The title is misleading, however. At first glance one would assume that it is about the Battle of Saipan during World War II. It isn’t. Instead, Vanguard has chosen to take an in-depth look at “Saipan’s globalization success story,” and how it has had “one of the fastest economic collapses in history.”
A teenager may wonder why a topic such as this is not being taught in an NMI history course. I certainly wondered that.
“What’s happening in Saipan,” says the show’s host, Adam Yamaguchi, “is an extreme compressed version of what’s happening elsewhere in the U.S. and in the world. Like a lab test of what globalization does for good and ill.”
Vanguard shows early on why it deserved its Peabody Award. It jumps immediately into an objective view of Saipan’s early economic boom. It cited the good intentions of local leaders that wanted to create an industry for themselves, as well as the backlash Saipan received from mainland garment factories. Never once did the documentary pick a side and religiously defend it. The fact that Vanguard did nothing of that sort was surprising, as I am not accustomed to hearing objective explanations about Saipan and its garment industry.
Midway through the video, the documentary begins to shift in tone. It starts to focus on Saipan’s economic prosperity to its economic ruin. Another main highlight of the documentary is the level of prostitution on Saipan.
Vanguard provided an insightful and informative explanation of why Saipan is what it is today.
For the youth who want to remain on Saipan and help shape its future, it is important to understand the past. Do a quick Google or YouTube search and look for Vanguard: the Battle of Saipan. One can also go to www.current.com/shows/vanguard and look for the Battle of Saipan there.
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