# WWII Movie Portrayals of Japanese? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-movie-portrayals-of-japanese/519124 "2009-11-27T14:30:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-movie-portrayals-of-japanese/519124/21 "2009-12-02T17:36:08Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > The Production Code Administration had a rule against using gibberish as foreign languages; they required that all dialogue in a foreign language be spelled out in the script, with an English translation, to ensure that nothing inappropriate was spoken. Thus, for example, the natives in _King Kong_ (1933) were speaking an actual language, although I forget which. since it was a fantasy movie, with a non-existant island peopled by non-existant natives, I suspect the language was made up. But, on further review, [perhaps not.](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002751.html) ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-movie-portrayals-of-japanese/519124/22 "2009-12-04T02:48:15Z")
This sounds like the crowd to ask: Where did the bucktoothed thick glasses-wearing caricature come from? My fluent-and-literate Japanese/American student doesn’t know either. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-movie-portrayals-of-japanese/519124/23 "2009-12-04T03:07:35Z")
Not really addressing the OP but might be of interest to some people on this thread, the American propaganda film, [My Japan](http://www.archive.org/details/MyJapan1945) from WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-movie-portrayals-of-japanese/519124/24 "2009-12-04T04:28:21Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > This sounds like the crowd to ask: Where did the bucktoothed thick glasses-wearing caricature come from? My fluent-and-literate Japanese/American student doesn’t know either. Well, I don’t know about the teeth, but similar glasses seemed to have been worn by a number of Japanese politicians and officers in the period, just from the photos I’ve seen—maybe they Were The Style At The Time, or were the Japanese military’s equivalent of [BCGs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GI_glasses) or something. I always like to contrast these portrayals with some [other](http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/Enlargement.aspx?id=NT4780128&ext=1) [posters](http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/JAMES-MONTGOMERY-FLAGG-poster-print-UNITED-CHINA-RELIEF_W0QQitemZ200396607136QQcmdZViewItemQQptZArt_Posters?hash=item2ea8918ea0) from the war years. I think all that first poster lacks is a fife and a tricorner hat, somewhere. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-movie-portrayals-of-japanese/519124/25 "2009-12-04T04:43:46Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > This sounds like the crowd to ask: Where did the bucktoothed thick glasses-wearing caricature come from? My fluent-and-literate Japanese/American student doesn’t know either. I don’t know about the teeth, but Japanese leader [Hideki Tojo](http://www.cksinfo.com/clipart/people/famouspeople/political/Hideki-Tojo.png) wore glasses. [Here’s](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Tojo_like_careless_worker!.png) a wartime poster of him with glasses and a toothy grin. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-movie-portrayals-of-japanese/519124/26 "2009-12-04T05:51:05Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Here’s](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Tojo_like_careless_worker!.png) a wartime poster of him with glasses and a toothy grin. Holy crap! Tojo was a [Skrull](http://blog.theevilcollector.com/files/2008/04/20080331fskrul_article4.jpg)? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-movie-portrayals-of-japanese/519124.md?page=1)