A Critical Investigation of Diversity: Themes and Educational Implications Surrounding "The Last Samurai"

Snea Thinsan
Akiko Hagiwara

Introduction

Culture, ethnicity, and gender are the highlights when we talk about diversity, but the scope of diversity issues can go much beyond to include sexual orientation, social class, abilities, religion, national origin, and more. Strictly in the academia, diversity fits well under the umbrella of multicultural education, which is finely defined by Sonia Nieto (2002) as follows:
 

Multicultural education is a process of comprehensive school reform and basic education for all students. It challenges and rejects racism and other forms of discrimination in schools and society and accepts and affirms the pluralism (ethnic, racial, linguistic, religious, economic, and gender, among others) that students, their communities, and teachers represent. Multicultural education permeates the curriculum and instructional strategies used in schools, as well as the interactions among teachers, students and parents, and the very way that schools conceptualize the nature of teaching and learning. Because it uses critical pedagogy as its underlying philosophy and focuses on knowledge, reflection, and action (praxis) as the basis for social change, multicultural education furthers the democratic principles of social justice. (Nieto, p. 208)

This article begins by presenting two Asian views of diversity issues as reflected in the Last Samurai. It then presents the authors’ analyses of the issues that inform them about the subtle nature and limits of diversity and how to promote peaceful co-existence in the face of conflicting diversity through education. Ten classroom activities are then shared at the end.

Diversity: Personalized Definition and Issues (A Thai view by Snea Thinsan)

A personalized definition

What does ‘diversity’ mean to me?  My definition of this term is influenced by the Buddhist philosophy. The Buddha recognizes differences that inevitably exist among human beings based on their past and present deeds, or according to the karma law. Instead of emphasizing the differences, however, the Buddha sees all human beings, as well as all beings, as fundamentally equal in that they all have certain basic destiny: to be born, aged, sick, and deceased, all alike as long as their lives are continuously driven by lust, greed, hate and delusion and thus have not reached nirvana.  Differences in the Buddhist view, therefore, should not lead to tensions or conflicts because, as friends of the same fate, people should coexist to give and take in harmony so as to move toward a better future life and eventually nirvana.

Diversity, or differences among human beings, is the existing reality that we cannot avoid, but can learn to live with it peacefully. In other words, diversity exists naturally, and human beings have been living in diversity and can learn to live with it in peace and harmony, too. Yet, reality is, sadly, not quite so.

Having watched the Last Samurai, I was motivated to reflect on a few selected themes that emerged in the film: how differences among people in given societies are created, viewed, and treated in ways that bring about conflicts, common impacts on members of such societies, and lessons that we can learn from all these issues.

How differences become conflicts

Differences are inevitable, but do not necessarily need to lead to conflicts or tensions. However, an analysis of The Last Samurai can help us see the structural influences that turn differences into destructive confrontations.

Capitalism essentially was the cause of the conflicts in the 19th century Japan. The Samurai had worked faithfully to protect the Japanese Emperors for so long before the Emperor, under the influence of Western cultures and Omura, a greedy business and council member, as well as his business associates who dominated the council, decided to modernize the country. In the film, foreign experts and resources were then brought in to Japan: lawyers from France, engineers from Germany, architects from Holland, and weapons from the U.S.  The Samurai, led by Katsumoto, a main character, thought the changes were too fast and saw foreign forces as potentially harmful to Japan; thus, he led other Samurais to disrupt the process. Their actions were made to appear rebellious by Omura, who could be regarded as a representative of the capitalists in the modern world and who wished to gain wealth from trading exchanges with the U.S. and other foreign delegates.

Capitalism created consumption craze, or consumerism, in Japan to the benefit of the few powerful elites, entrepreneurs and foreigners, who were considered the sources of knowledge, wealth, threatening external forces, and owners of superior cultures. Japan, after having closed itself to the world for over a century and later found itself behind western countries who also brought around threats seeking colonials and economic gains.  Indeed, the 19th century colonialism began to disguise itself using capitalism as a tool then. Consumption of foreign goods and knowledge was evident in Japan during which era. Western clothes, watches, food, and even guns were not just normal commodities, but also symbolic representations of desired power and prosperity that the Japanese wished they had had then.

Consumerism imposed by the influx of Western cultures can be negated. The harm that consumerism brings along cannot be underestimated because consumerism is at the roots of problems not merely in Japan in the 19th century, but also in our present world. Sivaraksa (1999), a Nobel Peace Prize nominee from Thailand, defines and negates 'consumerism' as follows:

Consumerism is the personification of greed and people don't realise that one can die for greed just as one can die for nationalism. It drives a person to work too hard, to desire money and to consume. One is conditioned to think that without consumer goods one is nobody. 'I buy therefore I am' is the slogan of the modern age. We must understand consumerism as a new demonic religion and find a spiritual alternative. (p. 13)

Capitalism, the twin of consumerism, on the surface promises wealth, comfort, convenience, and material satisfaction; however, at the roots, it feeds and strengthens greed, breeds hate, and promotes delusion that other human beings are less important than personal gains.  Greedy tradesmen would do anything to get what they want, and Omura was a great example. In order for capitalism to prosper and yield him profits, he, with hate, regarded the Samurai "terrorists" that needed to be eradicated. Little did he know that getting rid of that small group of people would also mean dumping the Japanese's old virtues and ways of life. In all, we can see that greed, hate, and delusion provoked by capitalism and consumerism, create, magnify and turn differences into conflicts and lead to destruction of the weaker forces or cultures.

Familiar consequences

Under the influence of consumerism and where diversity becomes conflicting differences, the following scenarios are common in the real world, as well in the film.

Inferiority
 

Once modernized, or familiar with the new ways of life, members of the local communities usually regard the old ways inferior. Indeed, the word "modernize" implies that the old ways should be ignored, abandoned or replaced, or even eradicated. The Samurai suffered the same phenomenon, in which the ways they dressed, carried two swords, and lived their lives with the old virtues were insulted by modernized Japanese on the street and even prohibited. They were also made barbarians or savages in the mainstream society’s eyes. Freire (1970, 2002) strongly equates positioning and treating others as inferior with actions of the oppressors in dehumanizing the oppressed, and these are at the base of human problems. This is why diversity education is important. By promoting acceptance of differences without being judgmental of the different ways of life, and especially of own traditional ways, in light of the changing world, as inferior, diversity education promises a more harmonious society. Whether and how well education can function in light of the fierce power of capitalism remains educators' mission and perhaps top priority.

Marginalization/ Otherness

When conflicts of interest occur, the weaker, and usually smaller, groups are marginalized in the capitalistic world.  The Samurai's interest of protecting Japan from foreign influences inevitably clashed with that of modernized, capitalistic Japanese and of the foreigners who had entered Japan looking for sources of profits and wealth: whale oil, new market, cheaper labors, etc. 

The history of the Samurai had been rough already before this era. Being the elites, they had not been able to fit properly in the later Japanese society, where there were not wars in which to fight. They then already were the minority of the society who could not do any work considered lower than their social rank. When Japan was forced into the capitalistic track under the modernization and country unifying schemes, the Samurai became an unwanted group of people.  They were labelled as rebels, barbarians, uncivilized group, and old-fashioned, unwanted minority.

This similar scenario can be found all around the world. In Thailand, for instance, government development policies driven by capitalism have eradicated the harmony and balance of the poor fishing villagers’ traditional lives through dam constructions, just as the top-down educational policies have caused resentment in the Muslim communities along the Thailand–Malaysia borders. Sadly, some ill-informed Thais in the mainstream, modern society see the resistance by these oppressed people as hostile, unpatriotic, and even uncivilized. When money speaks the loudest at the top level where decisions and policies are made, the only way left to help the uninformed citizens is through inclusive policies and educational practices. On the surface, Thailand is believed to be a peaceful country in which differences are well mixed and tolerated; deep in the roots, however, diversity education is as important there as it is elsewhere. And this is the case in many, if not all, countries, I believe.

Domination

Power relations among the Japanese, as well as between them and the foreigners, were also very interesting as reflected in the film.  Among the Japanese themselves, we could see that the ruling class changed from the Shogun and the Samurai to be the emerging business-oriented groups.  These business-oriented people under the umbrella of "modernization" imposed, with or without their intention, new ways of living and thinking. Their voices became louder than any other voice.  They told the Japanese that Japan was modernizing itself and its promising future depended on the acceptance of foreign assistance.  What they probably did not realize was that they were imposing on the Japanese the foreign cultures and capitalism, which in turn could potentially harm Japan at least by eradicating the old values and virtues that had brought the country through its history thus far.  Imposition is a one-way, top-down approach; thus, what happened in The Last Samurai was in line with Freire's notion of "cultural domination" (Freire, 2002).  Cultural domination, according to Freire, occurs when the superior groups as outsiders impose their way of thinking and doing things on the weaker, local groups.  Domination can also come in the subtle form of cultural consumption under capitalism. The foreign outsiders do not need to do much in order for their cultures to dominate the local ones, because once the common goods and ways of operating things (i.e. uniform, weapons, experts, etc.) are accepted by the local as better or preferable, as also evident in The Last Samurai, the culture and people associated with them will automatically prevail. Ironically, The Last Samurai, a film about the Japanese's strong virtues of keeping honor, discipline, and dignity, was produced by the U.S.-based producers! Therefore, domination is a clear consequence in The Last Samurai.

Death of indigenous cultures & identity loss

The so far described scenarios can lead to the most threatening effect on the local cultures; the death of indigenous cultures. Cultural diversity that many try to promote practically is at stake if we look at how capitalism, which carries the power of the stronger groups of people and more powerful cultures, can intimidate, marginalize, dominate, and eventually destroy the local cultures under the influence of greed, hatred and delusion, the three poisons (Sivaraksa, 1999).  New, usually foreign, cultures under capitalism always flourish at the expense of the local ones. The death of the Samurai perhaps marked the beginning of the loss of, or changes in, identity among the Japanese.  Experts typically are made from foreign education and are more likely to adopt the foreign ways of thinking, expressing, and operating.

A most obvious example of the loss by the weaker can be seen in language. Increasingly, the medium of communication in local, regional, and global levels becomes the language from the dominant culture. A good example can be seen in the case of English, i.e. intellectuality and aptitude tests such as GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, for non-English speakers are administered in English. It is said enough in the literature of multicultural education that language policies and learning cultures that ignore the backgrounds of the students can put the students from the marginalized cultures at a disadvantage (See for instance, Walsh, 1996; Heath, 1999; Delpit, 2002, Corson, 2001). And now I am here as a Thai struggling to show my humble wisdom in English, having also lost my dialect to the Central Thai through the educational and other systems prevailing in the Thai society.

What do we learn from the above and other scenarios in the Last Samurai, then?

Lessons learned about “Diversity”

The Last Samurai does not provide only the typical reflections of how the world works, but it also informs us of what it takes to promote diversity in light of extreme tensions.

The first lesson is that, for people from different cultures to understand each other, it is necessary that both sides are willing to, in Kutsumoto’s words, "have a good conversation." Perhaps, Freire's dialogic approach (2002) to co-learning when outsiders are trying to make sense of a new culture applies well here. Mutual respect is the tool that two peoples need in learning about each other. In addition, keen interest in each other's culture is also very important. Algren and Kutsumoto both showed interest in and respect for each other. While Kutsumoto took Algren to his village hidden deep in the mountains, observed his movements, and read his confiscated diary to study about the new enemy, Algren had read translated books about the Samurai and, later at the village, always kept his eyes, ears, and mind open, reflected on things around him frequently, and tried to adjust.

Cultural sensitivity is perhaps another quality required for living in diversity. Observing eyes, keen ears, and open minds, therefore, are very important. Algren often showed us such a quality.  He, for example, took off his shoes entering the house after he had learned that Taka, the host, had to clean the floor messed with the dirt from his shoes.

Non-judgmental attitude is crucially instrumental for creating tolerance for diversity. The movie often presents us with the lines that reflect the characters' biases, stereotypes, and quick judgments. In reality, we can always find something to say about strangers, but time often reveals to us that we can be wrong and that our rule of thumb may not essentially apply in a different context or tradition.

A most important lesson is perhaps that, in spite of many differences, we human beings are similar in many ways.  Algren and Kutsumoto came to understand each other so profoundly because they realized that they were both, in Kutsumoto’s words, 'the students of wars."  Perhaps, instead of overly focusing on differences that we different people have, we should try to emphasize similarities in diversity promotion, too. In the Buddha's eyes, we are all friends of the same fate within the same circle and if we look closer at who and what we are, we might be surprised to see so much that we have in common.

To understand a new culture enough to appreciate its glory, Freire's praxis, which requires both critical reflections and actions (Freire, 2002), seems to be an answer.  It took Algren more than just reading books to appreciate the Samurai ways. Algren merged himself in the Samurai ways of life through praxis, that is, by living with a family, learning as a humble stranger, reflecting in his diary constantly and trying to do what the Samurai did.  Perhaps, this can encourage us, educators, to be more ambitious.  In other words, we should do more than just having cultural fairs or talent shows to promote diversity.

Another obvious lesson is the notion of language as an important tool for cultural understanding. Not only can learning a new language be a way to get closer to the people in the new culture, it is also a tool to help facilitate understanding at a deeper level. The fact that Kutsumoto could speak English and that Algren learned to speak Japanese reflect the importance of learning the target culture's language. This is not new, but do our students see the profound reasons behind learning a foreign language and do teachers see them, too?

Having watched the film several times and agreed with the first author on certain framework on which personal analysis and reflections would be based, Akiko shares her views as follows.

Diversity: Personalized Definition and Issues (A Japanese view by Akiko Hagiwara)

Diversity in Japan

What is diversity to me?  My first thought says it refers to differences among people, including economical, ethnical, or religious, gender differences, and much more.  In Japan, diversity is not frequently discussed because it is not distinctively perceived in the society.  In terms of ethnic diversity, Japan is not homogeneous but relatively less diverse, compared to the countries such as the U.S. or the UK.  One of the ethnic groups is called Ainu, who were indigenous people and used to live in the northern part of Japan.  Also, there are a great number of Korean immigrants.  Some of them were forced to migrate to Japan as labour force before World War II.  Regarding Korean residents in Japan, socially they are not clearly identified or recognized on the surface.  I learned about them in secondary school history class; however, I never knew who and where they really are.

One day, a friend from college addressed me: “To tell you the truth, I am Korean. I have hidden my Korean name so that you Japanese people would treat me equally.”  Her revelation shocked me and the phrase ‘you Japanese people’ she used was distant.  She was the first person I knew on the personal level who had been living in Japan as a Korean resident.  There is a notion that it is socially valued if you harmonize with others.  On the other hand, to be different from others is not so well appreciated.   This mentality might have caused her to hide her real name and nationality.  Her hidden efforts were to help her assimilate into Japanese society.  In this sense, the society assumes that the manifestations of ‘difference’ will gradually be replaced by the mainstream sense of identity.  My standing on diversity was something that I was rarely aware of in my daily life. 

Comparing two situations I was in gave me an awareness of what diversity meant to me.  One was being a part of mainstream culture as I was in Japan.  The other position I experienced was to be in a minority group outside of Japan.

Mainstream vs. minority

When living in Japan, I seldom perceived differences among people.  Even though the differences existed, I could not pay attention to people who were not in the same group or background.  As I was safe in my country, people who were different from me seemed invisible because the cultural norms were created by and for the mainstream. Consequently, there was little opportunity open for me to know or even hear the voices of people in different groups.

In contrast to this, after moving to the U.S., I became a member of a minority group.  A few experiences gave me impressions of being treated in an unfriendly manner for which I could not find legitimate reasons.  They made me feel that it was because I was a foreigner.  I felt powerless to do anything about it and arrived at the conclusion that the best way to deal with the situations was to ignore and to remain silent in order to avoid further trouble. 

Experiencing these two groups gave me a keen eye on how I was treated.  In addition to this, I enhanced my perception of differences among people who were all equal.  Being in a minority group, people sometimes give up their identities and marginalize them which I also felt myself doing as a foreigner in the U.S.  On the other hand, when I was in a mainstream culture, I was ignorant of those who struggled with their being seen as different from prominent groups in the mainstream.  It is necessary to raise an awareness of attitudes and views towards people’s differences.  In order to nurture this awareness, the movie, ‘The Last Samurai’ provides some perspectives which are worth considering. 

Lessons from the movie: “The Last Samurai”

The main character, Algren came to instruct Western military affairs for the Japanese government.  During a battle, he was caught by Katsumoto who was a legendary samurai warrior.  Algren was captured and forced to live in Katsumoto’s small village in remote mountains.  Algren and Katsumoto became trusted allies in spite of their extremely different cultural backgrounds.  At the end, they fought against the Japanese government together.  In the movie, certain important aspects of how to nurture awareness of diversity are exhibited.  Through focusing on the relationship between Algren, Katsumoto, and people in the village, in this section I would like to point out how they transcended their differences and then established their friendship.

Breaking unfamiliarity

When encountering a person who acts differently from your normality, it is natural that you feel distant from the person.  Unfamiliarity leads to misunderstanding among people.  Corson (2001) elaborated the notion as follows:

The more that participants in discourse are unlike one another- in their culture, beliefs, age, language, experiences, and prior knowledge-the more likely it is that assumptions made about commonality of background will be mistaken, misleading, or prejudiced. (Corson, p. 7)

Unfamiliarity and ignorance can create boundaries between groups which in turn generate mistrust, misunderstanding, and stereotype.  The more a culture or world is diverse, the more misunderstanding occurs.  In a broader sense, this misunderstanding could manifest itself outward into hate crimes. 

The movie illustrated a positive outcome that unfamiliarity and ignorance turned into appreciation.  The backdrop of the movie was toward the end of Japan’s Edo period.  In the era, there was no racial diversity due to the national policy of isolation from other countries.  People in the village where Algren was captured never saw a single foreigner.  Some of them showed animosity to him at the beginning.  By the same token, Algren was bewildered to encounter the life style and people who were unfamiliar to him. 

For example, Algren was perplexed in seeing Samurai warrior’s ritual suicide, which was based on the way of the Samurai warrior.  Samurai warriors were mysterious to him.  Before seeing them, he assumed that they were inferior to Western military both physically and mentally.  As he spent more time with Katsumoto and other Samurai warriors, Algren’s ignorance was made evident and his assumption proven wrong.  Gradually, Algren came to respect the way of life in the village and the spirit of the Samurai warrior.  In the end, he actually chose to spend his life as a Samurai warrior.  Algren’s transformation explained that he was able to see things differently through exposing himself to a life style and people that were unfamiliar to where he was from.  It made him break his preconceived notions and helped him to raise his attitudes and views with respect to difference.

Understanding different value and belief

People’s deeds are sometimes manifestations of their values and beliefs.  Only looking at the surface, we won’t be able to know the deeper meaning.  Corson (2001) pointed out that:

The reasons people give for their actions are expressions of their values and beliefs, and these things cannot be understood without consulting the people themselves. (Corson, p.6)

In the movie, there were many scenes depicting the politeness of people in the village to Algren in spite of his difference.  For example, running into him walking on the street, they bowed to him smiling as if he was a very special guest of the village.  Another example was that a widow named Taka took care of Algren despite the fact that Algren had killed her husband in the battle before his arrival at the village.  At the beginning, Algren was confused with why people, particularly Taka, was nice to him.  When Algren told her; “I… did not know he was your husband.”  Then, Taka’s belief about her husband’s death was explained by replying to him calmly; “He did his duty, you did your duty.   You are always welcome in our home.”  She was proud of how he died as a Samurai warrior.  As well, no matter who the person was, any guest had to be treated with the utmost courtesy.  Algren was deeply touched by their values and came to respect them.

It is hard to know the meaning of people’s actions if they are different from your group.  Recognizing where motivations come from enables bridging of gaps between people.  Algren’s example indicated that understanding different values and beliefs did not mean ‘putting up with’ one another, but the developing of an active and informed respect and appreciation. 

Finding commonality in differences

The last lesson from the movie is to recognize equal values/ similarity in differences.   I obtained a notion from Buddhist philosophy that no person or object in the universe exists in isolation.  All beings mutually support one another and are interrelated.  It is the natural order of things that all living beings live together and maintain harmonious relationships regardless of their conscious awareness.  If we realized that we are all interrelated, there would be certain commonality among differences.  In this sense, the significance of transcending differences will lead to comprehension of the reality of coexistence.

One scene in the movie illustrates finding equality or community in two people who may seem to be different.  Higen, whose father had been killed by Algren, had to live with Algren, which was unbearable to him at the beginning.  Through interaction, he felt closer to Algren.  The night before Algren left for a battle, they had a dialogue:

HIGEN: “My father taught me it is glorious to die in battle.”

ALGREN: “That is what he believed.” 

HIGEN: “I would be afraid to die in battle.”

ALGREN: “So would I.”

HIGEN: “But you have been in many battles.”

ALGREN: “And I was always afraid.”

Higen begged him not to go to battle.  He found out that Algren was a respectful warrior who fought for what he believed, as was his father.  He perceived a certain resemblance between Algren and his father.  In addition, Algren’s prejudged assumption towards Samurai warriors was transformed into respect for them.  Furthermore, he perceived a commonality in Katsumoto in that they were both experienced warriors with dignity.  If you have a keen eye for these differences, you can realize certain similarities among people. 

In conclusion, this movie could be a helpful resource to encourage the nurturing of attitudes and views towards diversity.  These three points I have highlighted construct appreciation in feeling grateful for our own existence as well as that of others.  Lastly, with regards to appreciation, I would like to cite one of Katsumoto’s lines which represented his view of appreciating all living beings.  He talked to Algren under the fully blossoming cherry trees:

 “Like those trees, we are all dying. The future is an illusion; our plans are an illusion, our fears an illusion.  We live life in every breath. Eat, drink. Now. Every cup of tea. Every word we write.  Every blossom we hold.”

Pedagogical Recommendations

Having shared and discussed the above issues, the two authors tried to think of some activities that classroom teachers may adopt for classroom use to tackle diversity issues. The authors intentionally leave specific details so that there will be enough room for improvisation and local tailoring.

Examining assumptions, biases, or stereotypes in the dialogs

Teachers can do several things to encourage the students to identify assumptions, biases, stereotypes, and unfair judgments from the lines used in the film. DVDs often provide subtitles in several languages, and the students can pause or jump to different parts in the film easily. They can even bookmark certain parts. The teacher can ask the students to identify prominent lines and take notes in groups. Then, the students can discuss each line and report on the summary of their discussions.   Likewise, the teacher can play the DVD with the students, pause when assumptions, biases, or any curious phrases appear, and lead discussions.

Please also note that the movie script is available online for download (Try: http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/The_Last_Samurai.pdf). 

Media analysis: facts and information from different sources

Facts in the history and what is shown in the film may or may not match. The students should at least learn to ask important questions about it. In addition, they should ask who created the film, what are their interests, whose views are more dominant and whose are silenced, and why. As part of the classroom activities, the teacher might ask the students to work in groups, asking questions of similar nature as above and find out answers from different resources and types of media: newspapers, textbooks, online resources (including movie reviews), encyclopaedia, and even experts. Once the information from different resources is gathered, the teacher can help the students analyze it before the students report their findings. The analysis can focus on similarities and differences of the data from different sources. It can also examine authors’ backgrounds, omissions and emphases in each presentation, etc.

Suggested aspects for investigation include clothing, the Samurai ways of living during the years covered in the film, the role of the emperor then, the economy, and other reform efforts. The students should be encouraged to explore these issues and use what they have learned about media analysis to analyze these aspects in the movie. 

For more ideas, teachers can consult the literature under critical media analysis. Type ‘critical media analysis’ in the search engines, and there will be plenty of examples of specific questions that can be used to guide the students’ analyses.

Movie reviews

Movie reviews can be a fun activity to help students unpack diversity issues if the tasks are well guided. For instance, the teacher can introduce several reviews easily found on the Internet or on available newspapers, drawing the students' attention to the features of good reviews. Then, the students will write their own reviews individually or in groups. The teacher can encourage integration of diversity issues into the students' reviews by assigning guiding questions to each individual or group, such as:

·        How many groups of people or main characters are in the story?

·        Whose voices are more clearly heard? Whose voices are silenced?

·        What are the conflicts? How are they resolved?

·        Who gain and who lose in the end? Is it a fair scenario?

·        Do the scenarios depicted in the film reflect facts in history?

                                          etc.

Poetry

Poetry is a great way to help the students relocate themselves and thus learn about relevant issues.  The teacher can introduce concepts about diversity to the students before allowing them to watch the film.  Then, s/he can ask each student to compose a piece of poem to reflect their positions or thoughts about diversity issues.  While one student is reading his or her poem, the other students and the teacher can ask him or her to clarify the ideas if necessary.  The teacher can ask follow-up questions that will deepen the discussions into diversity issues.

Quotable quotes

Each student chooses lines from the movie that strike him or her as interesting, thought-provoking, relevant to diversity issues, agreeable, or biased, etc.. Sharing the quote with the whole class, each student will explain why he or she chooses to present those particular lines. The teacher should facilitate the conversation and elicit opinions from other students to expand any appropriate point related to diversity.

Rewriting the ending

The students can work in groups of four to rewrite the ending to this film. Then, each group presents its version to the whole class in any possible form: presentation, drama, papers etc.  Questions and comments from the audience should be encouraged to enhance interactions and exchanges.

The missing voices

Working in groups of three, the students list all the characters involved in the film.  The teacher should encourage the students to list any party that might have been left out in the film, too.  Then, the students can work in groups to present a selected character saying out their thoughts of a particular event. For instance, Taka, might have had something to say about having to host the man who had killed her husband.  The young emperor, in addition, might have had some thoughts that we did not hear clearly in the film.  How about the citizens of Japan in that era?

Debate

The students can be assigned roles in a formal discussion or a debate.  The debate can be about any controversial issue emerged in the story. For example, in the council, members can discuss whether to modernize the country, whether the Samurai ways should be made illegal, the pros and cons of modernizing Japan by abandoning the old Japanese ways, etc.

Web inquiry project

The students can work in groups and start their projects by forming questions, searching for the answers from both the film and other resources. If answers are varied, the students must show their analyses of the issue.  To generate inquiries of different issues, the teacher can first elicit a list of general topics for concentration, e.g. clothing, communication and transportation, the Samurai culture, foreign influences, etc.  Each group, having chosen a focus, will then narrow down their questions and proceed with their inquiry.  The teacher can require each group to keep their communication logs, e.g. email messages, meeting reports, web forum records, and other evidence of their group work.  [The process is as important as the end product.]  If the teacher and the students are comfortable with web publishing tools, the reports should be made available for the authentic, worldwide audiences.

True or False: Exercise on Cultural Diversity
(Adapted from the Teacher Talk,
Center for Adolescent Studies’ website at Indiana University)

• Asian-Americans are the model minority because they all excel in school.

• For most immigrant or immigrant students, education is not a priority.

• African-American students have difficulty in school because they are verbal learners.

• American Indian Students are by nature quiet.

• All Hispanic students speak Spanish.

• Asian-American students are well disciplined and diligent

Concluding remarks

This paper has shown two Asian perspectives on diversity issues drawn from the film the Last Samurai. Although we both authors are from different Asian cultures and based their views about diversity issues on different roots, one on Buddhism and the other on personal experiences as a Japanese, we both see the need to promote diversity, limits of diversity, and the subtle nature of factors associated with diversity in reality. Despite the subtlety and obstacles at the local and global levels, we both agree that peaceful coexistence of the humankind in diversity can be promoted through education. We therefore have also suggested some ideas for classroom use. As diversity is not an easy issue, action research on how these ideas work and do not work will be an interesting task for classroom teachers. It will also be of great interest for researchers to find out whether and how much lessons promote diversity can change students’ attitudes and behaviour. Assessing the affective domain of learning has been a gap in education that needs to be filled. In the era when the clash of civilizations has led to violent and hostile atmosphere, what is more appropriate and needed than promoting mutual understanding and tolerance for diversity?

References

 

Corson, D. Language, Diversity and Education. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. 2001.

Delpit, L. & Dowdy, J. K. The Skin That We Speak. New York: The New Press. 2002.

   Freire, P. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum. 2002.

Heath, S. B. Ways with Words.  1999. New York: CUP. 2002.

Nieto, S. Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education. New York: Longman Publishers, 3 rd. ed., 2000 (first ed., 1992; second ed., 1996).

Sivaraksa, S. Global Healing. Bangkok: Ruankaew Printing House. 1999.

Walsh, C. E. (Ed.)  Education Reform and Social Change. 1996. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. 1999.

About the Author(s)

Mr. Snea Thinsan
Lecturer in English, English Department,
Faculty of Humanities, Chiang Mai University, Thailand

Snea Thinsan taught ESL to Indo-Chinese refugees in Thailand between 1987 and 1992, and has served as a lecturer since 1994 at Chiang Mai University, Thailand. His more recent teaching experiences include teaching Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) courses and Learning Strategies for International Students in the UK and in the U.S. respectively. Having been educated in Thailand, Australia, England, and now in the U.S. (Thanks to Fulbright), he has believed in the power of education as a promising path toward peace at all levels. His research interests lie where critical literacy, critical pedagogy, critical thinking, CALL, education for peace, instructional design, and TESOL intersect.

Ms. Akiko Hagiwara

PhD Candidate, Language Education Department, School of Education
Indiana University, U.S.A.

Akiko Hagiwara taught English as a foreign language in Japan. Currently, she teaches Japanese as an Associate Instructor in the East Asian Language Culture department, Indiana University. Her research interest is teacher education, in particular, foreign language teacher's professional development.

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Last update: 10/04/2008