Movie Monday: "Cats of Mirikitani," a film by Linda Hattendorf, 2006.

I saw this documentary several years ago and then rediscovered it again this last weekend. The messages of this film, for me, stand as an important reminder not only of significant events in American history, but also as a mirror for our preconceived notions on the stories of the countless homeless.

The film takes place mainly in Manhattan over the course of a couple years, beginning in late 2001. Tsutomu Mirikitani lives along a wall near a Korean Market on McDougal and Prince Street, creating artwork each and everyday. His mobile studio includes pens, crayons, chalk and paints, and his canvases include cardboard and scrap paper. With the events of September 11, 2001 breaking around him, he continues doing what he does best, creating memories through artwork. Shortly after 9/11, Ms. Hattendorf invites Mirikitani to stay with her for a period of time, to avoid the choking dust and debris still permeating the air around the World Trade Center site.

Over the course of the film, Hattendorf uncovers more and more details of Mirikitani’s life, including his birth in Sacramento, California and experience growing up in Hiroshima City, Japan. He returns to the US shortly after the opening of World War II. In his early twenties, and as a lawful US citizen, Mirikitani entered Tule Lake Internment Center in Northern California, where he signs a government document revoking his US citizenship. The film follows not only the story of his relationship with his new friend and documentarian Ms. Hattendorf, but also unveils some of his backstory that led to living on the streets in NYC.

The important messages of this film not only center on the plight of the mobile homeless, which continues to be an issue for social services nationwide, but also a reminder of the dark times in US history and of justice deferred. Far too easy to dismiss the internment of Japanese American citizens during WWII as history and not applicable today, one need only review the rhetoric of political demagogues against our Muslim citizens to realize such events could repeat themselves. Mirikitani expresses his anger and lingering, seething disgust at the events of World War II, and memorializes his experience in the internment camps through his artwork. He neither asks for nor wants anything from the US government, even as Ms. Hattendorf and her team work tirelessly to recover Mirikitani’s citizenship information and secure more public assistance for him in his advanced years.

The latter part of the film is lovely, as Mirikitani and Hattendorf slowly bring his story into the present moment, and realize that he is not alone in this world. Over time, family members are found and Mirikitani sees opportunity to work past what happened, and truly begin to see his life in the present moment.

Nancy Wong via WIkimedia Commons

"Janice Mirikitani in front of the International Hotel in San Francisco, January 1977"

The film is not always easy to watch, particularly at moments when Mirikitani’s cantankerous attitude aims at the filmmaker. I sometimes felt like Mirikitani didn't appreciate some of the kindnesses the filmmaker expressed, but after realizing his long history of being outside normal social channels, I feel more kindness towards his perspectives. Even though he sometimes criticizes the filmmaker’s decisions, once reprimanding her when she goes out to a movie and comes back to her apartment far later than expected, he does so because of worry and care for the young woman. Other moments legitimately made me tear up a little, particularly when the film explores recollections of the camp experience and of lives lost.

I encourage everyone to check out this film when given the chance. It is rather short and moves along at a good pace. It successfully introduces audiences to one story that helps humanize the events against Japanese American citizens during WWII that may only be known through textbooks. It also humanizes the ongoing social issues surrounding homelessness and our own personal notions of just who the homeless are.

Purchase "The Cats of Mirikitani" via Amazon

Mixed Bag Monday

Here's a compiled collection of stories that peaked my interest over the last week, with a little of my own comments on the significance of the stories.

By Staff Sgt. Teddy Wade, via Wikimedia Commons

Jessica Sanchez sings during the National Memorial Day concert in Washington D.C., 2012.

Jessica Sanchez Performs on American Idol Season Finale - Exposure is important for the Fil-Am community in the US, especially when it has been so easy for Fil-Am narratives to be written out of history and current events. Hardly anyone knows about the other half of the labor strikes of the UFW were Filipinos. While I may not agree with all of Jessica’s mannerisms, I believe any positive exposure that makes people go “Wow, where did this person come from?” And maybe ask a few questions about the person’s background, especially if they are Fil-Am, helps introduce a different perspective to people who otherwise may not know about the Fil-Am communities across the country. This, coupled with the growing exposure on television, help recover and incorporate the Fil-Am experience into the American experience.

By yeowatzup from Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany (Sunset, Bohol) via Wikimedia Commons

Sunset in Bohol

State of calamity declared in Bohol Due to Drought/ El Nino - The drought here in California has been quite disruptive to nearly all areas of life, from agriculture to commerce and the daily habits of its residents. While it seems like the new norm is water conservation (it’s not a bad thing!), I think it is important for people in the US to remember that global climate change is not limited to one or two nations, but is truly a GLOBAL condition that needs to be examined by all governments, collectively. At times, when agriculture sustains people with very tight margins for failure, it is all the more important for everyone to do what they can. While the California Drought may not have the same effect as it does for the people in PI, where “more than 40,000 farmers in 27 towns in Bohol, known as the rice bowl of Central Visayas, are facing hunger and loss of income,” its effects are seen in the reservoirs and lakes across the state.

Watch Policeman Teach A Homeless Girl To Play Hopscotch to Pass the Time - Sometimes it is too easy to see the negative in life, especially when those who are sworn to protect and serve display pockets of deplorable behavior, and outright murder, on specific ethnic populations. This is a short video about a non-violent experience with a police officer. These kinds of scenes are played out across the country all the time, but are rarely reported in mainstream media. This needs to change, and I watch videos like this and remember that, while not EVERYONE acts as they should, the police officers are, in general, positive presences that do the best they can seeing the roughest parts of our society everyday.

CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=865798

Chicken Adobo with Rice and Beans

Edible Cutlery - Conservation and light consumption has always been an important part of my outlook on life. This novel kind of solution to overconsumption and unthinking waste displays the ingenuity and value in finding plausible solutions for a growing global population. Particularly in places like the US, Japan and India, where utensils are used and disposed of heavily, these kinds of potential answers helps to reduce the burden on the environment and on production of these disposable products.

By Alexander Klimov at de.wikipedia (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Guy Fawkes Mask has become a common representation of the Anonymous group

Voter Data Breach - I sometimes forget that everything placed on the Internet, or transported through the Internet, has the potential for being stolen or accessed by unwanted parties. In this case, the hacker cooperative Anonymous broke into the Philippine Commission on Elections website and reported on just how easy it was to access sensitive information. It appeared that some voter information was saved in a simple text file. “The breach contains the records of 1.3m overseas Philippines voters, including their passport details; it also includes 15.8m fingerprints,” according to the article. On a wider scale, this points to the fact that whenever information is given freely to another entity, be it a private company or a public office, it has the potential to be stolen. We all have to be careful with the data we share, and demand stronger protections from businesses and organizations that legitimately access and use our information in conducting their affairs.

Gun Battle Against Extremists - The global community must realize that the threat of extremism is not isolated to countries in “the West.” The threat of extremist behavior is not an East-West dichotomy, but a global phenomenon that points to the problems of HUMAN civilization. Here, in the volatile southern region of Mindanao, Philippines, Western Mindanao Command soldiers clashed with Aby Sayyaf Group extremist soldiers, the results being 18 dead government troops and 5 casualties on Abu Sayyaf forces. While it has been popular among politicians in the US to claim that extremists like these are conducting a religious holy war against Christianity and “the West” because they hate our culture and our freedoms, I would argue it is far more a symptom of the great global disparity in access to economic and basic, fundamental needs, but also the ongoing negative impact of the United States’ involvement in other countries. These extremist activities are far more inspired by the political and economic interests of the leadership, who layer their rhetoric with religious absolution for the consumption of the undereducated soldiers who ACTUALLY fight their battles. I believe education and understanding would go a long way in lessening the appeal of extremism for many underrepresented populations. If the religious extremist groups are the only ones who seemingly offer their family a roof and regular meals, how could a soldier refuse?