Unfinished Business

Although Steven Okazaki's Oscar-nominated 1984 documentary Unfinished Business examines events from the 1940s, one can trace eerie parallels to contemporary America. In 1942, the federal government, operating under Executive Order 9066 signed by President Roosevelt (but never authorized by either Congress or the courts) ordered the mass arrest and deportation of Japanese-Americans to armed camps in desolate parts of the country. Although there was no actual evidence of traitorous activity in this demographic, the powers-that-be felt that the relocation of law-abiding citizens was in the best interests of national security. Three men—Gorden Hirabayashi, Fred Korematsu, and Minoru Yasui—refused to obey the government's orders for relocation, were arrested, and spent their postwar years trying to overturn their original convictions, ultimately taking their fight all the way to the Supreme Court some 40 years later. While the film is 20 years old, one can't help but notice how history is repeating itself as our government stirs up partially-ethnic-based fear while simultaneously rewriting laws to suit its own agenda. DVD extras include the deeply disturbing archival propaganda film “Japanese Relocation,” which details how the U.S. government sold its egregious relocation policy to the general public. A stirring, powerful, and timely reminder of government abuse of individual freedoms, this is highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (P. Hall)