istinctions drawn between Eastern and Western peoples. These were exaggerated to produce a core set of characterisations thus creating a stereotype. The physical/biological faults used in this imagery were intended to represent the shortcomings of the Japanese. Through the mediums of film and print all things Japanese were branded as small minded, treacherous and a generally inadequate. The flaws were portrayed in terms of a national character meaning that they were to be applied to the Japanese as a race, not as individuals. This thinking led to the dehumanisation of the Japanese by the West and undoubtedly accounts for much of the ferocity that marked the Pacific Theatre. Furthermore this theme would not only allow the civil rights of thousands of American citizens to be ignored it would also lead the American population to tolerate the targeting of civilians during the final stages of the war. This would, of course, ultimately play a large role in the decision to use nuclear against a people that were deemd unfit to live....
