Act of War: The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation

Most people believe that Hawaii is a state, one of the United States of America. Most people, including those who live in Hawaii, accept that statement as a fact. What most people forgot or never realized is, that Hawaii was illegally overthrown and its monarchy endet in 1893. That, unfortunately, was not the only thing they lost.

The illegal U.S. annexation impacted the whole native Hawaiian perspective. This film is a chilling account of an episode of U.S. history that has been largely forgotten by most mainland Americans.

After watching the documentary "Act of War" you get the idea of what really happened in 1893 and how troops from the U.S.S. Boston landed at Honolulu in support of a treasonous coup d'etat against the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen Lili'uokalani.

Taking away their monarchy, as a part of their history, was a big step into a new civilization. Many Hawaiians suffered and the native population was going down dramatically.

Although the new civilization brought some benefits, such as investors, schools, health care and becoming a member of the United States, many Hawaiians never experienced one of these advantages. The new education system for example made natives rather "uneducated" and it was hard for them to identify themselves with this new way of life.

They had to learn a different language and culture, which had clearly nothing to do with their own habits. Native Hawaiians got forced to accept the new foreign culture.

The film also makes excellent use of still photos, film footage, artwork, and reenactments, and the moment-by-moment accounts and quotes read from diaries, letters, and press reports add to the realism of this historical event.

Today, Hawaiians are trying to keep their language, culture and landscape alive, which once was overtaken by Americans. Hawaiian is tought in universities, schools and institutions - A great way to keep Hawaii´s spirit alive!