch the movie Hoodwinked. Hoodwinked is the story of Little Red Ridding Hood but told from all different perspectives. This story starts out at the end, with a domestic disturbance call in the middle of the woods involving a girl, a wolf, and an axe. As cops show up to investigate there is a suspicion that this disturbance may in fact be related to another case involving the "Goody Bandit" who's been stealing all the recipes of local sweet makers and driving them out of business. As the cops try to get information about everything that has been happening we get into the main plot. The story is told from all different perspectives as police question each party involved individually (Wolf, Granny, Red, and the Axe man). I chose this as my mentor text because I am also taking a classic story and putting a twist onto it and telling it from a different perspective. One thing watching this movie helped me with was character development and the idea of inter weaving different stories and perspectives so that they all end up at the same point when the story is over. I also liked how this movie started from the end and then worked its way through every characters account to make sense of what really happened. It's an excellent way to keep an audience hooked and engaged. Another thing watching this movie helped me with was dialogue. The majority of this movie is told from different perspectives so it is narrated. This helped me see what others have done with their characters and how they used wording and story telling to make sense of a plot. Finally, watching Hoodwinked helped me to get an idea of how to introduce a major twist in the story line. I'm going to have a twist at the end of my story as well and being able to see how it was introduced in this movie helped me to realize how I want to do it in my own story.
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