Film Research Films have traditionally been utilized as tools for expressing different issues that have faced different groups of people across different historical periods and varying geopolitical configurations. Nichols contends that films, particularly documentary films, are utilized to show events and situations that are visible parts of individuals’ shared experiences (p.ix). In essence, films are utilized as tools for representing reality through highlighting the shared experiences of people and groups across historical periods and geopolitical configurations. Some examples of films that have been utilized as representations of reality is Dear Pyongyang, which was directed by Yang Yong-hi and History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige, which was produced by Rea Tajiri. These two films are from different geopolitical configurations and provide significant insights relating to family experience. Politics has a strong link to family separation and identity conflicts as shown in these two historical films.

Comparison of the Two Films

The two films i.e. Dear Pyongyang and History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige provide significant insights regarding the themes of politics, family separation, and identity. However, there are some similarities and differences between these two films, which plays a critical role in their portrayal of the different historical accounts of the different issues they address. One of the similarities between both films is that they are both documentary films that provide historical accounts of groups of people in different historical periods. Dear Pyongyang highlights the experiences of Zainichi i.e. Koreans living in Japan during the struggle for a unified, Communist Korea. History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige provides the experiences of Japanese Americans in internment camps in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Secondly, these films are similar on the premise that they highlight the impact of geopolitics on the experiences of different groups of people. Dear Pyongyang highlights how geopolitics in Korea and Japan affected the experiences of Koreans whereas History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige highlights the impact of geopolitics on the life experiences of Japanese Americans. Third, both films highlight difficulties of the main characters in tracing their personal identity amidst the challenging experiences of their families. The main characters in both films attempt to discover their personal history and identity through examining the past experiences of their families.

One of the differences between these two films relate to the cinematic elements utilized by the directors or producers of the films. In Dear Pyongyang, Yang constantly uses first-person voiceover narration rather than direct conversations with her father to demonstrate her astonishment at her parent’s convictions and commitment to the vision of a unified, Communist Korea (Koehler par, 1). The use of first-person voiceover narrations as a cinematic element for expressing her surprise is attributable to the fact that it was a means for Yang to show her respect for elders, which held at a high premium in the Korean culture. Through this process, she avoids familial confrontations, which would be considered as a sign of disrespect for elders. On the contrary, in History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige, Tajiri includes her own video footage and her mother’s recollections of the family experiences of internment. While she also utilizes voiceover narration, Tajiri relies on her mother’s recollections as the premise for highlight the experiences of Japanese Americans internment.

Secondly,...

In History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige, Tajiri relies on a variety of sources in order to develop an image where none exists. In this case, she utilizes different sources to create the documentary film including government propaganda, Hollywood spectacle, memories of real people, spirits of the dead, newsreels, and her own intuition (Women Make Movies par, 3). Tajiri’s reliance on different sources including footage filmed during World War II and footage she filmed herself in the 90s is attributable to the fact that she is interested in the idea of history and memory. In this case, Tajiri’s use of different sources helps in constructing collective memory of her family experiences, which is a critical component in History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige. This essentially means that Tajiri attempts to portray a collective memory of the experiences of Japanese American in internment camps during the Second World War.
On the contrary, in Dear Pyongyang, Yang does not utilize different sources to create the film, but simply focuses on recollections from and engagement with her parents. Unlike Tajiri who focuses on collective memory, Yang specifically focuses on her family experiences, particularly political convictions. Yang does not utilize different sources for the film since her focus is to understand how her father would value political convictions and loyalty at the expense of family unit. Therefore, Yang narrows the scope of the film to her family experiences because she was surprised with her father’s decision to destroy his family in favor of political conviction and loyalty. This essentially means that the focus of Yang is in understanding why her father would value politics so much rather than highlighting the experiences of Zainichi during the split of Korea.

Third, the two documentary films also differ in the sense that the directors utilize different filmmaking techniques. Tajiri combines memorabilia, interviews, story of her parents, and a pilgrimage to the camp in order to highlight the experiences of her family and other Japanese Americans during internment. History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige is based on a non-traditional approach since the film maker focused on recalling her family’s history and experiences during the Second World War. The non-traditional approach is evident in the fact that the documentary was experimental. In this case, Tajiri utilized footage from things that were documented during the war as well as footage from things she filmed herself in the 1990s. This presents a non-traditional approach for recounting her family’s experiences during World War II since it involved a combination of footage from different time periods. On the contrary, Yang largely relies on her parents’ recollections and her own memory to highlight her family’s experiences. Dear Pyongyang employs a more conventional approach in recounting the experiences of Yang’s family since the memories of the parents is the basis for the recollection. Unlike Tajiri, Yang does not depend on footage from different time periods, but focuses on the recollections of her parents. These recollections shape the footage of the film and help in conveying the experiences of Yang’s family.

Analysis of the Two Films

Despite their differences, the two films provide significant insights on geopolitics and its impact on people’s lives, particularly family unity and personal identity. Geopolitics is a concept that refers to politics that is influenced…