203 The Americanization of Machiko

The Americanization of Machiko


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alsplacebartender

Al's Place Bartender
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The Americanization of Machiko
August 4, 1953


Oak Creek, Ohio


Oh my God...I'm Popeye! Well, close. Sam's a returning son from the Navy who has been stationed in Japan for two years. His parents and old girlfriend know he has brought a surprise with him.

Then the surprise shows up: he is now married to a Japanese woman named Machiko.

In the original history, his parents never accepted Machiko and it doomed their lives. Can he change the prejudices of his family and that of another angry member of the community who threatens Machiko's life?


Written by: Charlie Coffey
Directed by: Gilbert Shilton


Rate and comment on this episode!
 
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I loved this ep too! Machiko is so sweet and pretty, it hurts to see her treated that way. And, well....Seeing Sam pitch the hay was nice to see:dreaming

Samantha Beckett
 
My favourite episode. Good storyline. The scene where they're at the hospital is kinda depressing. Of course it turns out well in the end, and the bride looks beautiful, and he definitely looks sexy in a suit.
 
Samantha Beckett said:
I loved this ep too! Machiko is so sweet and pretty, it hurts to see her treated that way. And, well....Seeing Sam pitch the hay was nice to see:dreaming

Samantha Beckett
I agree. I love this episode, Machiko is very sweet and childishly cute as she's adapting to American life. I loved how we got to hear Sam speak to her in Japenese it's sexy. They should have given him more lines that he needs to say to her in Japenese. It would have been cool. I also Love the way Henry seemed to take to her pretty fast and how he welcomed her with open arms.

We also get some other sexy Sam moments besides the line he said in Japenese. First of all he's hot in the sailor outfit. "Oh my God, I'm popeye!" Lol, I just love that. Also Like Claire said here, the whole rolling in the hay deal, grrrr-rrrow. :dreaming

I wanted to sock Namoi for making a disgrace out of Machiko (I mean in the eyes of the people around her including Lenore) and Rusty for writing "Jap Go Home" on the side of the truck. That is the cruelest thing anyone can do, its like calling a nigro a nigger. Although that's what Made Sam look so sexy while he was shoving the hay cuz he was putting muscle into it from anger.

"I know that Americanizing Machiko was the best way to get Lenore to accept her, but there was a certian beauty about her, uniquly Japanese that I hoped she would never have to lose to blend in with the other daisies."

I just love how Sam just has so much love for all people no matter where they come from or how they talk or what they look like. I loved how Sam taught her American stuff without forcing her to give up her Japanese-ness. (hehe Yeah I know thats not a word but lack of a better one forced me)

Some more on Rusty now. I hate that he had such a hate for Japanese people just becuase he couldn't pitch anymore, like he had his arm cut off or something. Big deal, what a jerk. He just makes me so mad. I really like the actor's performace of him though very well acted. I also enjoyed him as Ralph Boumount in A Single Drop of Rain. Maybe a little better than in this ep probably just because I like the charactor more hehe.

I also liked the reference at the end of the ep to Sam's little Cherade in Star Crossed succeeding.
"I'm Sweating here Al"
"You didn't the first time."
"I'm Married!?"
"Just kidding"

I love the look he gets on his face, like "Ooops, Damn that was close!"

This is a great episode and a great desplay of Sam's big open heart. :)
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
Some more on Rusty now. I hate that he had such a hate for Japanese people just becuase he couldn't pitch anymore, like he had his arm cut off or something. Big deal, what a jerk. He just makes me so mad. I really like the actor's performace of him though very well acted. I also enjoyed him as Ralph Boumount in A Single Drop of Rain. Maybe a little better than in this ep probably just because I like the charactor more hehe.

Not to excuse the behavior but it is understandable. Rusty lost his chance to play pro-ball because of having to fight in the war. Off hand I can't remember if it was stated or not but based on his dislike of Japanese, I'd say it's safe to say he probably fought in the Pacific Theater. My uncle was killed in Guadalcanal (in the Pacific). Some of my surviving aunts still harbor a certain dislike of the Japanese people in general because of that. Not because as a whole people they were responsible but because of the circumstances involved. It's much the same way that many Americans distrust Arabs now. Again, I'm not excusing the behavior whether in the fictional setting of QL or in real life but it is understandable. When such a major part of your life is lost, it's simply human nature to want to pin the blame on someone or something. In Rusty's case, it was easy to pin the blame on his lost career on the Japanese people as a whole.
 
Right, I never said it wasn't understandable it just doesn't need to merit his behavior towards machiko. That's neat that you had family who served there, sorry about your uncle though.
 
An avarage episode in my opinion. This episode,maybe tried to be an "asian version" of the excellent episode "The color of truth",but it wasn't even close. It was interesting.but not as interesting and powerful as "The color of truth".
 
I don't think it's fair to say that this episode is trying to be an "Asian version" of "The Color of Truth". The two episodes deal with completely different issues. "The Color of Truth" deals with segregation in the United States. "The Americanization of Machiko" is dealing with how other cultures are accepted in the states and how someone from another culture has to adapt in order to be accepted. It also gives a picture of the anger that remained against Japanese after World War II.
 
I agree with Julia I don't see this as another version of Color of Truth as Segregation and being loathed for being of a culture with which we just faught a war are not the same type of issue at all.
 
You know what you right because The only people that seems to have problem with ,machiko was Lenore,Naomi and Rusty. It seems the rest of the people didn't mind,but still - If some one will come and ask you to give him 5 episodes that deals with racism from QL i'm sure most of you will think of " The Americanization of Machiko" as one of the examples.
 
isz said:
If some one will come and ask you to give him 5 episodes that deals with racism from QL i'm sure most of you will think of " The Americanization of Machiko" as one of the examples.
Not really. Five episodes of QL that deal with racism in some form or another:

The Color of Truth
So Help Me God
Black on White on Fire
Justice
Pool Hall Blues
 
The episode has nothing to do with Machicko being Japanese, its the fact that she is one of the enemy that we had just fought in a war including Charlie Makenzie himself he fought over there and then has the nerve to bring the enemy into our territory. That's what people are thinking.
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
The episode has nothing to do with Machicko being Japanese, its the fact that she is one of the enemy that we had just fought in a war including Charlie Makenzie himself he fought over there and then has the nerve to bring the enemy into our territory. That's what people are thinking.

Actually, Charlie wouldn't have fought in World War II which ended in 1945. The date of "The Americanization of Machiko" is August 4, 1953 - about 8 years later.
 
He would have been stationed there, probably at the base in Okinawa.

I just watched this ep today, and I was struck by how Lenore, Naomi, and Rusty all had different reasons in disliking or not accepting Machiko, and they all coalesced into her being Japanese. Really, Rusty was the only one whose sole reason to dislike her was that she was Japanese.
 
An article of the peace treaty with Japan in 1951 put the Ryuku Islands, inlcuding Okinawa, in US trusteeship resulting in a continued US military presence in Japan. The US retained trusteeship of Okinawa until 1972. There are still US military installations in Okinawa and Japan today.
 
bluedana said:
He would have been stationed there, probably at the base in Okinawa.

I just watched this ep today, and I was struck by how Lenore, Naomi, and Rusty all had different reasons in disliking or not accepting Machiko, and they all coalesced into her being Japanese. Really, Rusty was the only one whose sole reason to dislike her was that she was Japanese.
Yeah that's what Julia and I are saying that this ep is not a raciest issue ep because she was not disliked because of her being Japanese...well for the most part since like you said Rusty was pissed because her kind 'cut off' his pitching arm.

But basically they could have done this episode with an Itialian girl or a German Girl and the only difference there would have been is the Rusty deal. It's just the fact that Machiko was different period.
 
I disagree. I do think this episode is about prejudice--whether you call it racial or cultural, I think it's pretty much the same. Resentment against the Japanese lingered much longer after World War II than resentment against the Germans. (Only 15 years ago, my brother got married, and he got a friend of his to drive us to his wedding in the city. The friend was Japanese American. His English was fine, yet my father was very unhappy to be in a car with a Japanese man. Seriously.)

Because of their very different culture and language, Japanese were regarded as weird and alien. People would be more polite about it because they didn't have the generations of institutionalized racism that existed against black people, but they would still regard Machiko as an outsider who doesn't belong there. Maybe I take it for granted that prejudice is part of the subtext of the episode, because I grew up in a small town and I know what the attitudes would be there. But I don't see why Lenore should have such a problem with Machiko except that she doesn't want a non-Christian in her family, and she wants white grandchildren. That was very important in most families in those days.

Didn't Rusty serve in World War II? It was only 8 or 9 years before 1953, and he's not that young, is he? I thought he was in combat.
 
I do think this episode is about prejudice--whether you call it racial or cultural, I think it's pretty much the same.
I agree. And just to be clear, I wasn't saying that Lenore and Naomi didn't care that Machiko was Japanese or wasn't prejudiced against her; I was saying that for Rusty, that's all he needed to hate her, full stop. Lenore and Naomi had other, more specific reasons to hate Machiko, and her being Japanese was secondary.

But I don't see why Lenore should have such a problem with Machiko except that she doesn't want a non-Christian in her family, and she wants white grandchildren. That was very important in most families in those days.

Lenore saw Machiko as "different," and yes, "less than" herself. That's why she jumped all over everything Machiko did, from cooking rice for breakfast to cleaning the floor. I think, in her defense, she was understandably upset that her son got married without telling her. But Lenore also had a dread of people looking at her family and judging them - the way they did Eileen. And to her, Machiko being Japanese got conflated with Eileen getting pregnant and committing suicide, as something shameful. That was what the hospital scene was about. She could not bring herself to accept anything about Machiko because she hadn't been able to forgive or accept Eileen.

Naomi used Machiko's naivete against her simply because she was jealous that Charlie chose Machiko to marry, and then wouldn't change that decision once he got stateside. Probably Naomi felt that Machiko, being Japanese and the enemy in more ways than one, was beneath Charlie, and resolved to humiliate her because her pride was hurt (Charlie chose that over me?) She even mispronounced Machiko's name, I think on purpose.

Rusty, on the other hand, had a simpler motive. He saw combat in Japan and lost his pitching arm and his chance to play in the majors. Pretty straightforward scapegoating there.

So, yes, Snish, I agree with you that it was all prejudice. Just that while Rusty had issues, Lenore and Naomi had whole subscriptions!
 
Is this the only episode that accidentally went outside Sam's lifetime?
 
Is this the only episode that accidentally went outside Sam's lifetime?

No, just off the top of my head, Sam leaps out of his lifetime in "The Leap Back", which is the first episode of season 4, and "Leap Between the States", which is the third-last episode of the entire series. I have a feeling there may be more...
 
From a great commentary, to being funny, to create suspense, and then drama, and then some strange interactions and different kind of atmospheres (love, rejection, joyfulness, playfulness, and, even at some point, eeriness), this is an episode to remember!!! A real shame that Charlie Coffey never wrote another episode for the series, in my opinion. Very well done. An episode where the music and even its very peculiar lightning and photography were outstanding.

The actor who played Rusty, don't know so much about him, but I think he's very versatile. He also played Ralph in "A Single Drop Of Rain", and he's one of my favorite QL actors.

By the way, this Al line: "You didn't do the first time." (about Sam fainting at the altar, I believe), and then fixing it with "uhmm, no, I was just kidding", or something like that when Sam asks him if he was married, always bugs me. I firmly believe that Al screwed up at that time and then, when he remembered that he was not supposed to say anything, he just went and fixed it and was saved by the fact that Sam never wanted to ask more questions about it. If that was really the case, then it's very interesting how, at this early stage, they were actually thinking about reuiniting him with Donna at some point.

My rating: Excellent.
 
Is this the only episode that accidentally went outside Sam's lifetime?

This is actually questionable. Sam was in the womb at the time of this leap, something according to my behind the scenes book that actually happens a few more times. It could be several errors in choosing leap dates or QL could be pro life, considering existence in the womb to count as part of one's lifetime.

No, just off the top of my head, Sam leaps out of his lifetime in "The Leap Back", which is the first episode of season 4, and "Leap Between the States", which is the third-last episode of the entire series. I have a feeling there may be more...

If you recall in The Leap Back Sam and Al had switched positions, the leap in this episode was Al's who was born in 1934, easily Sam's sr. by an entire generation. So the leap was well within the lifetime of the leaper it was given to.
The Leap Between the States was possible because while it was well outside Sam's lifetime it had remained in the Beckett timeline, recall his host was his own great grandfather, Captain John Beckett. Sam's father was his namesake.

By the way, this Al line: "You didn't do the first time." (about Sam fainting at the altar, I believe), and then fixing it with "uhmm, no, I was just kidding", or something like that when Sam asks him if he was married, always bugs me. I firmly believe that Al screwed up at that time and then, when he remembered that he was not supposed to say anything, he just went and fixed it and was saved by the fact that Sam never wanted to ask more questions about it. If that was really the case, then it's very interesting how, at this early stage, they were actually thinking about reuiniting him with Donna at some point.

Are you meaning that it bugged you that Sam didn't prod the subject after Al had dodged it somewhat strangely? Perhaps, but Sam was a bit busy to have gotten into an argument with Al. Not to mention nerves can effect one's focus. So it's possible he honestly hadn't noticed.

***

I myself enjoy this episode. Not only do we get a unique story here but we also learn something new about Sam, this is where we learn that he knows Japanese among his seven languages (and 4 dead ones). Took two semesters of it myself, it's not an easy language to learn though I had gotten pretty versatile with it. The Hirigama and Katikana characters are even more difficult, never got the hang of them but I digress.

Even with her name alone, Lenore somehow gives me that 'Nevermore' feeling from Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven with the loss of her daughter having made turned her heart so cold.

Machiko is a sweet, delightful character and being the hopeless romantic I am, Sam's interactions with her (as with several other of the girls he became involved with in leaps) melt me.

My best friend and I once watched a panel interview with the woman who played Machiko and it's surprising how her English is actually perfect. Her performance as a stranger to America was brilliant.
Fun fact (also from the interview): Her husband was not happy about the shirtless scene.
 
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Are you meaning that it bugged you that Sam didn't prod the subject after Al had dodged it somewhat strangely? Perhaps, but Sam was a bit busy to have gotten into an argument with Al. Not to mention nerves can effect one's focus. So it's possible he honestly hadn't noticed.

No, what bugged me was the mentioning in itself. I mean, why would Al mess up? I understand that he, being a human being and all, is allowed to do so from time to time... Except that in this case I believe he kind of did it on purpose, with the knowledge that Sam was already at the end of his leap and, even if Sam threw a fit or something, he was going to dodge the bullet anyway hiding behind the swiss-cheese effect, so he only used the "eah, I'm just kidding" tone to ease it up a bit and so Sam wouldn't even consider it as something that serious.

The interesting thing about all this, and the real reason why it bugs me, but in a good way, is something I've been questioning all along: Did Charlie Coffey, with his screenplay, inspired this story arc (I mean the reunion with Donna in "The Leap Back")? Or did this story arc already existed, even if the idea of him being married to Donna was still almost 2 entire seasons away? I'd like to think that the story arc already existed and Charlie just gave some kind of further light (probably even following Deborah Pratt's "Star-Crossed"), but I'm really not so sure.

Anyway, I thought it was fascinating, hehe!!
 
Ah you mean had that moment been written with the premeditated intention of confirming the success of Star Crossed by reuniting him with Donna in The Leap Back? That is an excellent thought that begs the question of how far in advanced each storyline was considered.

Sadly however I have read that Deborah Pratt had after regretted the arc premeditated or not, that she had preferred to see Sam in an in-leap relationship (hence Abigail) and thus had in her mind deleted Donna. My heart sinks at this thought, I adore Donna and happen to absolutely despise Abigail.

On a note that gets us back on topic, one thing I forgot to mention in my previous post regarding this episode is how I adore how Sam mentally exclaims to the reflection in the window "Oh my God, I'm Popeye!" XD
 
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Ah you mean had that moment been written with the premeditated intention of confirming the success of Star Crossed by reuniting him with Donna in The Leap Back? That is an excellent thought that begs the question of how far in advanced each storyline was considered.

Sadly however I have read that Deborah Pratt had after regretted the arc premeditated or not, that she had preferred to see Sam in an in-leap relationship (hence Abigail) and thus had in her mind deleted Donna. My heart sinks at this thought, I adore Donna and happen to absolutely despise Abigail.

On a note that gets us back on topic, one thing I forgot to mention in my previous post regarding this episode is how I adore how Sam mentally exclaims to the reflection in the window "Oh my God, I'm Popeye!" XD

Hahaha! That was hilarious.

I'm kinda shocked about what Deborah said because, well, I happen to... hmm, NOT LIKE Abigail, either. Donna actually had dimension, hehe! I hope Deborah doesn't hate me for this... :b
 
After watching this episode now I'm getting the urge to write a full review even though I've already mentioned some highlighting moments.

An in depth acceptance story rich with culture which brought out Sam's belief of equality among man. The way he embraced Machiko was both adorable and playful. The chemistry between that actress and Scott was very believable. What I loved the most however was when his voice over told us while she was picking flowers that he while he wanted her to be accepted preferably it would be without having to change her. An excellent response to the fact that they were on their way buy her an American dress.

The Lenore character makes me think of Edgar Allan's Poem The Raven and not just because of the name itself.

vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow – sorrow for the lost Lenore –
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore –
Nameless here for evermore.


The family had lost a daughter, a suggestively pregnant teen to suicide who'd apparently been frowned at for her choice(s).
Nameless here for evermore.
In a way Machiko could be seen as the raven.

"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee – by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite – respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore;
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"


'Nepenthe' is apparently a mythological drug said cause one to forget their grief. The speaker in the poem seems to believe the raven which appeared at his door is a messenger sent to deliver this drug to him and clearly takes it as an insult.

In this case Lenore feels Machiko is a curse come to claim her remaining child and that she was being asked to replace her daughter.

Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."


Or one can see Sam as the raven.

There is mythology which says that "when someone dies, a crow (which are the cousin of the raven) carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can’t rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to put the wrong things right."

The soul being a lost child and Lenore representing the great saddness which her daughter's death left behind and Machiko's appearance then brought and aggravated.
Machiko fits as well as being another daughter Lenore was being forced to welcome into her life.
That end scene where Sam pleaded with her to show Machkio support in the hospital could be seen as Machiko or Sam presenting Lenore with a way to make up for where she'd failed her daughter.

Recently I watched an awesome film with my friends using this concept of the crow and it got me thinking of a way to use it for a Quantum Leap fanfiction.

In Japan which is even more ironic to this episode there is lore of a three legged crow, otherwise known as Yatagarasu which aided an emperor. It's appearance is believed to be a will of heaven or a divine intervention in human affairs.

Moving on, there was an interesting concept here when we as in several episodes receive a hint that Lenore can detect Sam within the aura. She tells her husband that he's different beyond his service over seas, that there was something different in his eyes. She immediately places the blame on Machicko for obvious reasons but you can tell from her tone that she on some level knows her son is not there.
This is an intriguing concept, a few other episodes in which we see something like this are:
Season 2's Catch a Falling Star, John O'Malley seemed to have gotten a glimpse of Sam right before allowing 'Ray' his big debut. (though Drunkenness is the obviously source there)
Season 2's Freedom: The Leapee's grandfather constantly speaks seemingly more to Sam than his grandson (The handprints on the horse and the conversation about "leaping" from one skin to the next).
Season 2's Leaping In Without a Net: A carnival psychic is able to see in his eyes what she refers to as his reincarnated identities.
Season 4's Hurricane: The Leapee's girlfriend states at one point that she thought his eyes were a different color for a brief moment.
Just to name a few.
What could the key be? In some cases such as here it a certain closeness to the leapee seems to be able to scratch just below the surface of the aura but as in Leaping In Without a Net and other instances like Temptation Eyes A divine insight is also a factor.

Lets look at the Naomi character, lord is this woman irritating, probably the most shallow, clingy and self absorbed character or at least female character ever presented in the series. Al makes a comment in the beginning that she'd fit in perfectly in Vegas and I believe he hit the nail on the head. She's exactly the vegas stripper type. Granted she had a close history with Charlie so sure it would sting, she was completely disrespectful and what she did to Machiko was the flit of the butterflies wings which started the typhoon of events which followed it. I can't believe the b**** got away with it too!

It's elements like the fact that Charlie had originally given up on Machiko and ended up with Naomi that suggests to me that he may have been a pushover and a bit of a mama's boy.

Though I've discussed it before I want to take another look at the ending moment when Al makes a comment suggesting to the viewer for the first time that Sam is married. What exactly happened there is unclear but I once had a conversation here with someone who thought it might have been intentional. I've been thinking about that I am starting to support it as head canon. It's possible that Al might have wanted to test Sam's reaction without:
a.) Directly breaking his promise to Donna
b.) Adding in the element of anger in Sam for not telling him sooner that a direct approach would have gotten.
this way it was more natural.
So why would he then back off so quickly? Well perhaps the expression and tone that had been delivered with Sam's comeback line was enough for him and/or he didn't feel right about this little test.
Though granted Al is human so of course he could have just had a slip as is the initial suggestion it makes. If he'd really wanted to purposefully throw Donna into a conversation the perfect moment would have been when Sam was telling Al that he couldn't tell Beth to wait for him, one reason being that it broke the Quantum Leap rules. Honestly I would have liked to see that conversation take that direction, Al was amazing not to even scratch the surface there but I digress.

There was also mention in the discussion I had with the other user to if this was written with the premeditation of The Leap Back. The 'Just kidding' part paired with the expression Al gets right after making that recovery does support this as it directly connects to the reveal that Donna had asked Al not to remind Sam of her. So it is possible even though TLB was regretted after it aired.

Another interesting element here is that a language gets added to the list if several languages Sam is supposed to know.

From this episode we find out that he knows Japanese. The others?
Season 1: Star Crossed and Season 5: The Curse of Phta-Hotep - Hieroglyphics
Season 2: Goodnight Dear Heart - German
Season 2: Sea Bride - French
Season 2: All Americans and Season 4: It's a Wonderful Leap- Spanish
Unfortunately this isn't all 7 languages and 4 dead ones. Shame not all were revealed.
But we do know from three particular episodes that Sign Language, Hebrew and Italian are not among them haha. He definitely should have learned Italian! XD

He also speaks fluent Russian in LHO but since Oswald was in heavy control a lot of the time it's unclear if that was actually Sam's knowledge.

5/5 stars, a brilliant episode.

'The Raven' by Edgar Allen Poe source:
http://www.shmoop.com/the-raven/poem-text.html

Ravens and Crows in Mythology:
http://www.perspectivesmagazine.sk/news/ravens-and-crows-in-mythology-folklore-and-religion/

Yatagarasu - the three legged raven:
http://www.avesnoir.com/yata-garasu-the-ravens-of-japanese-myth/
 
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