Greg Girard is a Canadian photographer who has spent much of his life in Asia. The ICF is showing his photographs of American military bases in Korea, Japan, Okinawa and other Asian locales. These photos are surprising. Though our nation has military installations in 130 countries, we never see photographs of any of them, in this "Age of Information." I was shocked to discover that actual US mailboxes stand on the streets of these bases, because technically they are "American soil." And that nowadays a PX resembles a mini-Wal-Mart. (The most insidious photo shows a man and a woman — apparently a couple — sitting on a red sofa in one of these American-style department stores at the Osan Air Base in Korea. Both are wearing Army fatigues. The woman is absolutely delighted, the man slightly guarded. They are apparently watching television. Who knew that Army soldiers went shopping in their uniforms?)
Many of the photographs are taken at night, which subtly creates a confusion over time — as if, in these lonely American outposts, day were night and night were day.
What is American imperialism? And is "imperialism" the right word? The vast majority of our 1.3 million soldiers spend their time guarding people who don’t need protection. How do the Japanese feel about this eternal "occupation" of their land? Are they relieved that they don’t need a military? Are they oblivious to American servicemen and servicewomen, as if they’re an ordinary part of life, like azalea bushes? Is the American military just one big socialistic scheme to put hundreds of thousands of unemployed people to "work"? And what exactly is that "work"? Aren’t they basically just sitting around? Why does no one ask these questions?
Greg Girard pokes his nose into these bland, lower middle-class Ohio-style subdivisions surrounded by people speaking Japanese and Okinawan. They are vaguely reminiscent of colonies on the moon. I recall the glorious covers of Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine from my youth — impossible images of undersea houses, squidlike Venusians. Our nation has become a battalion of "space aliens" invading other cultures. With aliens, the question always is: are they good or evil? Looking at these photos, I discover that I am unqualified to assess our morality. I’m torn between guilt and nostalgia, seeing little Americas constructed outside Yokohama.
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