Yellow Peril
How are Yellow Peril stereotypes and their evolution through the twentieth century used in this film? are there representations of capitalism? Any interracial romances?
sharethe Japanese are shown for the evil they were, at least, at that time, and leading up to that
no representations of capitalism (it didn't exist there), though some rich industrialists are shown, but are in league with the military
no interracial romances, or romance or love (except of the emperor & country/race) are shown at all, it shows their culture, beliefs, and plans for world conquest, as they believe they were commanded to do by their gods and early rulers
Do I read you correctly, you think that capitalism did not exist in WWII or pre-WWII japan? You had better go crack a history book. There are very good ones written about Japan by English speaking and writing authors, as well as excellent books written by Japanese authors in English or translated into English.
Two terms that I suggest you seek out are Zaibatsu and Sogo Shosha. In a sense they are synonymous, but they are used in different contexts.
We (the United States of America) helped to create the Japan that attacked us and brought us into World War II. When Commodore Perry visited Japan in the 1850's, exercising 'gunboat diplomacy,' he forced them to realize that cocooning themselves from the rest of the world throughout the early 17th through mid-19th centuries had caused their technological and social stagnation while the European powers far surpassed them. They then undertook desperate efforts to catch up by copying the western powers. Unfortunately, as they copied the technology, ideas, and international politics, they did not recognize that the politics they copied were obsolescent. They attempted to become a 19th century style colonial power at the same time the 19th century colonial powers were being forced through disastrous wars to recognize that colonialism no longer worked. Combined with anti-Asian racism in the west and the Japanese lingering feudalism led to an international outlook that doomed Japan to charge into disaster. At least, that's my opinion.
Looking back on it in hind sight, I cannot see how it could have happened differently. In the case of Germany, I can see that some miracle might have produced an enlightened peace conference that did not scapegoat them for the Great War. Yes, they fought with a particular level of ruthlessness and they invaded a neutral country to pursue their strategy, but the 19th century, the international treaties, and the von Schlieffen Plan combined to ensure that there would be war, that the war would expand to a global scale, and that Germany would take a huge role. Perhaps something could have happened that would have us view them with more sympathy and the French with less. Japan, on the other hand, seems to have been doomed by the development of the Tokugawa Shogunate in the early 17th century.
The best diplomat I know is a fully charged phaser bank.