


Copyright 1995 ABC-CLIO. This review was taken from the ABC-CLIO Video Rating Guide for Libraries on CD-ROM, a 5-year compilation of over 8900 video titles and reviews, 1990-1994. For information regarding order VRGL CD-ROM, contact: ABC-CLIO, P.O. Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911; 805-968-1911
This following text has been included in the UCB Media Resources Center Web site with the kind permission of the publishers.

Through the use of interviews, World War II footage, and still
photographs, this video effectively illuminates the fight of one
person, representing an entire race, against the US government.
The story of Gordon Hirabayashi is not so much about a man of
Japanese ancestry fighting against the injustice of being forced
into a relocation camp as it is a story of an American fighting
for his Constitutional rights.
In early 1942, unfounded rumors that Japanese Americans had
aided in the December attack against Pearl Harbor and that they
had been involved in acts of espionage caused anti-Japanese
sentiments to flare. In February 1942, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt made the fateful decision to intern more than 100,000
Americans of Japanese ancestry. Most of the Japanese Americans
obediently followed the order - only three fought it, and Gordon
Hirabayashi was one of those three.
Hirabayashi had been brought up in his Washington hometown
embracing the principles and ideals of the US Constitution. After
he was first arrested for violating a curfew against resident
aliens, and then again for defying the relocation order, his
thoughts were, "This can't happen...this is America!" The video
follows Hirabayashi's struggles all the way to the Supreme Court.
Technically, the video is very good, with clear picture and
sound. It is accompanied by a comprehensive teacher's guide that
includes a synopsis of the video, sample lesson plans, and
discussion questions.
The program compares very favorably with other videos I have
reviewed on the Japanese relocation in that it gives a good
overview of the fears and unrealized prejudices that led to the
internment as well as a lesson on the US Constitution. As the
video notes, the Constitution is not "just a piece of
paper...it's a personal matter." Individuals must strive to
uphold it and make it personal to them if it is to have any
value. Highly recommended for social studies and government
classes for junior high age and up.
A Personal Matter: Gordon Hirabayashi v.
the United States

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