Different Worlds, Different Wars

I went with fellow blogger Cliff of Promethean Antagonist fame to see the Spielbergian epic War of the Worlds--a typical mixture of searing pathos and bathos.  As in Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, Schindler does a fine job in evoking our sympathy for people caught in the vice of huge, historical forces, but can't prevent throwing in some kitsch for the kiddies.  The basement scene with the embarrassing aliens and (the more so embarrassing) Tim Robbins pretty much offset the shock and awe of the first hour or so.  It seems Spielberg has a stock set of scenes that he can't stop himself from recycling--the velociraptors scouring the kitchen for something to eat, for example in Jurrasic Park, reprised in War of the Worlds as the tentacley mechanical eye snooping through the basement.

Speaking of good eyes, Cliff spotted an advertising poster for this upcoming Japanese blockbuster: 男たちの大和, billed in English as Yamato, but more precisely translated as the baffling The Men's Yamato.

The Yamato was Japan's--and history's--biggest and most impressive battleship (along with her sister ship the Musashi).  It was an astounding feat of engineering, and in some sense, the Japanese can be justifiably proud that they were able to put it together, although the government she served was reprehensible.

This latter point seems to be one that is likely to be overlooked in this film.  It appears to be about the bravery of young men, who, on a spring day boasting of blossoming cherries, went forth to defend their families and country.  Too bad their militaristic state cared far more about defending their own power than how many Japanese soldiers were killed to carry out their aims.

Again, this is not to deny the astounding  individual heroism of many young men who did die with thoughts of Mom, their girlfriends, and cherry blossoms.  However, I wish Japan could strike a balance between categorical condemnation of all war as Evil and romanticism of its fallen soldiers.   We will see how stalwart and pure are the brave boys who manned the doomed ship to its end, fighting off the implacable American invasion that brought with it...uh, democracy, unimagined affluence and lasting peace with its foe.  As the Tim Robbins character says in War of the Worlds, "Invasions always fail!"  (Just so you don't get the wrong idea, however, I don't believe that American remade Japan in its own image--just uncorked the bottle of the genie of rule of law, free trade, and relative equality helped Japan, with it's rich culture, achieve its potential.

On the other hand, I wonder if this film will be shown in Japan?  I'll be on the lookout for it.

Comments

[rachjak]

Not at all, To Nuke Ye. I didn't get the wrong idea, you provided it: that all that's required for a misguided people to morph the "potential" of its rich culture (despite thousand of years of trying) is for the new rich kid on the block to beat it into submission. "Utopian Fantasy" I believe is the phrase used by NeoCon Camille Paglia to describe this fallacy. There are some unfortunate families who haven't yet shared in the "unimaginable affluence" here at home who perhaps feel it is too bad that their war-minded state cares far more about defending their own power than how many American soldiers are killed to carry out their aims.

By the way, it occurs to me that when the Pundit - with its (I think) Hindu origins - meets the Pontiff, a meeting of the minds is, in fact, not likely.

[tanuki]

Again, you're off and running with not the game ball, but one you seemed to have picked up on the sidelines somewhere.

I take it that you're disagreeing with my suggestion that the U.S. is a utopia, although I'd appreciate it if you could direct me to the passages which led you to think I implied that.

I did unambiguously suggest that all occupations do not fail, take for example, the U.S. occupation of Japan. And that compared to its conditions before the occupation, well, the Japanese have themselves called it a 'paradise' (there was an ironic song from the 60s about drinking sake in paradise, aimed at poking fun of Japan's materialism. Nevertheless, materially, compared to the conditions in this century in which parents chose to sell their daughters into prostitution rather than starve, the Japanese are doing remarkably well.

I'd scold you for not knowing what you're talking about--I live here, you don't. But I've heard the same drivel from foreigners living here, although coming from a different angle, i.e, Japan is no paradise. She knew better than to bemoan the poverty and inequality of Japan. Nobody's that hard off here, especially compared to conditions that many elders can remember. Her tack was to say what a shame it was that the old communalism was breaking down and that people were using modern technology to do what used to 'take a village.' I thought that was a bit condescending to the old folks who, somewhere along the line, probably made sacrifices to acquire some of the technology that she looked upon as being so horrible. There are a lot of people like her--can't figure them out--they advocate strident feminism and iconoclasm (especially in their own cultures), yet romanticize pre-industrial societies. She didn't like what she encountered in Japan, ike the tourist who is disappointed that monks drive motorcycles and so few women struggle along wearing kimono.

If the above doesn't respond directly to your point, then I'd say we were just about even.

[bakemono]

この野郎！おまえは何年日本にいっても、
何も理解することができてないみたい。
自分の国へ帰れ！