6-The Massie Affair. History Movie Review assignment

The Massie Affair
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The Massie Affair
Question 1
I think the Massie affair depicted typical racial attitudes that were prevalent at the time. It was not just an extreme example. One of the interviewees in the documentary, Haunani-Kay Trask, describes how Hawaiians at the time were at the receiving end of a strong sense of racism from the military. She explains how Hawaiians were not allowed to have a government or be out and about. The soldiers who were predominantly from the Southern did not even allow the interaction of dark skin men with white women in public. Also, David Stannard, one of the interviewees, mentions that the Hawaiians had resentment against the soldiers. It is evident that there existed racial disparities between white people and people of color. After a mistrial was declared in the rape case against Thalia, Admiral Stirling sought to preserve the prestige of white people by launching a new trial against the five suspects. This “preservation of white prestige” mentioned in the documentary points it existed before the Massie Affair. When one of the suspects in the rape case (Ida) was beaten up, people behind the acts could not be identified. There was no effort in investigating his case because he was a person of color. Sometime after the mistrial of the rape case, officers wondered why Thomas Massie (Thalia's husband) had not avenged his wife. This shows there existed a disregard of the law even before the Affair.
When Grace was involved in the murder of Kahahawai, the media considered it an honor killing, although the victim is innocent....