They Called Us Enemy
George Takei, Justin Eisinger & Steven Scott, writers; Harmony Becker, artist
Top Shelf Productions, 2019
Actor/activist George Takei has been speaking in public about his Japanese American family's experience in internment camps during World War II for many years. After an opening scene depicting his childhood memory of the family being rounded up under Executive Order 9066, the scene shifts to an adult Takei speaking at a Ted talk in Kyoto, Japan in 2014. He goes on to describe how his parents met, and their early life. Takei was their first born (after losing their first child at three months old), so they named him after English King George VI.
They have a good life, but everything began to change with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack brought out irrational fears of Japanese Americans: they were described as "inscrutable" and "nonassimilable," by U.S. government officials as high as the Attorney General of California and the Mayor of Los Angeles. Eventually President Franklin Delano Roosevelt bowed to public pressure and signed the executive order.
The centerpiece of the story is the account of the family's life in the camps. It is informed by the talks he had with his father as an adolescent, and his own adult perspective. But at its heart it is his authentic childhood memories that give it its charm. As a child he did not understand the significance the event had for his parents: it was an adventure! It included the "pure magic" of his first snowfall, and a visit from Santa Claus. But there are also complications like the renunciation of American citizenship which his parents accepted during the war (thinking it would be best for the family), only to be threatened with deportation when the war was over.
Of course Takei also briefly discusses his acting career, including a humorous story about first meeting Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry (misreading his smudged note, Takei read his name as Rosenbury). He was able to use that fame to address social causes, including Congressional testimony that helped bring about the apology and reparations finally issued by the U.S. government for the wrongful imprisonment of Japanese Americans.
Apart from its appeal as memoir, Takei and his co-writers include a great deal of historical and Constitutional discussion that is likely to be news to many readers. It certainly was to me. Artist Harmony Becker illustrates it in black and white, employing a fairly basic, Manga-influenced style. It's functional enough, but some of her portrayals of historical figures are not completely accurate, which took me out of the story.
Replies
I will be buying this shortly.
I was lucky enough to see the Fathom Events presentation of the filmed stage production of George Takei's play Allegiance based upon his internment experience. I recommend this play to anyone who (eventually) has the opportunity.