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On "a Movie"...

Ever watch Steven Spielberg's movie, "1941"? It's hilarious!

Quick summary, it's 1941 and America is on edge because of the recent bombing of Pearl Harbor. The entire West Coast, and especially LA, is convinced that Japan is going to invade. Slapstick hilarity ensues as people panic, thinking there was a "Jap" soldier under every rock (which of course there wasn't).

But wait! There actually was a Japanese submarine lurking offshore, with inept officers and an inept German officer on board, observing the coastline. They were there to "destroy something honorable" in Hollywood.

The Japanese submarine did manage to torpedo...a Ferris Wheel.*

But in the end, it was the societal panic that caused the real damage: LA downtown destroyed, Hollywood damaged, anti-aircraft fire lofted all over the city at a civilian airplane (and a pursuing P-40 Warhawk, both shot down, one crashing into La Brea tarpits; a home shot up by the homeowner himself using an anti-aircraft gun to the point where the homes slides into ocean. All this damage, except for the Feris Wheel, was caused by the local population riots and panic.

Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, John Belushi, Toshiro Mifune, Robert Stack, Slim Pickens...and many others. It is *well* worth a watch if you've never seen it.

But it's craaaaaaaazy out there. Crazy that people would panic like that and destroy their city -- and economy.


* On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 authorizing the military to remove enemy aliens from the West Coast. Japanese residents of Los Angeles were given a 30-day eviction notice to evacuate. Then, on Feb. 23, 1942, a Japanese submarine surfaced near Santa Barbara and shelled an oil field, triggering a massive panic attack in Los Angeles that night. A reported "meterological balloon" resulted in the U.S. Army firing off 1,433 rounds at enemy aircraft as air raid sirens wailed and terrified Angelenos hid under their beds.

In the morning, the Army was embarrassed to learn that there were no Japanese planes. It was just an extreme case of "war nerves". It was later named "The Battle Of Los Angeles."

Sound familiar?

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