When I checked out Letters From Iwo Jima I thought I was renting a Japanese movie. However, outside of being directed by Clint Eastwood, this film is about as Japanese as American films get. Watching this film is similar to watching Titanic in that the viewer is already aware of the tragic end before the movie begins. However, I admire Eastwood's commitment to making an authentic film from the perspective of the Japanese soldier at Iwo Jima. Although this film is a bit too intense to show to my 6th graders in its entirety, it still offers many scenes that could easily be used to support the teaching of legitimate standards. Although this movie is based on modern Japanese history, and the closest civilization I am required to teach is ancient China, a major focus of my teaching on this civilization is Confucianism.
Confucianism was developed during the Zhou Dynasty of China, which was a time characterized by much civil unrest. Confucius believed that people would return to a time of values and respect towards elders if the elders were deserving of respect. Under Confucianism, if the emperor is good to his people, then the people will be good to each other. Similarly, if the father is deserving of his family's respect his family will behave with respect and the cycle continues. This film gives great evidence of the practice of Confucianism in Japanese society because of the apparent hierarchy in the military. The central plot of the film, which uses Iwo Jima as its vessel, is that soldiers respond well to fair officers, while they respond poorly to cruel officers. This film could be used to compare and contrast the systems of Confucianism and Legalism. The correct scenes depict fair generals being respected and therefore more successful military men. Conversely, the cruel leaders, such as the man who ends up holding a mine, waiting to be run over by a tank, do not meet with honorable ends.
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