Movie Review Essay Sample: The Apology (2016) Critical Analysis

The documentary, Apology (2016) is a classic film that focuses on historical and social issues that have been inflicted on people especially women in the past (Hsiung, 2016). The film is in entirety a review of thousands of women who were used as sex slaves and euphemistically called "Comfort women" by the Japanese military during the Second World War. The documentary is merely a fantastic avenue where women, currently in their old age, were abused during the war, can let off the pressure and the guilt and make their predicaments known to the current government and even to the current citizenry of the country. Therefore, sexual abuse of women in colonial and military activities should be addressed for the case of their protection in the future.

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The main dwelling of the film is in the "Comfort women" who are essentially sexually abused women (Hsiung, 2016). Sexual abuses on women have been witnessed since time immemorial not only in Japan but also in other parts of the world. The reason as to why women are abused is because they are seen weak. They are normally used as agents of pleasure by their masters because they are weak and cannot be used to any other duty (McSheffrey, 2016). The sexual abuse of women in Japan during the World War is not new or any different from other abuses that have been witnessed in the past. There have been various instances where women have been used as agents of pleasure against their will. There is, therefore, need to address historical abuses of women as pushed by the documentary. The women appearing in the film express their pain under the violation of the Japan military since they were young and distanced from their families (Knight, 2016). Thus, as part of protecting women rights, there is a need to address historical abuses of women.

Digby (2014) writes about love and war and how military events shape the sexuality of the military to the detriment of women. In times of war, masculinity and femininity are seen to be waging sides. Since the most significant part of the military is made of men, they are subject to view women as feeble (Digby, 2014). Presumable enmity is seen between men and women especially those who are in the military. Most men who are in the military have a feeling of supremacy as expressed in the film. In the film, it is the extreme power that the military has that made them believe that their soldiers needed extra comfort while they were at war (Hsiung, 2016). Unfortunately, the extra comfort they desired was from young women. The basic need of the women featured in the documentary is that the government addresses such historical abuses and makes plans against such offences in the future (Knight, 2016). Past crimes on women should thus be fixed if there is going to be deterrence of such abuses in the future.

There are thousands of unaddressed colonial issues as presented in the film. In the film, more than 200,000 young girls were used by the imperial Japanese army. The film not only unfolds the historical abuse of women but also shows family disintegrations that followed and consequent lifelong suffering (Hsiung, 2016). Grandma Cao of China for instance, in her fading health, expresses that she does not care so much about the shame of how she spent her entire life. She is however horrified by the fact that she does not have a family that she can relate with and engage in active talks and receive care from. Giving firsthand information regarding her experiences, Grandma Cao believes that it would only be justified the colonial masters apologized and streamlined more colonial matters like family disintegrations (Hsiung, 2016).

Hsiung (2016), documentary lastly reflects on how quintessential it is for governments to revisit historical injustices, apologize and make necessary remedies to those who were affected by previous governments. The plea of the grandmothers in the documentary, for instance, is just simple; an apology from the Japanese government (Knight, 2016). The women whose lives have been destroyed by the imperial government of Japan feel that it is the responsibility of the people of Japan to apologize since the imperial government executed the crimes with authority from the then government (Hsiung, 2016). Therefore, the film dwells in a healing and reconciliation agenda whereby the Japanese government ought to make substantive apologies to the affected women and probably remedy them for the afflictions they were taken through, Unfortunately, very little effort has been seen from the government concerning apologies which is the reason they are mad at the government. Therefore, it is necessary that the government of Japan makes candid steps in apologizing and condemning of future military abuse of women.

Conclusion

The film offers an emotional presentation of women who have been sexually abused by military officers in the colonial times. It essentially presents a weak population that was taken advantage of by the military officers. War and increased military activities make women susceptible to sexual abuse just like the women highlighted in the film. The film presents a universal need to address issues that were humiliating during colonial times and offers a chance for governments to learn that there is a dire need for them to make reconciliations with people whom their imperial powers offended.

References

Digby, T. (2014). Love and war: How militarism shapes sexuality and romance. Columbia University Press.

Hsiung, T. (2016). The Apology. (2016, July 6). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcKJ-ewysUI

Knight, C. (2016). Japan's 'comfort women' - sex slaves used in WWII - demand The Apology.

McSheffrey, E. (2016). Documentary on WWII "comfort women" reflects National Film Board's commitment to gender parity.