The lessons of history

Thank you for your informative and thorough reporting of the film “Memoirs of a Geisha” and your interview with its director, Rob Marshall (“The Geisha, In Translation,” March 6). That being said, I take issue with Marshall’s comments about the Nanking massacre that he does not know and does not care about it.

It’s one thing to be apolitical in Hollywood, but in this age of instant information it’s surprising that one could be as tactless and clueless about history. This is just like saying, “I don’t know much about the Holocaust, and I don’t care.” He may think the Nanking massacre has nothing to do with his casting decisions for his film, but his comments highlight his supreme ignorance and disrespect for a people’s culture. You don’t bring the world together by disrespecting what makes a culture special and different.

Kim Dao Jacobsmeyer

Pasadena