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Kevan: How I Relate to They Called Us Enemy

As a Caucasian, Canadian citizen, there is little of my own experiences that I can find in They Called Us Enemy. I come from a place of great privilege as a result of my heritage, and am lucky enough to have not faced any racially-rooted hatred or aggression that people of colour face daily. The closest comparison I can draw between myself and Takei’s childhood was that both were spent in varying degrees of poverty; even still, my own family was not imprisoned or treated poorly because of our heritage, so the comparison remains tenuous at best.

George Takei has long been a personal hero of mine, though I owe this to his homosexuality and outspoken stance on equality; as a gay man myself, he was one of the first celebrities I knew of that unrepentantly chose happiness out of the closet. Just as his experiences as a child influenced his strong political presence as an adult, his presence and pride went on to influence me as a child. It wasn’t until much later that I realized his status as a Japanese-American man was also of import; to child me, he was just “that Star Trek guy who likes men too”. Maybe in future generations, the optimistic future that George envisions for America and the world will truly come about; a future where every child is as privileged as I was.

- Kevan

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They Called Us Enemy: Action

Much of the Action in They Called Us Enemy comes in the form of Takei’s recalled memories of his time in the internment camps. From comparatively small plights - like being tricked into yelling Sakana Beach at American guards, provoking them into chucking stones at him - to broad-scale brawls and grave injustices. As the memoir is told purely through a combination of George's eyes and what he learned later second-hand, the most startling action occurs far from the camps; the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Despite the physical distance between the Takei family and the explosions, the memoir does a masterful job of showing its very real effects on the interned Japanese. Having lost his aunt and cousin in such a horrifically violent way sends ripples of fear and despair through his family, most notably his mother. Superimposed imagery of burnt corpses and solemn-faced prisoners help portray the earthshaking repercussions of the war even on those far from the fighting.

- Kevan

https://www.popmatters.com/they-called-us-enemy-takei-2639781227.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2

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They Called Us Enemy: Outstanding Scenes

Of the Takei family’s struggles, there remain those scenes which hit particularly hard to a modern reader. One such example is when a Japanese prisoner-organized protest turned violent while George was still a child (pages 139-145). The dust flies as people are beaten, arrested, and carried off; George himself narrowly escapes getting hit by a jeep thanks to his father’s timely intervention. It was only later that George learned the protest was in response to the unlawful arrest of a man deemed a “radical”. The scene helps cement in the reader the genuine danger faced even by children during the chaos of the times.

Another particularly potent scene involves Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt arriving at the Adlai Stevenson For President campaign headquarters (pages 180-182). George himself is star-struck by her presence, and only regrets that his father had felt ill and gone home before they could meet. The scene itself seems fairly innocuous at first, with George commenting that it was only later that he realized his father was not ill. Rather, his father couldn’t bear to shake hands with the woman whose husband had imprisoned their family. It is a scene that reveals the bleak truth of a world where people are corralled into stables like animals; one where a first lady makes rounds to the very people her husband dehumanized, and is celebrated. The scene also helps to make clear the many scars that the internment camps left on Japanese-American people of all generations.

- Kevan

https://www.amny.com/entertainment/george-takei-harmony-becker-they-called-us-enemy-1-34950911/

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Emily: How I Relate to They Called Us Enemy

I am a very mixed-race woman who is part of the LGBTQ+ community. Although I feel I appear predominantly white (and the Chinese side of my family agrees), there are many friends of mine who are white and think I look predominantly Asian. I am white as well, as I am Croatian and some other sort of white though I don’t know what type, so I believe although I am a person of colour, I also come from a place of privilege. In the past few years, I also found out that I am indigenous as well, as my grandma’s birth parents and adoptive parents were part of native heritage as well. This all goes to say that I don’t feel as though I’ve fully fit in anywhere.

When I was at school as a kid, I was the “Asian kid” who is nerdy and weird. When I’m at home, I’m the “white girl” who doesn’t fit in because I wasn’t taught as much Mandarin as I was English, so I can’t follow along as well in my family’s conversations. Even my sibling is my half sibling, a full Asian as he is both Thai, Laotian, and Chinese, so he can’t relate to my whiteness regardless of the fact that he was born and raised Canadian as well.

Although for most of my life I felt out of place and as though I wished I was born either fully white or fully Asian, I’ve recently come to love the hodgepodge of various ethnicities that make me, me. As I stated, I come from a place of privilege, so I’ve never faced prejudice as harshly as George Takei has. I’ve had prejudiced comments aimed at my sex, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation (both from straight and gay people). I’ve learned, however, to embrace the weird combination of otherness that I am comprised of, as it gives me a perspective that not many people have a chance to see. I can empathize with communities of all sorts of variety and allow people to witness a middle ground or see things from the “other side”. Like Takei, I can, have, and will continue to use my voice to speak out on difficult topics regarding oppression when no one else seems to be willing. Because of these traits, I am the intersectional feminist that I am, and can come from a place of love instead of hostility. I think that is the biggest message that I resonate with in this memoir.

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They Called Us Enemy: Title Significance

They Called Us Enemy is an attention-grabbing title for certain, and for many that may seem the only reason for Takei’s decision to use it. However, one can find many nuances to the memoir’s title that speaks to some of the work’s broader and more hidden themes alike.

The primary purpose of the title is to establish a clear line between They and Us in the context of the injustices Takei faced. They are the white American citizens and government that imprisoned his friends and family; the very same friends and family - even his entire racial background - that comprise the Us of the memoir.

This is no tale of clean borders like those one might expect from a war; this is a story of how the American people turned against its own in barbarous acts of racial prejudice and paranoia. The tragedy of Takei’s history lies in the fact that They chose to draw a distinction at all - they are all American, after all - leaving the Us to suffer at its own governments hands.

- Kevan

https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=slj-talks-to-george-takei-interview-they-called-us-enemy-graphic-novel-graphic-memoir

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They Called Us Enemy: Voice and Tone

As a graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy presents an awful chapter of American history in a unique manner. Told primarily through the eyes of a childhood Takei, much of the atrocities and injustices that the book portrays are colored by his youthful naiveté, painting things in perhaps too optimistic a light. Crammed into trains at gunpoint, supervised by armed guards and barbed wire, a young George saw the early stages of his imprisonment as an adventure. When told by his father that they were taking a vacation, child George accepted this at face-value, only slowly coming to terms with the fact that his family were being victimized as the months of “vacation” dragged on with no end in sight.

Interestingly, the memoir is framed as a TEDx talk made by Takei in 2014, and thus superimposes his modern mindset and views over his childhood ones. While Takei details the rage he had in his teenage years against the injustices he and his people had faced, he also explains that, despite everything, he still loves America. In this way, his optimism has changed shapes, but not intensity; Takei believes that - while outrages still occur all the time in modern America - the victims no longer stand quite as alone. He believes in a “changed America”, where outpourings of support and cries of justice now meet the injustices faced by disenfranchised peoples, where America was once broadly united against his entire heritage. While he admits the Utopian society of Star Trek is still a ways off, he genuinely believes that one day, a world without racism or prejudice will exist.

- Kevan

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/i-am-an-optimist-george-takai-talks-human-rights-and-graphic-memoir-1.5268094

https://www.ted.com/talks/george_takei_why_i_love_a_country_that_once_betrayed_me

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They Called Us Enemy: Characterization

http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-they-called-us-enemy/#gsc.tab=0

As the story is told from George Takei’s childhood perspective, there is a bitter feeling when he states his excitement of “going on vacation” when his parents know the truth and gravity of their situation. The change in his tone between child, teenager, and adult also give the audience a clear view of someone coming to terms with the trauma they’ve endured, as they go from naive, to frustrated, to resilient.

We get to see the differences in priorities from character to character as well. For his parents, their main focus during the entire internment experience was to keep their kids as safe and happy as possible. To his father, that meant ensuring the community as a whole is united and has what they need. To his mother, that meant packing emergency snacks and a sewing machine so their kids would be able to clothes and food when they are hungry or stressed. To Takei as a teenager, however, any sort of compliance was degrading to the family as a whole, because he did not understand what it meant to care for a family of your own.

Even in their later years, Takei’s father was still unable to fully come to terms with the past as he refused to meet Eleanor Roosevelt, as her husband is the one who allowed the imprisonment of his family in the first place. His father bore responsibility deep in his heart as he never truly forgave himself even though he did what he thought was the best course of action at the time. 

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They Called Us Enemy: Purpose

Beyond just a retelling of his childhood and career, They Called Us Enemy serves a noble purpose; the education of the masses who might seem unfazed by American President Trump’s actions regarding minorities and immigrant families in the United States. For some, the detainment of families and separation of children from their parents doesn’t cause them to blink an eye; to George Takei, these actions seem far too familiar for comfort.

Takei, on his appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, referred to Trump presidency’s actions as a “grotesque new low” for American treatment of its peoples. To Takei, one of the rare comforts he had during his life as a prisoner in his childhood was that his parents were with him throughout the ordeal. Comparatively, separating parents from children - sometimes even failing to find the right children to return to the right parents - is a fresh horror that invokes in him - and much of the world watching - a reminder of the evils of America’s past.

Launching this graphic memoir in such a political climate was no mistake; Takei is famed for his role in activism and pushes for equality, and he could no more sit by while these crimes were committed than he could forget his own suffering at American hands.

- Kevan

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2019-08-22/george-takei-they-called-us-enemy-memoir-japanese-internment

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/08/trump-migrant-detention-camps-george-takei

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They Called Us Enemy: Social/Cultural Context

At the time of release, They Called Us Enemy had a strong, significant message to tell at a time where various minorities needed it the most. The memoir focuses on the western concept of us vs them, or orientalism, as if you are perceived as different from the standard, you will be targeted. This concept was, and still is, especially relevant as transgender people were banned from the military, the black community is under constant threat by police, Mexican people being unable to seek asylum in America, and Middle Eastern people being blatantly bullied in public for being Muslim.

I’d suggest that, to the Asian community, this book is more relevant than ever now during the COVID-19 outbreak, as East-Asian people everywhere are being targeted for no reason other than appearing Asian. Anyone who appears East-Asian to the White eye is labelled Chinese, and thus at fault for the spread of the virus. When Chinese celebrities offer aid to western countries, people remark that they don’t need to be thankful as they should “take responsibility” for the virus in the first place. Donald Trump continues to refer to the virus as the “Chinese Virus” although the World Health Organization stated that labels like those would only incite racism and hate.

The context of Asian-American discrimination, or more broadly, the discrimination of all minorities, may have changed, however, the outcomes will remain the same: with the segregation and oppression of those communities. In order to combat the ongoing hate in the current world, people of all backgrounds must practise intersectionality to ensure the safety of all our neighbours.

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George Takei: Career Highs and Lows

While it can be said that George Takei is far-and-away best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek: The Original Series (first appearance 1966) - and it is true that Takei himself saw landing the role as a great opportunity, being where his career truly took off - his acting career went through many hills and valleys before he graced screens in the iconic series.

His on-stage work on Fly Blackbird! brought him to a rally on June 18, 1961, where he met, shook hands, and exchanged pleasantries with Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself; Takei would later claim in They Called Us Enemy that this meeting would stoke the fires of his activism that his father had lit in him. It also instilled in him a sense of the power that a person’s words and charisma could have, inspiring him to later use his position as a respected actor to vouch for equality in the American climate.

Takei also made many cameo or guest appearances - comparatively small-time roles - in television shows such as Playhouse 90 (1959), AA Majority of One (1961), The Twilight Zone (1964), and Mission: Impossible (1966). While far from a genuine “low” - Takei had a rather successful career even in his early days - many of these roles hinged rather pointedly on his ethnicity. In this way, such roles represent a low for Japanese-American representation in media, where most were simple token characters introduced to make a point.

- Kevan

https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/examining-the-non-star-trek-roles-of-george-takei/

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They Called Us Enemy: Structure

The storyline in They Called Us Enemy jumps between the 1940s and 2017-2018. The majority of the book follows a linear timeline as we get to see George Takei’s childhood depicted as his family was moved from camp to camp, but occasionally there would be moments where Takei is presenting his truth in a Ted Talk to a massive audience. He is also shown meeting highly influencial political leaders as well such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Bill Clinton. The choice to go from depicting a young boy and his family living in an overcrowded stable to a successful, powerful man shows the importance of participating in your legal system in order to make changes. The choice to go from one oppressive, demeaning storyline to another storyline where it shows Takei thriving and successful shows extreme contrast and gives readers in similar oppressive situations a sense of hope that so long as they don’t give up, they can thrive as well. At the end of the book, he quotes Barrack Obama, saying that history is a manual to not repeat the mistakes of the past, which ties the structure of the memoir together. So long as people remember and hold the past close to their heart, solidarity will arise to ensure that the same atrocities would never be committed again.

https://www.npr.org/2019/07/17/742558996/george-takei-recalls-time-in-an-american-internment-camp-in-they-called-us-enemy

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They Called Us Enemy: Historical Context

Much of what makes They Called Us Enemy so potent as a graphic memoir is its unrepentant detailing of the oft-forgot but tragically real history of racism against Japanese American citizens. As the memoir recalls, Takei spent the formative years of his youth facing indescribable acts of racially-oriented segregation and “detainment” (unlawful imprisonment). As a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Takei’s family and neighbors - as well as people of Japanese heritage from all across America - were forcibly removed from their homes by armed guards and crammed into prison camps across the country. The incredible paranoia and thinly-veiled racism that Pearl Harbor brought to the surface of the American mind colors every page of Takei’s memoir, just as it did his life. Seen through the eyes of a child, the reader gets a unique view on racism and how great acts of ethnically-focused hatred can be stoked by war. 

With Pearl Harbor as the catalyst, They Called Us Enemy shows us, the readers, a world of prison camps and poverty, of unity - and division - within a people oppressed.

-  Kevan

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2019-08-30/review-they-called-us-enemy-by-george-takei-memoir-internment

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They Called Us Enemy: Reception

On release, They Called Us Enemy received overwhelmingly positive feedback as there was lots of hype surrounding George Takei’s upcoming graphic novel. It received an average of 4.5/5 stars on GoodReads with almost 11,000 ratings and 5/5 stars on Common Sense Media. The book is primarily used to educate young teenagers on America’s history. Within 10 days after release, it was already considered a New York Times best-seller with signings of the book selling out completely twice, and quickly rose to #1 on Amazon’s list of graphic novels.

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Del: How I Relate to They Called Us Enemy

In a very tame sense compared to the memoir, I can relate to subjects of  immigration, discrimination, and shame. 

Immigration

I was born and raised on the island city of Singapore, and my family moved to Canada when I was twelve years old. We migrated partially because my father is Canadian, but also because my parents sought a different way of life; to get away from the hustle and bustle of an urban environment. The move was hard for me, but I can understand it from my parents’ perspective. The school system was quite competitive, and they would frequently see me busy with homework or extracurricular activities, with little time to “enjoy life”. They decided to move to a small town in Ontario in hopes that I would have more time to “be a child”. My brother was two years old at the time and they considered his upbringing before migrating as well. While I do have family in Canada, the town we moved to was quite far from them, and in the beginning felt very isolating. It truly felt like I had gone where no one had gone before, and had difficulty adapting to this new life.

Discrimination

The major theme of They Called Us Enemy is racism and discrimination, specifically referring to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and the current situation with Muslim bans and border detainment in the United States. As a person of mixed race; it’s complicated. I look Asian to non-Asians and white to Asian people. Because of my looks and my Singaporean upbringing, I’ve endured a fair amount of racially-based jokes and comments. While this is much more tame than George’s experience, I do feel that jokes based on disparagement humour are not funny at all, and was able to find this article by Thomas Ford (a professor of social psychology at Western Carolina University) that does a good job explaining how these “jokes” can foster more prejudice against marginalized groups. In high school, I also worked part-time at a family-run Chinese restaurant, and have had to deal with customers yelling at my boss “go back where you came from” because an item they wanted wasn’t on special. Discrimination and racism comes in many forms, some a lot less obvious than others, but all with a similar intention.

Shame

On page 140 of the memoir, George covers why many Japanese American citizens from his parents’ generation don’t like talking about the internment because it was such a traumatic experience. This trauma left them “anguished by their memories and haunted by shame for something that wasn’t their fault”. In my senior year of high school, I was sexually assaulted. The memory of that plagued me for years, and I was similarly haunted by feelings of shame. I wasn’t comfortable talking about it at first, and saw a few councilors since regarding issues stemming from that trauma. In the same panel, Takei says, “shame is a cruel thing. It should rest on the perpetrators... but they don’t carry it the way the victims do”, which is an incredibly true and powerful statement. Any form of trauma takes a lot of time to heal from, and there will always be an emotional scar. I know for a fact that the perpetrator in my situation will never have to experience the level of shame, guilt, and disgust I felt for years after that incident.

- Del

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They Called Us Enemy: Use of Colour

A short post this time about the use of colour in They Called Us Enemy. Aside from the cover pages, there was no use of colour throughout the memoir, other than using shading and tones to imitate colour. The style was kept simple with clean lines and a monochromatic colour scheme (black, white grey). It seems this was done to draw more focus on the dialogue and seriousness of the topic of the memoir. The illustrations are expressive and done in a style inspired by Japanese manga; both a nod to George’s Japanese heritage as well as a good way to welcome more readers. Another reason colour could have been left out of the memoir is due to the fact that the majority of it is set during World War II and Takei wanted to preserve the integrity and history associated with a monochromatic colour scheme. Little focus in put on the art style of They Called Us Enemy, which in my opinion is good, because the majority of the focus is on the topic of racial inequality and injustice. I did find a small review from The Comics Journal that briefly mentions the artist of the memoir, Harmony Becker, and her multicultural upbringing. In an interview with Harmony, she doesn’t mention colour, but mentions that George remembers his time at the camps vividly, down to the exact layout of the barracks.

To summarize, there is a distinct lack of colour in They Called us Enemy to encourage readers to better focus on the dialogue and the relevance of the topic of racism.

- Del

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They Called Us Enemy: Imagery

Throughout Gorge Takei’s graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy, a lot of meaningful imagery is used to depict the happenings of George’s childhood in internment. Imagery was used to better communicate with readers and provide a sense of immersion. I’ve listed the moments I felt had the most powerful imagery that not only added to the narrative, but also offered some insight into Takei’s personality. All images attached are sourced directly from the memoir!

George Takei’s TEDx Talk

The first moment where the memoir felt impactful due to its imagery is on page 9, where it reveals George Takei standing on stage, delivering a TEDx Talk in Kyoto. I thought this was smart to include as modern audiences are generally familiar with TEDx Talks, thus grounding readers in the present. It’s safe to say that many readers of They Called Us Enemy likely have never experienced internment or racially-based discrimination to the level that George Takei has. Because of the unfamiliarity, it’s easier for audiences to distance themselves from the memoir, thinking of it as “just a story”. Adding the familiarity of the TEDx Talk stage and grounding readers in the present adds an aspect of sobering reality to Takei’s memoir. This also strengthens Takei’s message to learn from history; the fact that he’s writing this memoir and talking about his internment experience calls out that wrongful prosecution is still a relevant social issue in America today. Throughout the memoir, panels frequently return to the image of George delivering his talk, doing well to remind readers of the present setting and keep us grounded in reality. I was able to find a video of George’s TEDx Talk, “Why I Love a Country That Once Betrayed Me”!

Image: Page 9 of They Called Us Enemy.

Immigration and Star Trek Comparison

On pages 10 and 11, George introduces us to his parents, Takekuma and Fumiko Takei. He talks about immigration and compares it to one of the most recognizable lines in Star Trek, “To boldly go where no one has gone before”. This also shows George’s wit, as many immigrant families migrate to seek a better future for themselves and their children. George even says in his TEDx Talk (video linked above), “I am the grandson of immigrants from Japan who went to America, boldly going to a strange new world, seeking new opportunities.” Immigrant families usually abandon the life they once knew and leave relatives behind to start their new lives in an unfamiliar country. “To boldly go where no one has gone before” is an epic line that captures the essence of the immigrant experience.

Juxtaposition of Family Christmas and War

I’m not sure if this was intentional, but I thought this was an extremely well thought-out page arrangement in They Called Us Enemy. It’s the holiday season and the Takeis are shown preparing for family Christmas on page 14. It’s a happy and tranquil scene; Silent Night is playing on the radio as the family spends time together at home. Their peaceful evening is soon interrupted by a broadcast announcing the attack on Pearl Harbour. Immediately, the following page is filled with images of war. Planes in the sky and ships on fire as war is declared on Japan. As a reader, it felt horrifying to witness the sudden change in atmosphere, which makes me reflect on how the Takeis must have felt at that time. This clever arrangement shows how fast things can change, and how the peace the Takeis knew is so suddenly shattered and filled with anxiety for the future.

Image: A snippet from pages 14 and 15

Spring 1942

Citizens of Japanese descent arrive at Santa Anita Racetrack on page 31. The scene is busy and hectic. Families are trying their best to stay together amid the chaos. This panel, depicting soldiers standing among normal citizens, starts to clue readers in to the theme of dehumanization. That these citizens were treated like livestock by the American government, with little respect for their humanity.

A Moment of Solidarity

While on the train, George peeks through the shades at their surroundings and spots a group of black Americans (page 63). He makes eye contact with an older man, creating a moment where the reader feels like the two share a look of solidarity. Both from communities being heavily discriminated against, except George is too young to understand his situation while the older man has gone through too much. This moment also brings readers into the present, bringing up more social issues of injustice in America. 

This injustice and racially-based discrimination is brought up again near the end of the memoir. From pages 196 to 202, Takei talks about the muslim bans and the discrimination of South Americans in the U.S. and how this is a similar situation to the internment of Japanese citizens. Page 197 shows a child crying while being detained, presumably separated from their family as one of the captions reads “June 2018″. Takei writes, “old outrages have begun to resurface with brutal results”. This imagery prompts readers to reflect on current events as America repeats its mistakes of the past.

Image: A panel on page 197

Sakana Beach

At the camp, some older boys trick George into shouting “sakana beach” at the guards, which sounds similar to foul language in English. Not understanding why the guards got mad at him, George asks his family what “sakana beach” means. Takekuma and Fumiko are puzzled as they try to work out the meaning. The imagery used during this scene adds some humour to the memoir, showing Takei’s love for jokes. Three consecutive panels show Takekuma puzzling through the meaning of “sakana beach”, with beach scenes and fish appearing behind him as he thinks/visualizes the phrase.

Image: Page 90

Last Pages

Readers are presented with a powerful visual at the end of the memoir- a full page dedicated to a memorial. This is out of respect to the lives lost, and citizens like Takekuma who never got to hear an apology for their mistreatment. There is no text on this page, leaving the image of the memorial to generate feelings of awe, shame, and reflection within the audience as they take in the page. This is soon broken up by a small graphic of Fumiko’s purse on the following page containing her sewing machine from one of the more humourous moments in the memoir. These pages do well to show George Takei’s serious message and personality as well as his more humourous side. The sewing machine in the purse also holds significance as symbolism of his parents’ sacrifice for their family and to keep a sense of “home” no matter where they went. The graphic is also there as a show of gratitude to his parents for their actions.

Image: The last pages of the memoir

- Del

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They Called Us Enemy: Themes

Racism and Injustice/Discrimination

A big overarching theme of They Called Us Enemy is racism and injustice since this memoir is about George Takei’s childhood spent in an internment camp. Here are some examples from within the memoir that show this theme well:

1. Exectutive order 9066. 

The internment of citizens of Japanese descent occur due to the enactment of executive order 9066. The order authorizes the military to declare areas “from which any or all persons may be excluded” and to provide living necessities for excluded persons. While not outright declaring to exclude people of Japanese descent, it “quickly became obvious” (23) as shown by a sign reading “to all persons of Japanese ancestry”. This went on to drive Japanese Americans out of their homes in over a hundred districts.

2. Racial Slurs

Throughout the memoir, citizens of Japanese descent are referred to as “Japs” by the people of America. The term is used in a derogatory manner, meant to put down the reputation and individuality of these citizens. These slurs are also used to give the Japanese-American citizens a sense of “otherness”, to make them seem foreign in order to distance/outcast them from society. Even the government uses this slur to refer to the citizens; General John L. Dewitt, commanding general of the western theater of operation says “a Jap is a Jap” (111).

3. Dehumanization

Tying in with the use of racial slurs, the citizens of Japanese descent are often treated with little regard for their humanity. They were treated more like livestock- made to sleep in cramped stables, tagged (as seen on page 36), and forced isolation (e.g. soldiers making them draw the shades while on the train so people wouldn’t have to look at them).

4. Internalized Racism

This treatment of citizens with Japanese descent condition them to internalize a lot of the discrimination they experience to the point where they (especially the younger ones) start to feel shame and reject their own heritage. This is especially obvious on page 82, where George and Henry witness two older boys at their camp “playing war”. One of the boys pretends to be a (presumably white) American soldier, and the other boy is a Japanese soldier. They pretend to attack each other with “guns” (twigs) and the Japanese soldier always loses. We witness a moment where the boy playing the American soldier yells “die you Japanese cowards” at the other boy. Takei creates this moment where readers feel uncomfortable witnessing these young boys begin to hate who they are due to the discrimination they face for being of Japanese descent. Another less intense example of this is George’s interaction with “Santa”. At a community Chistmas gathering, George encounters one of the adults dressed as Santa and deems him to be fake, the “dead giveaway” being that “this ‘Santa’ was Japanese” (107), implying that by default, the image of Santa Claus is that of a white man. Here is a good article by Donna K. Bivens that breaks down the concept of internalized racism and the impact it can have.

5. Rejection From Society

They Called Us Enemy does a good job of showing how the Japanese citizens are rejected from American society during World War II. Men of Japanese descent who try to fight for America in the war are turned away despite their gestures of patriotism, and soldiers of Japanese ancestry were required to surrender their weapons and position. Senator Tom Stewart says, “They cannot be assimilated. There is not a single Japanese in this country who would not stab you in the back” (111). This shows the narrow mindset of the government as well as their own backstabbing nature of turning their backs on innocent citizens. As stated by George Takei about citizens of Japanese descent, “That their government presumed they had any racial loyalty to the emperor was both insulting and infuriating.” (112) At the camps, internees are also provided with a questionnaire asking them to state their loyalty. This questionnaire is unfair to the internees and backs them into a corner. Either they pledge their loyalty to a country that did not hesitate to discriminate against them and prosecute them, or pledge loyalty to Japan and justify their own imprisonment. As stated, “either response would be used to justify our wrongful imprisonment” (115).

Parental Love & Community

Parental love and community is a less prominent, yet present and important theme in They Called Us Enemy. Takei describes the great efforts his parents put into keeping their family together and to provide for George and his siblings, as well as how members of their community banded together to help one another during tough times. 

1. Parental Love

Despite the uncertainty of their future and the stress of wrongful prosecution, Takekuma and Fumiko do a wonderful job keeping a level head in their situation for their childrens’ sake. They also make many sacrifices for their kids, Fumiko filling her bag with treats for George and Henry, as well as bringing water canteens for the whole family to ensure they had safe drinking water to consume (as seen on pages 48 and 49). She also packs her sewing machine secretly, in order to make clothes and homely items for the family. The sacrifices made by Takekuma and Fumiko create a nurturing environment for their children despite the awful situation. George acknowledges this on page 49, writing “this made for two starkly different journeys: one, an adventure of discovery... the other, an anxiety-ridden voyage into a fearful unknown”.

2.  Importance of Community

In the memoir, George mentions the community at every camp they visit. At Santa Anita Racetrack, a concerned neighbour helps the Takeis when one of the children falls ill. Many members of the community are shown to be helpful as opposed to competitive in this time of crisis for them. They even gather to organize a Christmas gathering to help lift spirits during the holiday season, including a guest appearance from Santa for the children. The important work put in by the community and friendly trust helped keep morale up for internees.

Activism

1. Platform

George Takei is known for using the fame that comes with his career in acting as a platform for activism and equality. In the memoir, George frequently has after-dinner talks with his father growing up, and “it was those after-dinner talks with (his) father that informed so much of (his) worldview” (196). Their conversations would usually cover the topics of their wrongful internment and various politics, which George would get passionate about. George talks about the unique opportunity presented with the role of Hikaru Sulu; to represent his Asian heritage with honour. In a panel, George says, “my unexpected notoriety has allowed me a platform from which to address many social causes that need attention” (198). Here is an interesting article and interview with Takei about his experience with acting and activism.

2. Radicalized Camp Men

While the Takeis are staying at the Tule Lake relocation center, a group of camp men decide to radicalize themselves because they didn’t see the point of being compliant if they were going to be treated like the enemy anyway. In their own way, these men were activists for their own cause.

3. Democracy

In one of George’s after diner talks with his father, he realises that he’s been participating in democracy his whole life. Takekuma tells George an important statement, “it was important to exercise our right to assemble. Send a message that we were united as a group and opposed to their actions” (145). This shows that activism can come in many forms.

Healing and Reconciliation

Themes of healing and reconciliation are also touched upon in the memoir. This is most addressed on page 193, which shows the President apologizing on behalf of the country; saying “no payment can make up for those lost years... we admit a wrong: here we reaffirm our commitment as a nation to equal justice under the law” (193). Unfortunately, Takekuma passed before he could hear the government’s apology, but George quotes him as saying, “the wheels of democracy turn slowly” (193). 

- Del