The Last Samurai -comparing and contrast between Nathan and I Essay

The Last Samurai -comparing and contrast between Nathan and I - Essay Example Captain Algren is called upon by the Japanese Emperor’s to train a conscripted Japanese army. This army was to quell Samurai warriors who are battling to protect their long held cultural traditions, including the western modernization of their nation. Captain Algren was captured during the battle and detained by the Samurai warriors. During his days in remand, he slowly understands and appreciates what the warriors were defending. Algren himself changes and gets assimilated into the Samurai tradition. He becomes one of the Samurai warriors, and he offers to fight against well-trained Japanese government troops alongside other courageous Samurai warriors. This paper thematically relates the life and cultural changes Algren experienced in Japan, with the cultural changes I experienced when I moved from Liberia to America. The journey of Algren, essentially, gives people an insight of the level in which the eastern nations value their traditional cultural beliefs and practices. They are proud to show that their old cultures are not old and boring, irrelevant and out-of-date (Zwick & Ed 17). The Samurais are part of the old Japanese tradition and it is their duty to defend their culture against any external threat. Katsumoto realized the need to protect Japan from a tide of western modernization that was slowly sweeping their country. Algren believes the ways of the Samurais will always be respected attributes and necessary (Zwick & Ed 18). Samurais deserve honor in everything they do: They are cable of conversing with foreigners in English, and engaging in a battle with trained army troops. Their identity and moral codes would be lost if they did not defend it. The main theme of the movie is whether to forget about the past cultural beliefs and embrace the future, or to stick to the old traditions (Zw ick & Ed 26). Cultural assimilation is one of the factors that significantly affect most people who move to settle in foreign lands. Every country and