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THEN THERE WERE NONE (TV)

Summary

This critical documentary looks at the history of Hawaii through the use of archival footage and testimonials from displaced elders. The film opens with a title card that simply states: "1778: Over 500,000 Pure Hawaiians." Over still photographs, the film's director and narrator, Elizabeth Kapu'uwailani Lindsey, then discusses the arrival of Christian missionaries in the late 1700s. The missionaries, she explains, brought countless diseases with them and began colonizing with no respect for the local culture or history. Another title card then appears: "1821: 230,000 Pure Hawaiians." Some seventy years later, Lindsey states, the foreigners took over the territory in a bloodless coup. The Queen was dispossessed, and the United States Congress annexed Hawaii as a U.S. territory. "1893: 40,000 Pure Hawaiians," reads the next title card. The American leaders closed sacred beaches while building hotels and resorts -- and completely excluded native Hawaiians from any political or social decision making, viewers learn. In 1959, Hawaii became the fiftieth United State. Hollywood, Lindsey explains, built an image of the Hawaiian people as simple and savage, and movies mocked such aspects of the culture as the hula, a holy dance. Another title card appears: "1959: 12,245 Pure Hawaiians." In the 1960s, the American Military began to use the unpopulated areas of Hawaii for the testing of bombs, and the cost of living in the state rose to heights untenable for most natives. By 1993, Hawaii was reporting statistics on infectious disease that rivaled those in most third-world countries. "1993: 8,711 Pure Hawaiians," another card states. Lindsey tells viewers that President Bill Clinton's 1995 bill to restore many of Hawaii's holy lands was a step in the right direction, but the film ends on a somber note, with a final title card that reads: "By 2044, there will be no pure Hawaiians left."

Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 2000.

Details

  • NETWORK: PBS
  • DATE: November 30, 1995
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:27:20
  • COLOR/B&W: Color and B&W
  • CATALOG ID: T:60949
  • GENRE: Public affairs/documentaries
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Hawaii - History; Hawaiians; Imperialism; Asian American Pacific Islanders Collection
  • SERIES RUN: PBS - TV, 1996
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Jwa Buyers … Executive Producer
  • Drew Matich … Co-Executive Producer
  • Linda Camara … Producer
  • Martha G. Noyes … Producer
  • Rob Robinson … Producer
  • Elizabeth Kapu'uwailani Lindsey … Director, Narrator
  • Don Wilkerson … Music by
  • Bill Clinton