The
documentary style movie “Our School” had a profound effect on me
as a viewer and got me thinking about the importance of nationalism
in the lives of individuals. I've come to realize that nationalism is
something most of us take for granted. I believe that for the
majority of people, myself included, being surrounded by family and
loved ones is the most crucial component of happiness. I had believed
that no matter where you were in the world as long as you were well
surrounded, you would be content. I now see that I was wrong as I've
taken for granted the importance of being able to identity with
greater society and belong to a larger group of people. Seeing the
students and teachers go to school everyday in order to preserve
their cultural and national identity despite threats from Rightist
Japanese extremists made me see the nationalism I take for granted.
Similarly
to the director I was shocked by the change I saw in the students of
the 12th grade after they returned from their visit to
North Korea, the fatherland. It seemed to me as though they were no
longer eagerly searching for their nationality but had suddenly begun
to identify as North Korean by constantly singing North Korean songs
and joyfully discussing the trip. The new distance the director now
felt between himself and the changed students was a distance that I
also felt. Given the current media attitude towards North Korean I
was initially in disbelief at the fact that they had enjoyed their
trip. A feeling that I later felt guilty for as I realized, from the
students' footage of the trip, that their love for North Korea was in
the human connections they made with normal, kind people, which the
media is to eager to demonize or victimize to create a certain image
of North Korea.
In the
end, this documentary left me with more questions than answers and
many strange emotions. Why were there more North Korean students in
the school than South Korean? Was this simply because of the location
of the school or is it that more North Koreans immigrated to Japan
than South Koreans? Is preserving national identity more important in
North Korean values? Why did the South Korean government wait so long
before funding the school?
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