Park,+MichelleBDSEM22011

Michelle Park

**SINO JAPANESE WAR**

1.) How are the Chinese soldiers portrayed in these prints? The Japanese soldiers?  The Japanese soldiers are portrayed as energetic, young and youthful heroic men who are fighting for their nation. The Chinese are kind of shown as barbaric man who are fat and slow.

 2.) Look at the weapons used by each side, are they different? How? Does this tell us anything about Japanese technological advancement?  The weapons used by each side are a bit different in that the Japanese seem to have weapons that aren’t that technologically advanced. (swords, etc) Also, they seem to show that the Japanese used weapons that were previously used by the Europeans. It shows that the Japanese, in a way, tried to copy Europeans in technological advancement.

 3.) Why do sports often become symbolic battlegrounds between nations?  Sports become symbolic battlegrounds between nations because they start to become competitive in sports that essentially show that a victory for their nation is the highest honor (nationalism) //Why does this matter to a people? What do they find so gratifying in the experience of witnessing their team beat another in the arena of sport?//

 4.) Is imperialism/colonialism simply about militarily and politically controlling another nation, or is it also about proving one’s self-perceived cultural superiority over another?  Imperialism isn’t simply about militarily and politically controlling another nation, but also imposing some sort of racist ideals on the people that shows that the colonized people are inferior.

**RUSSO JAPANESE WAR**

> Yes, I think artistic renditions depicted the heroics of war better because in this time period, the main goal of the media was to gather support from the masses towards this war, and show a propagandistic point of view of the nation as a whole. By dehumanizing the enemy, or showing heroic acts in battle, the whole war definitely goes easier for the civilians because they’re seeing a heroic and brave event, while the reality is really so much more horrible. Of course, photographs, which really was able to capture the essence of the horrors of war, was so much more accurate in terms of reality, and really depicted the terrible nature of war, rather than an heroic event. > > 2. **Do artistic renditions or photographs depict the horrors of war better? (Consider all photographs of war that you have seen, both historical and contemporary)** > Photographs depicts the horrors of war better because it is a more accurate representation of the realities of war. While artistic renditions show propaganda like the dehumanization of the enemy, photographs can’t really achieve a propagandistic goal other than showing people the dangers of war. > > 3. **How does the medium affect the message? Can we say that, "[T]he medium is the message"?** > I think the medium does affect the message because different mediums have different ways of portraying or communicating the message. Two different mediums may be talking about the same topic, but a political cartoon may show a bear and a rabbit fighting, symbolic of the conflict, but a photograph would show the actual people (who the bear/rabbit are symbolic of) fighting. Yes, I think we can say that "the medium is the message" because the message can really change with the changing of mediums. > > 4. **Why is 1905 such a turning point in Japanese and World history? How might history have been different had Japan lost the Russo-Japanese War?** > 1905 is such a turning point in Japanese and World history because first of all, it gives Japan the confidence to start building up on their empire. Japan had wanted to become a somewhat “European” power for some time, and the confidence that came with the pride of defeating a “European power” was immense. This also set up the stage for World War I and World War II because in WWI, Japan entered the war not because of the original causes of WWI, but because Japan wanted to gain overseas colonies from the war. Near the beginning of WWII, Japan kept feeling confident, so they tried to target Pearl Harbor because to them, conquering America would be the “ultimate” prize to them. However, this bombing of Pearl Harbor ultimately led to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If Japan had lost the Russo Japanese War, it could have saved the world from more further conflict that was caused by Japanese nationalism and their confidence. If they had lost, then the bombing of Pearl Harbor wouldn't have happened and Hiroshima and Nagasaki would be intact right now.
 * 1) **Do artistic renditions or photographs depict the heroics of war better?**

Timeline of Korean History: The Last One Hundred Years of the Chosun Dynasty Link: [] Pictures Cited: "Treaty of Kanghwa - Ask Jeeves Encyclopedia." //Ask Jeeves Web Search//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2011. . MLA Citation: "1910, Japan annexes Korea as a colony, and takes. "Japan, the West, and Korea." //Asia for Educators | Columbia University//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2011. ." "Kicking in the Door." //Korean History Project - "Where the Past is Always Present"//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2011. .