Friday, March 17, 2017
Sushi and Baseball
Early Summer depicts a Japan in transition. Defeated and occupied by the Americans, the Japanese both cling to their traditional ways and embrace new ideas from their occupiers. How does the movie show this transition? Does this movie make a judgment about the new American influence? Is there a political slant, however subtle, in this film? What does this movie think about baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOnly six years after America bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Ozu the Japanese director, shows how much Japan has changed in those six years in his classic Early Summer. Early Summer is about a classic, middle class Japanese family living in Tokyo. The whole family includes the elderly grandparents living with their children and two grandchildren. Their family lost one of their members in the war with America, yet in some way they idolize western civilization. One example of this is when Koiki and Noriko are discussing Noriko moving away and her living an American, rural lifestyle. They talk about drinking Coca-Cola and they make fun of a southern accent, but really their references to America show how influential America was after the war. After Japan surrendered, America placed troops to control Japan. The soldiers brought over parts of their culture. An example is new food and drinks the Japanese family is having. They are eating cake for dessert, not typical for Japan, and their fridge is stocked with Coca-Cola. The adults are impacted by American culture, but even more affected are the young children. Ichiro is the eldest grandson and he wears an American baseball cap while playing with his toy train tracks. He and all of his friends play with the trains. Since they are very young they have been influenced by America all their lives and they enjoy, possibly prefer doing as the Americans do. Ozu clearly saw the impact America had in 6 years after the war, and he demonstrates how a Japanese family has adapted to the lifestyle of western civilization.
ReplyDelete