Reaction - Act of War - The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation

The 1993 film, The Act of War – The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation, I thought was definitely a compelling yet devastating documentary about the annexation of Hawaii from the Hawaiian’s point of view. The documentary told the story of Hawaii’s history from pre-Western contact up until the annexation through many old photographs, voice-overs (as if Queen Lili’oukalani, King Kalakaua, etc. were speaking), interviews by well-educated scholars, stage reenactments of the event, etc. This documentary was definitely important especially for the Hawaiians to know the genealogy and make sense of what Hawaii had loss many years ago. I thought it also impacted people more especially since it came out on the anniversary when this tragic event happened. 

Up until now, I never actually learned much about the overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy simply because they never taught about Hawaii’s history in my secondary school. Watching this documentary, The Act of War, and learning what happened 120 so years ago is very fascinating to know the history of Hawaii considering HPU is so close to where this whole event took place. I never really noticed how much history surrounds me until I saw this documentary. In the beginning of the documentary, a woman speaking to a crowd says, “We are not American. We are not American. We are not American. We will die as Hawaiians. We will never be American” was a very powerful start to go into the history of Hawaii’s annexation. The overthrow of Queen Lili’oukalani was definitely a great tragedy for her and for her people. I felt that it was unethical that the US American troops trespassed on Hawaiian soil prepared to threaten to take down the monarchy when they had no right to do so (violation of international law).  It was disappointing to know that they took away everything from the Hawaiian nation – their land, their monarchy, their culture, their language, and their independence. To have all those things stripped from you – not being able to speak your native tongue, being taught to be ashamed of your culture, and letting America do what they want with their land completely sucks. Due respect for Queen Lili’oukalani though for keeping her composure to ensure that her and her people were safe from bloodshed and still fighting and hoping for the US to restore her back to her throne. 

All in all, for what Hawaii is now, I think that the Hawaiian culture (learning the language, the history, etc) should be more emphasized in elementary, middle, and high schools not just an option to take classes learning about it in college. Also, what’s left of Hawaii’s sacred land should be left untouched to still keep the beauty of Hawaii for what there’s left of it. There’s so much Hawaiian history and Hawaiian culture that surrounds us and people should learn and know about it.