The initial impetus was obviously the election. And then there’s that guy who’s talking about the Muslim ban and how the executive order, the incarceration, was precedent and that kind of really activated me in a way that, it was like I felt threatened as a minority in this country for the first time. I always kind of believed this country was a melting pot, it was open for everybody, and that’s when I started to really try to understand the incarceration.
This film serves two parts in that one is to kind of show this history and to develop empathy and kind of confront privilege to have my viewers take a step back and really understand how to help their community, or how to help underprivileged people or to help minorities – to get that perspective.
And I like to encourage minorities to have hope, that this is just a turning point. And then also for white people to be, hey this is really not just your country anymore. And all these advantages you’ve had, you should really acknowledge them and take a step back and share.
País: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum
Entrevistados
Kaoru Ishibashi, que se apresenta como Kishi Bashi, é um Shin-Nisei músico, compositor e autor musical, nascido em Seattle, Washington, e criado em Norfolk, Virgínia. Ele estudou na Berklee College of Music [Faculdade Berklee de Música] e tornou-se um renomado violinista.
Seu projeto cinematográfico, Omoiyari (Empatia), levou-o a lugares como Manzanar, Lago Tule, Museu Nacional Japonês Americano e ao Japão para aprender sobre os nipo-americanos e a história da Segunda Guerra Mundial japonesa. Omoiyari explora como a empatia e a falta dela desempenham papéis fundamentais em nossa busca moderna por igualdade social. (Março de 2019)