A Town like Alice

All I was saying- and again, same with the Book Thief- I perceived the film differently 55 years later. I felt aspects of the film I had not seen at the time. No-where am I demeaning the suffering of those women and children and thousands of others.

But do not deny that the lifestyle and standards of those women were not vastly different to the local people and most Japanese at the time- very privileged in comparison.

As we saw too in 'Tea with Mussolini'.

M0nica

*Callistemon*, I was not referring to anyone on this thread, more the current fashion in blaming every one alive now from any country involved in slavery for what happened several hundred years ago. I am not talking about all the complicated issues around that subject, but silly simplistic blaming of the present for the past.

Have you got the wrong poster, M0nica?

My post to you said:
Thank you for that perspective, M0nica.

I think many who endured and survived rarely spoke about the atrocities.

M0nica

*Callistemon*, I was not referring to anyone on this thread, more the current fashion in blaming every one alive now from any country involved in slavery for what happened several hundred years ago. I am not talking about all the complicated issues around that subject, but silly simplistic blaming of the present for the past.

Yes, got it now, sorry.

Yes, I agree with that post too especially silly simplistic blaming of the present for the past.

We can look on the past with a different perspective but cannot change what happened.

Kali2

I'm not sure who you were referring to in your OP

Much more aware of the arrogance and superior attitudes of the colonialist 'invaders', and felt moved to tears by the plight of the Japanese soldier who had to accompany them. Very moving.

Were you unaware of the atrocities that the Japanese 'invaders' perpetuated?

jabberwok Of course Ronald Searle was a prisoner of the Japanese and took a huge risk keeping his drawings hidden. One of them was of a pair of kittens that they later had for dinner.

Yes I know about the kittens. On the face of it it sounds a hideous thing to do, but to those of us who have never even remotely experienced what, these men in particular, went through and and that they were starving in the literal sense of the word, not the way we glibly use it if we miss lunch by a couple of hours. Eaten alive by insects, riddle with Cholera, Malaria, Berri Berri and more besides, as well as being worked to death, beaten and tortured. My stepfather suffered from bouts of Malaria all his life, its horrible. I wonder which one of us would have behaved differently?

Kali you are judging the past by the standards of today. The behaviour and wielding of authority by British colonials was no different to the way their local leaders spoke or behaved or the way that people in charge behaved in the UK.

It was an age when anyone with any kind of authority spoke as an autocrat and expected to be obeyed. We talk about an age of deference and those 'below' deferred to those above

Many of us older members remember head teachers who ordered people around and spoke down to anyone they thought below them and of people not daring to question authority, however it came; doctors, teachers, ministers, 'the boss', a solicitor.

Many of us may have had parents who were in service too.

Most children left school at 14 and were sent away to work in The Big House or even further afield.
Some who had spirit and a sense of adventure escaped and perhaps joined the Forces where they came up against the Sergeant Major or the Chief.

I remember head teachers being terrifying.