https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm Working with a partner(s), please let us know what you saw, thought, and wondered about these images Dorothea Lange took of Japanese Americans during their forced removal and incarceration of the 1940s. Be sure to record your names when you post! en-us 2023-01-04 03:03:35 UTC 2023-01-06 08:27:01 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433742133 We saw several photos of strong Japanese communities that would quickly be broken down because of the internment. The looks on the many innocent faces of Japanese citizens and aliens alike is quite striking. There is a tremendous amount of confusion and fear in the photographs that represents the uncertainty of the particular situation.]]> 2023-01-04 16:23:37 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433742133 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433743596 We thought that there was tremendous irony shown by the photographs of small Japanese children pledging allegiance to the country that was actively trying to hurt their families and communities.]]> 2023-01-04 16:24:46 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433743596 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433743744 The Japanese kids were largely Americanized in the way they dressed, religion they followed, cultural practices, and even looks. Many of the children seem malnourished, sad, and unsure of what the future holds for them]]> 2023-01-04 16:24:53 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433743744 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433745010 We wonder what exactly happened to the seized lands of peoples who were taken and forcibly relocated. Were they sold? Occupied by the federal government? We'd like to know.]]> 2023-01-04 16:25:55 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433745010 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433745874 It reminded me a lot of the Native American boarding schools that hoped to reinforce American sentiments onto the children by dressing/designing them as white Americans in order to separate them from their original cultures. ]]> 2023-01-04 16:26:32 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433745874 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433747456 Compared to the other video that we watched in class, many of these images show the raw and true emotion of the Japanese people that were forced to move into camps. The video depicted a lot of happiness and cooperation, but in these images, many of the faces almost have no emotion, if not sorrow. Many of these images also show the Americanization of Japanese children, which I see as a continued theme from the video in class. They depict these children in a patriotic manner.]]> 2023-01-04 16:27:47 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433747456 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433748431 How peaceful was the treatment and relocation of the Japanese people? Most of these pictures depict the situation as innocent and necessary, but I feel like there needs to be a darker side of it. Did the Japanese immigrants reject this treatment in any way?]]> 2023-01-04 16:28:36 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433748431 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433748485 Japanese people living their lives as American citizens. People have farms, they go to church and school, they have families. 
Japanese children would even recite the pledge of allegiance at school just like everyone else. They were made to pledge allegiance to a nation that had no respect for them. Later on when these people are seen being moved to the camps, there's just no life. Everyone seems anxious and confused.]]> 2023-01-04 16:28:39 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433748485 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433749336 The photographs of the Japanese children reciting the pledge of allegiance really stood out to me because they didn't really look happy, they seem more forced into it and some looking more scared and sad. They don't really look like they want to be doing it and some didn't look like they knew why they were doing it.]]> 2023-01-04 16:29:14 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433749336 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433749782 I thought these pictures of Japanese people being moved to detention camps extremely moving because you see their reactions for the first time. The almost blank faces with no emotions that many have show probably how little hope there was within these people even though they came to a country known for giving its citizens freedom.]]> 2023-01-04 16:29:33 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433749782 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433751379 Westernized Japanese citizens who were largely accustomed to American life and were effective citizens in the economy being kicked out of where they were working and living because of the fact that they have heritage from a foreign country that they deemed as the "enemy". This discrimination although written off as a precaution of war is highly damaging to the communities that were formed when the citizens immigrated to America.]]> 2023-01-04 16:30:40 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433751379 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433762823 In the photographs, they start with families and communities all together but as it progresses theres images that have lines and luggage and confusion. You can see the distress that arises from the situation in the photographs. ]]> 2023-01-04 16:39:40 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433762823 dnguyen317 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433862151 There were many photographs of communities, small and big, of Japanese people. The beginning pictures show how Japanese people left their life behind to go live in the camps. There was an organized disorder. The people are later depicted as trying to make the most out of what they were given. ]]> 2023-01-04 18:00:30 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433862151 dnguyen317 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433870504 These photos along with the descriptions are a peek into the lives of the people living in the camps were like. I think that Lange did an amazing job communicating the confining feeling that Japanese people felt. I was moved when viewing the photos regarding death. To die in a place you are so unfamiliar with is tragic and upsetting. ]]> 2023-01-04 18:07:52 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433870504 dnguyen317 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433874223 Did Dorothea Lange talk to all of the people she photographed? If so, did she keep in touch with them after the camps were dissolved? What was the public's reaction to these photos?]]> 2023-01-04 18:11:05 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433874223 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433895307 I saw Japanese communities living well in American society before they were relocated to the camps. I saw families get separated after the camps. I saw the poor conditions in which they lived. I then saw the Japanese acclimating, working, making things like nets or flowers. ]]> 2023-01-04 18:30:25 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433895307 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433896084 I appreciated that Lange captured not just before and after, but life before and after. Japanese people had homes, big families, pets, jobs, hobbies, and routine before they were shipped off to the camps.
What I saw then was how they reacted when all of that was taken away from them. They made the effort to dress nicely while being coraled into buses to be taken to a place that's barren, that's lifeless, that's contained.
They continue their lives there and some even their livelihoods but it's not the same anymore. You can see it in their eyes they don't feel good there.]]> 2023-01-04 18:31:00 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433896084 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433912313 I wonder what are the stories of those who Lange photographed. Like more of what their lives were like before and after the photo was taken.]]> 2023-01-04 18:45:15 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433912313 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433913474 Pictures of Japanese people at their houses in California, then those same families at interment camps scattered randomly throughout the US.]]> 2023-01-04 18:46:13 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433913474 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433915492 How unfair that was to the people. They really did not do anything wrong and were taken just because of their ethnicity. ]]> 2023-01-04 18:47:41 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433915492 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433916242 I wonder how they could think US citizens were enemies. I wonder how confused the children must've felt.]]> 2023-01-04 18:48:16 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2433916242 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434146395 I saw people of Japanese ancestry, from only a few persons to entire communities, from large families to a few children, all with scared, worried, and anxious facial expressions as they are commanded, ordered, and relocated from their homes, their jobs, their communities, and their gathering places. Later on, I saw the squalid living conditions these citizens had to endure, and the descriptions alongside the photos helped me understand the distress and terror the people in the photos must be feeling.]]> 2023-01-05 01:01:12 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434146395 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434148844 I gained an insight into the true length racism goes in order to persecute and terrorize people. While viewing, I reminded myself that these people were law-abiding citizens, many of whom had been born in America, being treated like POW's or criminals. I was thinking about the families and how terrifying it would be to endure a situation like this. ]]> 2023-01-05 01:05:45 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434148844 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434150446 I wonder if there was any rebellion, or insurrection on the part of the interned Japanese Americans? Did they ever rebel against their captors? I also wonder about when the photos themselves were released to the public. Was it during or after the war, and if during, did it noticeably impact the public's perception of the actions undertaken in the camps?]]> 2023-01-05 01:08:36 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434150446 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434161102 I thought of how scary it must have been to leave their homes and lives so suddenly. It's also very sad to see the pictures at the beginning where the Japanese people photographed were just living their everyday lives quite contently. I also thought of how unjust these internment camps are, their treatment and what they had to go through. I also kept thinking about how some had to part with their loved ones and previous communities. These photos are very tragic and convey such deep meaning and emotion.]]> 2023-01-05 01:27:08 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434161102 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434163905 I wonder what kind of relationship those photographed had with Dorothea Lange, if any, and how their stories might have affected her.]]> 2023-01-05 01:31:35 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434163905 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434169042 I wonder how regular American citizens who lived regular "American" lives, all of a sudden became potential "enemies of the state" to the extent that they had to be displaced. ]]> 2023-01-05 01:39:27 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434169042 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434172739 I think of the contrast between what was in the video we watched vs the picture. The video makes it seem like the Japanese people were eager to be relocated, because they wanted to be "good" citizens, they were happy with their new "communities", but in the pictures of the bewildering days, where people had to pack up and the picked up pictures, I do not see any smiling faces, or anyone looking happy to lose their home. ]]> 2023-01-05 01:45:24 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434172739 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434176088 I see Japanese Americans who are fully immersed in American culture (the pictures of the kids pledging allegiance) gradually lose the lives that they are accustomed to. ]]> 2023-01-05 01:50:26 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434176088 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434202059 I wonder how fast the land that was once occupied by Japanese families was put to new uses. I wonder how fast what they left behind was made new. Did people respect the fact that there was a whole population that was being rejected and replaces, or was that knowledge pushed to the side to restart the flow of everyday life.]]> 2023-01-05 02:35:31 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434202059 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434239687 I thought about how blatantly obvious the racism was towards Japanese people, but how few people saw it that way. Especially after this video came out, I can't imagine all the people who saw it and went about their day thinking about how lucky the Japanese must feel., when in reality there was so much to be unpacked in the whole situation.]]> 2023-01-05 03:33:44 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434239687 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434291119 There was a large range of photos, but all of them photographed the lives of Japanese people (not those who were in power or around them). There were pictures before they were moved to camps, living ordinary lives (to the white standard atleast. There were photos of the process of being moved, very crowded and not much assistance. The after pictures showed life in the camps from the bare barracks given to them to how they interacted with it, whether laboring or being idle. there was a clear and stark difference, except the sense of community was consistent.]]> 2023-01-05 05:06:19 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434291119 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434293869 In the before pictures, I thought the Japanese people made great efforts to assimilate. There were kids doing the pledge, white picket fences, very American clothing and hairstyles, everything. I would assume that they might have lost a lot of their culture as well, in fear of what could happen, like what happened to Jingo. With the clear difference with the video, there must have been many people hiding the truth, or simply not caring. It makes me think about how the Japanese might have felt being betrayed by the people they sacrificed so much to be like out of survival.]]> 2023-01-05 05:11:32 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434293869 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434295263 I wonder how many people knew the truth vs. were okay with the truth. How many believed the video? How many ignored the photos? I also wonder what life was like for other Asian Americans, and how other minorities felt. I also wonder whether they ever got involved with the court and how it turned out.]]> 2023-01-05 05:14:38 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434295263 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434304743 There were many photos of children reciting the pledge of allegiance and being among a mixed race group. There were family photos in the days leading up to encampment and in the camps. Lastly, the photos in the camps show rather meek living conditions, with most of the "homes" being refurbished horse stalls and there only being on cafeteria for the entire camp.]]> 2023-01-05 05:31:55 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434304743 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434306317 The photos of children at school made me realize how much the Japanese population was already beginning to assimilate with other Americans. Pictures of kids doing the pledge of allegiance and holding the flag made it seem weird that they would later be betrayed by their own country. All the family photos I saw emphasized how important it was to stay together. The families were likely very worried that they might be separated. The rather poor living conditions made it obvious why the American government was trying to hide this and make it seem like everything was good. ]]> 2023-01-05 05:35:23 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434306317 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434307260 I wonder what it was like for Americans who weren't sent to the camps who may have known Japanese citizens. Did they ever wonder where their friends ended up, how they were living, or why they were sent away in the first place?]]> 2023-01-05 05:37:03 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434307260 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434594798 I saw exactly the opposite of what the film claimed. There was no sign of people cheerfully completing government paperwork or happily cooperating with being forced out of their homes and businesses. What particularly stuck out to me was the picture of Mamoru (slide 31) because he really embodies how the U.S. viewed the Japanese Americans they displaced and imprisoned; only American when it was convenient for them to be. Mamo's father was taken away because he was considered a "dangerous" alien for teaching at a Japanese-language school, and his mother died in an internment camp. But that's fine because he's in uniform, obviously a patriotic American citizen... Even if he and his family weren't treated like American citizens.]]> 2023-01-05 12:44:23 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434594798 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434601365 I thought about how the internment camps reminded me of what we saw in Schindler's List. I don't think the two events should be equated and don't want to compare them, but the long lines of people in a deserted, flat area surrounded by wire fences are definitely observations that can be made about both types of camps which is especially interesting considering the time of the "relocation camps" in relation to the concentration camps of the Holocaust and World War 2.]]> 2023-01-05 12:51:27 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434601365 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434674264 I wonder how different media has portrayed these internment camps since the release of the film and if the government has publicly acknowledged the falsities perpetuated by the film.]]> 2023-01-05 14:02:54 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434674264 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434953988 What's being shown in these pictures looks like much more of a prison than what was described in the video. The video seemed to be trying to portray this as just a different town where Japanese Americans were moved to, but this shows people being forced to live in very squalid conditions. Something depicted in both the video and these pictures is that the children living in these internment camps were forced to undergo "Americanization", shown in the photographs as them pledging allegiance to the American flag, and consuming American media, such as comic books, likely leading them to lose some of their parents' culture.]]> 2023-01-05 17:53:54 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434953988 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434958162 Upon seeing most of these pictures, it seems like this is all pretty blatantly incarceration, and I find it amazing that the people who made the video we were shown tried to make it seem otherwise. It's also mentioned in the descriptions that the homes people were expected to live in were remodeled horse stalls, and were two rooms, which sound much more like the conditions in which prisoners would be held than adequate living conditions for actual human beings.]]> 2023-01-05 17:57:52 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434958162 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434963468 I imagine there were definitely restrictions on what she was allowed to take pictures of, so I wonder what else was going on behind the scenes that wasn't shown in either the photographs or the video created for history purposes. I can imagine that a lot of the really gritty parts of life in the camp were mostly kept under wraps by the people running them.]]> 2023-01-05 18:03:16 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2434963468 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2435309184 The picture of the grandpa teaching his grandson how to walk at the concentration camp is truly heartbreaking... they really gathered all of these innocent people for no reason and no good benefit. This is beyond alienating. ]]> 2023-01-06 03:05:01 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2435309184 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2435311071 The places the Japanese people were forced to live on was very barren, and was even prison-like like how everyone else has been saying. They were living in literal horse stalls. And for what??? This whole thing was so stupid... the more I see the angrier I get >:(. I saw many pictures of families who were sent, and saw other pictures of people doing labor in the fields and for the military. In the first section of the project, I saw kids reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as well. ]]> 2023-01-06 03:08:33 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2435311071 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2435318335 I wonder what it was like for Japanese Americans coming out of the concentration/internment camps. How did they view America after? Were there any protests against the transfer of Japanese people to concentration camps? Did anyone see the hypocrisy... and did anyone take advantage of their shops being unoccupied/things like that? Or was that at least protected by the government?]]> 2023-01-06 03:21:52 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2435318335 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2435456195 All the before pictures show Japanese families living normal peaceful lives. There are quite a few dedicated to their "American-ness", depicting them dressing in Western clothing, holding the American flag, and saying the pledge of allegiance. While moving, many of the pictures were of crowded areas and baggage. The pictures inside the camps all show desolate dusty living conditions. Many children were not able to get the resources they needed.]]> 2023-01-06 08:16:25 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2435456195 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2435459360 It's interesting to see how the Japanese had already somewhat assimilated to American life before they were incarcerated. Nothing seemed to distinguish them from a white American family. For some reason I have never seen pictures of the inside of Japanese internment camps before. The inside of the Manzanar concentration camp was disgusting, Japanese Americans were forced to pretend to live normal lives in a place not suitable for human life at all. ]]> 2023-01-06 08:22:58 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2435459360 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2435461627 Did other Americans know anything about what was going on in these camps? How were other Asian Americans treated by non-Asian Americans during WW2? Was it similar to what happened during COVID where anyone who "looked Chinese" was also blamed?]]> 2023-01-06 08:27:01 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/rxyoa4kwodzw42rm/wish/2435461627