Analysis Of War Without Mercy: Propaganda During The Pacific War

War Without Mercy: Propaganda During the Pacific War Most of Dower’s book is centered on the racist beliefs between the Americans and the Japanese. These beliefs were heightened during WWII with the Pacific War in December 1941. The book shows the Americans view of the Japanese as well as the Japanese view of the Americans and the differences between their propaganda. I think the main difference is that Japanese propaganda is not as degrading as American propaganda.
The Americans viewed all of the Japanese as Simian creatures derived from apes. They used derogatory names for the Japanese such as Japs or nips. Jap was a shortened version of Japanese, but it was also meant to be a pejorative term. Nip is the shortened version of Nippon, which
started to prepare their troops for war in the Pacific by creating a propaganda film called Know your Enemy: Japan, which was produced by Frank Capra. The film gave an overview of the Japanese religious beliefs, customs, and history. It even included original Japanese footage (Dower, 2006, pg. 19). The propaganda film also described the concept of Gyokusai, which meant to die heroically in battle rather surrender (Dower, 2006, pg. 232). This is another reason that the Japanese seemed so “nonhuman,” because the film made it seem they wanted to die in battle. The film said that the spirit of the Japanese who died in battle were enshrined in the Shinto Yasukuni Shrine (Capra,
American propaganda mainly focused on tearing others down, while Japanese propaganda was mainly based on building Japan up. Dower said, “Racism in the West was markedly characterized by the denigration of others, the Japanese were preoccupied far more exclusively with elevating themselves (pg. 205).”
Another difference between the two country’s racist propaganda and beliefs was that Americans viewed all Japanese as bad ape-like creatures, whereas Japanese propaganda usually only represented the leaders of Western countries as demons, such as president Roosevelt or prime minister Churchill. Maybe the Japanese thought that there was such a thing as a good American.
Overall, Japanese propaganda may be a little more moral than American propaganda. Both countries however, still used some of the same wartime techniques such as degrading others, praising their selves, and committing atrocities. Racism and propaganda helped fuel the Pacific War, as well as many other wars, and helped the soldiers justify the deaths of the opposite