Postcolonial Grief: The Afterlives of the Pacific Wars in the Americas

Jinah Kim explores Asian and Asian American texts from 1945 to the present that mourn the loss of those killed by U.S. empire building and militarism in the Pacific, showing how the refusal to heal from imperial violence may help generate a transformative antiracist and decolonial politics.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 200 pages
Publication date: 01 February 2019
Publisher: Duke University Press

In her groundbreaking work, Postcolonial Grief, Jinah Kim delves into the intricate relationship between mourning, transpacific subjectivities, aesthetics, and decolonial politics since World War II. Kim posits that Asian diasporic subjectivity is intricately linked to the afterlives, as the deaths inflicted by U.S. imperialism and militarism in the Pacific remain unresolved and unacknowledged. Through her compelling analysis, Kim demonstrates how primarily U.S.-based Korean and Japanese diasporic writers, artists, and filmmakers navigate the complex realm of necropolitics in Asia, employing their creative resistance to heal from the wounds of imperial violence as a catalyst for transformative antiracist and decolonial politics.

Kim challenges prevailing interpretations of melancholia by engaging with the decolonial writings of Frantz Fanon and Hisaye Yamamoto. She uncovers the profound connection between the noir genre and the U.S. war in Korea, shedding light on the silenced narratives of colonialism that emerged during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Furthermore, she analyzes the 1996 hostage takeover of the Japanese ambassador's home in Peru, providing a critical lens through which to understand the complexities of mourning and historical memory in the transpacific context.

One of the key insights offered by Kim's work is the profound impact of the aesthetic and creative work of the Japanese and Korean diasporas on our understanding of twenty-first-century concerns surrounding the state's erasure of military violence and colonialism. Through their artistic expressions, these diasporas offer a unique perspective on the difficult task of remembering histories of war across the transpacific. By highlighting the complexities of mourning, resistance, and resilience, they contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the ongoing legacies of colonialism and its impact on contemporary societies.

Postcolonial Grief is a seminal work that challenges our assumptions about mourning, subjectivity, and decolonial politics. Through her meticulous research and thoughtful analysis, Kim provides a rich tapestry of insights that shed light on the complex dynamics of power, memory, and resistance in the transpacific. This book is a must-read for scholars, artists, and activists who are committed to exploring the intersections of race, history, and culture in order to build a more just and equitable world.

Weight: 306g
Dimension: 154 x 229 x 10 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478002932