Script Farewell Manzanar (1 results)

Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki, with James D. Houston and John Korty. Farewell to Manzanar screenplay, 1975, documents the translation of Japanese American incarceration experience into widely circulated visual narrative during the postwar period of increased public reckoning with World War II civil liberties violations. Adapted from Wakatsuki Houston's 1973 memoir, the screenplay presents the forced removal and confinement of a Nisei family at Manzanar War Relocation Center following the issuance of Executive Order 9066. The text situates familial dislocation, identity conflict, and state authority within the lived experience of incarceration, including the destabilization of family structure, the emotional decline of the father, and the enlistment of a brother in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Produced at a moment when Japanese American narratives were entering educational curricula and national media, the screenplay provides primary evidence for the study of how wartime incarceration was reframed for public audiences in the 1970s. Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki, with James D. Houston and John Korty. Farewell to Manzanar. Screenplay. June 4, 1975. One script housed in a blue plastic three ring binder with front and back cover pages; approximately 177 pages; measures about 8.5 x 11 inches. Title page marked "#70" in pencil; cover page bears a label with the film title. The screenplay follows Jeanne Wakatsuki's childhood experience beginning with her family's removal from Santa Monica, California, through confinement at Manzanar and eventual postwar resettlement. Narrative elements include tensions surrounding Japanese American identity, the father's imprisonment and subsequent emotional deterioration, and the family's effort to reconstruct life after release amid persistent anti Japanese prejudice. The screenplay corresponds to the 1976 film adaptation starring Pat Morita and James Saito, which received two Primetime Emmy nominations and was awarded the Humanitas Prize, reflecting its role in shaping public understanding of incarceration history. Its emergence in the 1970s aligns with broader movements for redress and historical recognition that culminated in federal acknowledgment of injustice in subsequent decades. As both literary adaptation and production document, the script supports research into Asian American history, memory studies, and the institutionalization of incarceration narratives in education and media. Minor pencil markings to cover and title pages; otherwise clean and intact; overall very good condition.