{"id":3814,"date":"2016-10-29T17:22:36","date_gmt":"2016-10-29T17:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hawaiiankingdom.org\/blog\/?p=3814"},"modified":"2016-10-29T17:33:25","modified_gmt":"2016-10-29T17:33:25","slug":"smithsonian-exhibits-hawaiis-occupation-through-the-matrix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiiankingdom.org\/blog\/smithsonian-exhibits-hawaiis-occupation-through-the-matrix\/","title":{"rendered":"Smithsonian Exhibits Hawai\u2018i’s Occupation through the Matrix"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ctrlalt\"<\/p>\n

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center<\/a><\/em> (APA) invited Dr. Keanu Sai<\/a>, along with over forty artists and scholars, to participate in its initiative \u201cA Cultural Lab on Imagined Futures<\/a>.\u201d APA\u2019s initiative is a unique way to experience a museum. As an agency of the Smithsonian Institute<\/a>, APA is \u201ca migratory museum that brings Asian Pacific American history, art and culture to you through innovative museum experiences online and throughout the United States.\u201d The traveling museums are called \u201cCulture Labs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Imagined Futures<\/em> will be held on Veterans Day weekend (November 12-13, 2016) at 477 Broadway, SOHO\/Chinatown, New York City, from 11 am \u2013 9 pm.<\/p>\n

\"the_matrix_poster\"Dr. Sai\u2019s exhibit is the American occupation of Hawai\u2018i seen through the lens of the science fiction movie \u201cThe Matrix<\/a>.\u201d The science fiction thriller \u201cdepicts a dystopian future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality called \u2018the Matrix,\u2019 created by sentient machines to subdue the human population, while their bodies\u2019 heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source. Computer programmer \u2018Neo\u2019 learns this truth and is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, which involves other people who have been freed from the \u2018dream world.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The Matrix<\/em>\u00a0stars Keanu Reeves, as Neo<\/em>, and the only way he could see the Matrix<\/em> is to be unplugged by digesting a “red pill” offered to him by Morpheus<\/em>, played by \u00a0Lawrence Fishburne.<\/p>\n

\"Cover\"<\/a>Dr. Sai is a political scientist whose academic research has exposed the American occupation of the Hawaiian Islands that began with\u00a0the United States’ unlawful overthrow of the Hawaiian government in 1893 followed by the military occupation during\u00a0the Spanish-American War. The American occupation is a subject taught in classes at the high schools and collegiate levels in Hawai\u2018i and abroad. He is the author of Ua Mau Ke Ea (Sovereignty Endures)<\/a>, a\u00a0history book\u00a0used in classroom instruction.<\/p>\n

Dr. Sai also represented the Hawaiian Kingdom as lead Agent in international arbitration proceedings\u2014Lance Paul Larsen v. Hawaiian Kingdom<\/em><\/a>, held at the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The Larsen<\/em> case<\/a> was also cited by the Arbitral Tribunal in its judgment in the land mark South China Sea<\/em> case<\/a>, which was also held at the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Dr. Sai has been likened to the character Neo<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Matrix<\/em> star Keanu Reeves is a cousin of Dr. Sai. Keanu Reeves\u2019 father and Dr. Sai\u2019s mother are first cousins and both were named after Dr. Sai\u2019s maternal grandfather, Henry Keanu Reeves. Both men are Hawaiian.<\/p>\n