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ANPO, ART X WAR: The Art of Resistance [Film]. Directed and produced by Linda Hoaglund; Cinematography, Yamazaki Yutaka; Editor, Scott Burgess; Music, Satoshi Takeishi, Shoko Nagai. Harriman, NY: New Day Films, 2010. 1 videodisc (89 min.) US$275.00 (Institutions/Universities); US$95.00 (Community Groups/Public Libraries/High Schools); US$80.00 (Rental). ISBN 978-1-56592-479-6. (URL: http://www.newday.com/films/ anpoartxwar.html)
Linda Hoaglund's documentary film ANPO, Art X War: The Art of Resistance is a provocative and thought-provoking examination of the politics and history of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan (ANPO) as seen through the eyes of Japanese artists and their depictions of civic protest, the American military presence in the country, and the ordinary Japanese people who have been forced to live with the consequences of this alliance. Make no mistake, this is a film with a very distinct political position: the ANPO is presented as a wholly traumatizing, destructive and negative force in Japan. As New York Times reporter Tim Weiner graphically asserts, the ANPO treaty is the equivalent of a relationship between a "prostitute" and a "pimp." In the photographs, films, paintings and interviews throughout the documentary we learn how the ANPO has bred animosity toward the US, fueled social unrest and shattered lives. Because of the treaty Japan is apparently still subject to an American occupation which began after its defeat in the Pacific War and continues in the form of military bases dotted throughout the archipelago, especially in Okinawa Prefecture. Ordinary Japanese people are portrayed as victims of the American military and their own government which, as one young artist concludes, has never really been interested in protecting the people.
Hoaglund's documentary...