Katharine Hepburn was an iconic figure of the twentieth Century big screen. She was born into a middle-class family and her mother was a suffragette. This led the young Katharine to develop an open and free spirit. She was known to defy the societal image and expectations of a woman. She defied social expectations by donning trousers and wearing a short male hair cut. She always identified with being a tom-boy and was not afraid to do what went against women expectations. She stood for women rights and lobbied women to fight against female discrimination. She was successful in her quest and opened the doors for women liberation. Catherine Hepburn set the stage for women in the fifties and sixties to seek their rights as women and do whatever they wanted to do. She is an icon in many areas including women rights. She was at one time declared a bad apple in the film industry only to regain her high status later to become a film icon, winning 4 Grammy awards.
Fred Korematsu dedicated his life in the fight for civil liberties. He told the Supreme Court that restricting civil liberties had never happened in the history of The United States and should not start then. He was against the perpetuated detaining and imprisonment of suspects in Guantanamo prison. His quest was successful and he professed that he hoped no man should suffer like he did in the hands of the American authorities. He urged people to speak out and not be afraid and even stage peaceful demonstrations as one person can make a change, just like he did. Discrimination on people by taking away their civil rights is now a criminal offence. All people have the right to enjoy their civil rights.
Harvey Milk was a gay man at a time when society had not yet become liberal in matters of sexuality. He grew up just like any other young man and no one suspected he was gay. It was not until he was much older that he decided to openly say he was gay. This led him to join gay movements and get involved in an openly gay relationship. Harvey decided to run for political office and failed three times. He was finally elected into the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He broke through the sexual discrimination barriers and showed the world that anything can be possible for anyone.
Kenneth Clark became known for his remarks on rape. He is recorded on tape having said that not all rape is rape. He was of the opinion that there is a hierarchy in rape and that date rape is at the very bottom. Victims and activists were against this and he was forced to apologize for his remarks. He touched on the issues of sexual harassment and was unsuccessful in changing the definition of rape. Rape is rape in all forms and the culprit should face the same punishment under the law. There are reports of young children as old as a few days being raped by rapists. Girls, mothers and even boys are being raped every day. It is a crime that has broken all barriers and affects people of all ages and races. There is no justification whatsoever that an older rape victim is less of a victim than a younger rape victim. The person who rapes a young girl and the person who rapes an older person are both rapists. There is no justification in reducing the impact of the crime that they commit. All the rape victims experience the same kind of violation. Kenneth Clark made the overall mistake in trying to justify the right for a man to rape a woman during a date. Going out on date does not give the man a chance and the right to rape his date.
Discrimination is the judgment of a person based on their affiliation to a certain alliance. This can be based on sexual, racial or any other similar affiliation. There are numerous organizations that seek to stop all kinds of discrimination although it still exists in some places. Discrimination does not achieve anything positive in any way. It is a way of humiliating people and seeks to undermine and create fear. Women have been facing sexual discrimination in many areas but it has been in the decline. Sexual discrimination affects even children since they can be harassed based on their sex. Racial discrimination had been a major problem but it has also been greatly reduced.
In the movie Adam’s Rib, there is the element of gender discrimination. Doris shoots and kills her husband when she discovers he had been having an affair. Adam and Amanda are married and follow the case over the radio. Adam is of the opinion that Doris is guilty of murder while Amanda believes Doris was just a victim and sympathizes with her. Adam is the prosecution lawyer while Amanda is the defense lawyer. The defense wins the case by proving Doris was a victim of adultery. It is unfortunate that the society had set out the rules on similar cases. People had not taken into account the pain and suffering that adultery had brought onto Doris. Her husband had no right to have the affair In the first place. As much as Doris should not have shot her husband, she acted in her own defense out of anger.
In the movie Come See the Paradise, Jack takes up a job as a projectionist in a theatre run by a Japanese family. He falls in love with his boss’s daughter Lily. Their relationship is doomed from the start since they are of different races. Lily is Japanese while Jack is American. Lily is warned by her father against dating Jack. The law in California even forbids the two from marrying. They however elope and move to Seattle and have a daughter. Lily is arrested and the movie follows Jack’s quest to seek for her freedom. This is a good depiction of the pain and suffering that discrimination causes. The couple should have been left alone to marry and live in peace as they so wished. They were dictated to stay away from each other on the basis of their race. Their races had nothing to do with their feelings for each other. Eventually they triumphed over all the pain to finally stay together. Today the world has become very liberal. It is for this reason that we see more and more people getting married to other people of different races. There are intermarriages in all races and it is no longer a problem for the vast majority. Governments and other lobby groups should never be afraid to punish those who discriminate others on their races. We are all equal and as such we all have the human right to live in peace.
Harvey Milk became the first gay man in the history of the United States to hold public political office. This was and still is a lot of discrimination on people based on their sexuality. The issue becomes more complex in the context of the gays and lesbians in our societies. Many countries across the world have been against gay unions and ban gay relationships. Harvey Milk broke through all the sexual barriers and managed to convince the people of California to elect him into office. He suffered the world crime possible by being assassinated for being gay. Milk is a movie based on the life and times of Harvey Milk and starts from the time he was 40 years old. This was about the time when he publicly declared his sexual affiliation. It is unfortunate that people judge others on the basis of being gay. Sexuality is personal and all should be left to follow and make their sexual choices. The public lost a good leader after he was assassinated. Harvey was a good and well intentioned man who was judged by his sexuality. He served his people well and it is rather unfortunate that someone chose to assassinate him. When in the office no one would have known about his sexual orientation. He chose to go public to empower other gay and lesbian people to stop being afraid. The society had been very judgmental of gays and lesbians. Most of them just like Harvey had been forced to live their lives hiding their sexuality. All people should have the right to choose their sexual partners and be left to live their lives as they please. Sexuality is very personal and as long as it does not offend others, then it is legal.
These analyses offer a good array of the problems that people are forced to face in their quest to have equality and overcome discrimination. As a liberal world we should all let people make their own decisions and live their lives as they choose to. Discrimination is still ongoing in various parts of the world. Some people are just ignorant and choose to deny other people the chance to happiness by harassing them. Almost all the countries in the world have legislation against discrimination. All people are equal and should not be discriminated against for whatever reason. Sexual discrimination however is still rampant in many parts of the world. Women have been facing discrimination on the basis of their gender for the longest time. Sexual discrimination has made women to remain a step behind men in many aspects. It is rather ironical that women in powerful positions perform better than men. In this context one would wonder just what the world was missing if more women were given the chance to become leaders. Effective campaigns have empowered women to become more aggressive in their quest to become whatever they wanted to become. It is for this reason that more women today have pursued education and opened businesses to develop themselves.
There were decades of racial discrimination that are today a dark part of the history of the world. Black people had suffered for decades in the hands of the white people under slavery. Many people then believed that the black people were of lesser mental capacities than the white people. It has however been proven otherwise. The black population especially in Africa was traded for slaves and they faced a lot of discrimination in the hands of their white masters. It has today become a part in history that is too painful to revisit for both black and white people. Today they all live together across the continents of the world side by side. It is criminal under the American law to discriminate people on the basis of the color of their skin. All people are equal and life is supposed to be a fair and equal platform for all.
The Japanese American Museum is located in Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles. The museum may not be as big as other museum but it holds a rich array of Japanese culture. The museum receives a lot of visitors who want to learn more about Japanese culture. There is a huge population of Japanese-Americans residing in the United States. Majority are second and third generation who have not had a chance to visit their native country. As such, these people have a chance to visit the museum and learn more on their ancestral roots and ways of life.
I once watched a movie on the traditional ways of making Japanese pottery and other clay products. I became very fascinated by the intricacies of the whole pottery processes and the end products. I searched online for more information on what I had seen. To my amazement, I discovered that I could see more of Japanese art in the Japanese American National Museum. That was when I made the decision to pay the museum a visit.
It was the best decision I had ever made. I went to the museum in the company of my friend and my sister. The first thing that struck me was the building housing the museum. It is a beautiful modern building that is very inviting. It has a beautiful garden that is a reflection of the Japanese people’s love for good landscaping. I was thoroughly impressed. The museum contains over 130 years of rich and expansive Japanese history going all the way to the Issei generation. There are numerous artifacts, art and textiles capturing the life and times of the Japanese people. The photographs are amazing and we even got to listen to the audio recordings through the oral history section. The photographs depict many different sceneries and one can easily identify with the artwork. I had seen some of the art in my grandparent’s photo albums but it was a whole new experience seeing them in person. The pottery that had so much intrigued me was there too. I spent hours in this section just admiring the intricate artwork. The potters must have spent days working on some of the pieces on display.
When I first told my friends about my idea to visit the museum, they were not for the idea. This is because most of them have the notion that museums are boring places which have nothing interesting in them. However, my friend and my sister enjoyed the visit to this museum. There is a perception that a museum is usually a boring old house but this one is in a beautiful modern building. The display is very inviting and one does not require having a guide to take them around the museum. We were happy to have a chance to look at some of the things we had never thought we would get to see in our lifetime. The garden alone is very intricate. America is a beautiful country with a lot of lawns but the one at the museum is different. The museum has a variety of things on display that contribute to the overall collection held in the museum.
There were many people visiting the museum on that day including school children. We were amazed that the highest numbers of visitors were not Japanese. Actually the number of Japanese people in the museum on that day was less than ten. This was good and bad news. It was good because it showed that they were interested in learning more about their roots. It was good to see more Americans there because it showed they felt the need to learn more about Japanese culture. The museum also sets a stage for non-Japanese to understand the Japanese.
I now have a new appreciation for the art and other things associated with the Japanese. All my life I had not got the chance to go to Japan but the museum gave me the chance to see all that I would have seen had I gone to Japan. I have also planned to go again in the company of my other friends and family members. The pictures we took in the museum have been the source of intrigue for them and they too want to visit the museum. I have sent invitations to people to visit the museum through the social network sites and I am sure they will go. Museums are no longer boring places and I have respect for them today. Although I identify with being an American, I can never forget my ancestral roots. The National Japanese Museum has given me the chance to be more knowledgeable in the matters of Japanese culture. At least I have been as close as can possibly can to the things that my ancestors used.
I would have liked to visit a Korean museum to learn more about Korea. There are books and other internet sources that can offer a lot of information on Korea but seeing some of these things is more fascinating. Having the chance to see art and fabrics that one had only seen in history books changes the outlook and initial perception. I would like to encourage all people to take their time and visit the Japanese American National Museum as it will be an eye opener for them. The museum experience is exceptional and very unique. The government should take the necessary measures to ensure that there are more museums capturing the essence of different cultures. This is to enable more people to be aware of the history of the different countries. It would also promote peace since people would become appreciative of each other. I have been in America all my life but I had always sought to know more about my culture. The museum opened my eyes and gave me the platform to become more knowledgeable.