Act of War: An Inspirational Film About the True Story Behind the Hawaiian Overthrow

Prior to viewing the documentary I was unaware of the real amount of brutal force and planned scheming that took place during the overthrow. The documentary's stylized re-enactments of events, with historic quotes, really allowed audience members to understand the entirety of the events. It also provided an authenticity to the film. The hour long documentary did a good job of depicting the gradual process of how the Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown. We as audience members follow the Hawaiian people as they first make contact with western civilizations, become weaken both physically and culturally by the Westerners, and then finally become taken over by the western people.

Act of War is a documentary that was produced in association with the Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i. The film presents audience members with a very grassroot and story of the Hawaiian overthrow. The majority of media coverage given for the events of the Hawaiian overthrow did not incorporate the viewpoint of the overthrow from the Hawaiian's standpoint. For once we are able see and hear about the events from the standpoint of those who were present and truly effected the most by the events.

The Hawaiian islands were, in what U.S. President Grover Cleveland calls an "act of war," taken from the sovereign Hawaiian people. The Hawaiian people had created and lived for thousands and thousands of years in a sustainable and spiritual culture of their very own. They created sustainable economies and systems of agriculture, had their own language and practiced a unique culture.  The Hawaiian people were an established nation of their own, until the United States invaded and took their nation from them in 1983.
Segments of the documentary that include interviews from local historians and scholars Haunani-Kay Trask, Lillikala Kame‘eleihiwa, Kekuni Blaisdell and Jonathan Osorio help add and create a very scholarly and objective feeling to the documentary. The inclusion of footage from present-day events really helps to add a personal and grassroots feel to the film. The footage is raw, and a lot of times of rallies and individuals getting arrested, but audience members are shown that this is truly something that realistically affect many people.