Last evening I watched Rodgers and Hammerstein’s movie “South Pacific,” which was made after the successful run of the musical stage production on Broadway. I actually saw this movie many years ago when it first played in theatres, but I didn’t grasp the real meaning at the time.

The show is a romantic enhancement of one of James Michener’s short stories in “Tales of the South Pacific,” which loosely chronicle actual events in World War 2 against the Japanese. 

By todays entertainment standards, this movie may be thought of as maybe quaint or trite or even sappy, but at the time it was quite revolutionary because it dealt with Caucasian beliefs and attitudes concerning people of other cultures and races. Until July 26, 1948, the US military was segregated and many southern states were also segregated until well into the 1960s. Remember, this was first on the stage in 1948 and then in 1958 in theatres all over the world. Before and during the civil rights movement.

The meaning of this story was summed up in one song sung by the character Lt. Cable, two-thirds of the way through the show. The lyrics “you’ve got to be carefully taught” succinctly capture how people’s attitudes about those who are different from them are formed.

It’s too bad the lessons of tolerance and acceptance have been lost on so many persons around the world and in this country today.

Ken Kaiyala
6-30-19