Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. It led to the mass evacuation and incarceration of over 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry… more than half were children.
The impact of the World War II internment on Japanese Americans still lingers in the form of humiliation, anger, shame, regret and abandonment. This program provides a rare glimpse into the very private lives of a few of these Japanese Americans who have not previously talked openly about the trauma of their internment experience. Satsuki Ina, a psychologist and former internee, leads a three-day intensive group therapy where the participants give words to their childhood trauma and mirror each other’s experiences. In so doing, the group members allow themselves to feel and subsequently let go of the humiliation and shame they have been holding onto for many years.
This film is a powerful lesson in racism in the United States, and provides a group therapy model on how to help heal the wounds caused by institutionalized oppression. In light of the recent wars in the Middle East, this film is more important than ever, and is a must-see for anyone wanting to understand how intolerance, prejudice and racism deeply impact the lives of Americans.
