Anti-fascist narratives shouldn't be monopolized

We commemorate the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War (World War II), which ended 80 years ago, in various ways. Yet a couple of deeper questions deserve our attention: Who are the people who have written, or are still writing, the history of that war and victory? Who have defined, or are still defining, our collective memory?

In reality, the victory is not attributed to the countries that sacrificed the most in that war. Over the past 80 years, the United States, particularly Hollywood, has seized control of the global cultural narrative. On the silver screen, Hollywood portrays the US as the embodiment of justice. As a result, its values have become a global consensus, while the other countries that made outstanding contributions to the victory against fascism have been relegated to a position of "silence" or "acquiescence". This unequal and unfair cultural narrative warrants our reflection as we commemorate the victory over fascism today.

World War II was a just war fought collectively by people around the world. China's contribution to that victory was 14 years of resistance, with 35 million military and civilian casualties, to prevent the expansion of Japanese fascism in Asia. French soldiers and civilians, on their part, upheld their independence in the tenacious defense at Dunkirk and the Resistance during the Nazi occupation of France. Yet in many mainstream Hollywood films, victory in World War II is often reduced to a singular narrative of "D-Day", or "American heroes saving the world". This focus on the Anglo-American heroics has marginalized the memories of other battlefields and countries.