What each of the groups of people that we have discussed thus far share, is being treated with suspicion due to their societal treatment as somehow not fully belonging (here, I am talking about the Chinese in Honolulu, Koreans in Befu, and Okinawans on the battlefront). We have also seen how these people fought back at times, and at others, simply tried to carve out other socialities to survive and to live out their own ideas of abundance. We have not yet discussed place-making in terms of the creation of art, of music, of literature, etc. What place do you think that these things, which we might put together as “cultural productions,” has in analyses of the eruption of political struggle? Your observations do not have to be based on research, per se. Think about how art, music, literature, and other cultural productions have shifted your own understanding of belonging, of community, and of the kind of world you want to bring into being, in meaningful ways.
In my perspective, there is a strong connection between the “cultural productions” and the eruption of political struggles. Some people say that cultural productions are ways their creators or authors use to express their ideas, release their feelings, and reflect the social problems they or their groups face. We can see through the cultural productions to find this underlying information with the help of the authors’ backgrounds and identities. These are crucial points that have to be considered when analyzing pieces of art works, music, or literature. Therefore, cultural productions are important sources and angles we should analyze when we are studying the eruption of political struggles: reggae music is inevitably discussed when we talk about Chinese people in Jamaica, the articles of Liang and others should be analyzed when we study Chinese people in Honolulu, and the newspapers should be considered when we examine Korean people in Befu. The oppressions and unequal situations they suffered, the anger and discontent they had, the idea they came up with and shared, and the wishes and decisions of unity they possessed are all shown in those pivotal cultural productions.
Cultural productions also show the unique identities and cultures of certain groups. They may integrate characteristics and factors of different cultures. It is undeniable that they may show features of the cultures they integrate and originate from, but they are distinct, priceless, and irreplaceable. Chinese people in Jamaica had no doubt about their Chinese identities and culture, but it is also indisputable that they were influenced by the local culture of Jamaica. Reggae music is a result of the interaction between Chinese people and local people. Chinese people in Honolulu, Korean people in Befu, and Okinawan people are all have their distinct identities and cultures.
Cultural productions are also communications and bondings of people since they show identities and cultures of certain groups. Thinking about it, when colonizers got to the colonies, they first published their own laws, banned and limited the languages and anything related to the cultures of colonized people, and tried to implant their languages and cultures to colonized people. This is a kind of genocide on culture. Cultural productions which can reflect cultures and identities of colonized people were also banned and limited. Meanwhile, colonized people also used cultural productions to revivify people, remind people their identities, and call for unity.
I was raised under the influence of Chinese cultures. When I was in primary school and middle school, I was required to read, watched and taught many books, plays, and movies. Many of them are ancient and modern Chinese literatures. There were also foreign literatures. Some of them were written by Chinese writers who live and grow in other countries. Outside the classroom and curriculum, I also read and watched many books, plays, and movies which are written or produced by Chinese writers or Chinese writers who live and grow in other countries. As time passes, I can somehow tell the difference. I believe the differences were because the authors were influenced by not only Chinese culture but other cultures. Their thinking was influenced by different cultures, and their works mainly focused on people like them.
