The Unconventional Depiction of Women in Japanese Films - Essay Example

The Unconventional Depiction of Women in Japanese Films Thesis ment: The representation of women in Japanese film is dependent about Japan's cultures and traditions as well as their religious beliefs. Japanese women are depicted as gentle and mild, in the early times, they are the ones who tame the wild lions and they are a symbol of purity and of goodwill. They usually have roles wherein they commit crimes but most of the time it is not their own will but the will of a man's ambition at her side. They are also the home makers that keeps the home safe and so they do not often commit crime just for the sake of being the best among others, the do not find glory in being scandalized an they are soft and smooth and always with grace, they do not ride rough like men do. Although a Japanese woman can be fearsome and they are the angels of jealousy and vanity, it is a venomous tact that they use when they lose their temper and rages war against another as seen in Japanese films. Among the manly and womanly roles in Japan, it is the role of the man that carries pride so adamantly. It is in man's nature to be the best among his kin and companions. They are egotistic by nature and will not bow to anyone unless it will serve them a great purpose or if it is to please to gain something. Since the early times, men are openly dominant on things that they own or wish to own. They are the providers and the protectors and will go at great lengths to meet what is required of them, even if it means that they have to thread with the devil himself. Life is hard to live through especially for a poor man who cannot make a name for himself and a name for his son or daughter. They commit their mistakes out in public and they defend their dignity just as a woman will defend for her virginity. Men are reckless by themselves and since they always want to outwit and outrun another man just so that they can prove that they are the king of the pack, they will go at any measure to be the "worthy" one. Women, as portrayed in Japanese films are meek and a follower of men. They are the guardians of the house and children and the helper of men, they are the ones that falls in the background but very much important nonetheless. Men are driven by pride; they would do things that are out of their league for the sake of containing and maintaining their pride, their ego, their dignity. Men are depicted as great thinkers and they invent something new everyday and by nature they are competitive and easily driven for a desire of power and glory, whether it is for a higher rank or for the love of someone, even love becomes a game, even life or freedom will be put at stake just to prove that they are better than someone else, they like to gamble and they rarely think of the outcome before they do crazy stunts and acts recklessly. They like the thrills and the element of danger and adventure, a male figure will grow in his appearance and expand his understanding but in spirit he remains a boy who likes challenges and unbelievable stunts and plot to make it better than it was before. They do not easily accept defeat and they do not easily give in and in fact, most of the time, not at all. Although women are devious in ways a man will never understand, they are the keepers of the house and will be as gentle as an angel even when angered or wronged but the unleash a fury greater than hell when forced to it. Most women think of not just of herself but the whole package, of the people around her and of what an action ma cause to the generalized public but women are just as human as a man and therefore are not an exception to crime and they also has faults and they also commit devious crimes but this population is at least just 20% of the total, unlike with men who are more exposed to the brutal reality of having power in the society. Women are more likely to be the victim of a crime than a man, women are not born weak but they are being dominated over by men and since women believes in love more than men does. Since women are the known upholder of truth and purity, they are rarely involved openly in gruesome crimes and any other crimes and as was said earlier, they are most of the time the victim of crimes rather than the makers of it. They are always overpowered by man in many aspects but nonetheless, they are as much deadly as any other man. The only difference is that women are easier to forgive and forget than a man. Since he is a young boy and grown up as a man, at hear and in spirit, there still lies a boy that will never change his hunger for power, dominance, and adventure while a girl grown into a woman makes other things matters rather than her cute dolls and endless admirations. Since men are always surrounded by social struggle they are the ones who argues with the law and challenges it, while the women work at home to rear their children and guide them, man transacts out of the comfort of the house. Even nowadays when women goes to work, at the end of the day, they still work for the betterment of the household rather than of their own selves, they are tightly bound to their family and not to themselves alone most especially a married woman. They are the ones who teach their children good values and character and so they do not go against their own teaching and a mother will always hope for the betterment of her children. These re different times that we have now but nonetheless, the crimes are still n the dominance of men while the victims are of women. Women are the helpers and men are the masters so the female population is less vulnerable to law breaking than the male population In Japan tooth blackening was known as Ohagura and was believed to enhance sex appeal in addition to maintaining healthy teeth. Until the 12th century in Japan, it was a sign of coming of age. Then it spread to the men of nobility and the samurai class. By the 18th century, it was again confined to women. Then until the end of the 19th century in Japan it was used only by married women. One of the leading false impressions of Japanese culture is the concept that women are mainly demoralized in association to their western equivalent. The main reason is that Japan is a extremely gendered nation in which men and women choose extraordinarily diverse lives. They regularly go to separate educational institutions, employ in dissimilar recreations, and their verbal communication "reinforces gender differences and a patriarchal power structure" (Levi 135). In line with this, Japanese men and women turn out to be extremely separated, and experience a higher level of ease with same-sex compared to their female counterparts. On the other hand, contact with the opposite sex is widespread in the western countries. This does not necessarily imply that Japanese women are not subjugated than modern Western women, but they are not as much of safer. Japanese women are basically oppressed in unusual habits (Williams 82). An example is the role of a housewife: in their country, the housewife is the dynamic strength of the family, as the wife allocates the family funds, budgets their money for the husband and children's allowances, chooses which necessities must be bought and has the greater part in deciding how the children will be brought up and taught. "Under some circumstances, they not only keep their own names but also bestow it on their husbands and children" (Williams 80).The majority American housewives would by no means envision of requesting for a similar type of influence their Japanese counterparts. Japanese women and housewives with careers are becoming a common occurrence nowadays, but it is normally favored that "careers are for single, childless women" (Williams 77). This is widespread in science literature anime, where the supposition states that gender impartiality is an element of growth. Career mothers are in style in anime humor due to the fact that their dual societal roles do not provide adequate time to take of the family and perform household chores like the usual housewife. "They themselves become figures of fun" (Williams 75). The representation of tough credible women in anime is connected to modern Japanese beliefs and secular ways of life. Japanese women have more prevailing functions in secular traditions compared to the women of the west, whether they are rulers or Shinto priestesses known as mikos. "Western gods, heroes, and other idols , by comparison, remain predominantly male" (Erlich 94). This is apparent in ancient American classics such as Superman and Wonderwoman who sustains large fans and audience support. The depiction of the character world -- specifically religion, in anime paves the path for Japanese female divine beings to eexperience the similar degree of popularity of Western superheroes. A significant illustration of the Japanese deities is the Benten. She is well-known among Taoists as an epitome of beauty, love and creativity somewhat comparable to Aphrodite of the Greek Gods. Benten is also a sailor and savior of young kids from fierce beasts such as dragons (Erlich 89). In terms of romance, she serves as the guiding start to long distance lovers. Anime or manga has different representation of BEnten as "biker babe, sporting a variety of leather bikinis and hung with chains" --Urusei Yatsura, (Erlich 91). a sexy Chinese martial artist (Monlon, from the first Ranma 1/2 movie), and even as a beautiful male transvestite police officer (CyberCity Oedo). During the mid-1990s, homosexuality was not very well accepted in Japan although it was not explicitly stated but the discussion of it simply ignored and unwanted. The long silence of homosexuals was broken through the emergence of films, literature and gay parades. However, the most powerful media, the television, was not penetrated by the heeds of homosexuals for public acceptance. By the end of 1994, "Dskai" ("Reunion") was aired on a commercial television network during peak hours. The concept of the series is about college friends reuniting and catching up on stories about each other. But the main focal point of the story was the revelation of a gay man which is not a very well-accepted topic on television at that time. Equipped with astonishing poignant and sexual bluntness, the narrative divulges the personal repercussions, instead of the public ones, that go together with this development. In a few instances, that which comprises the incomplete and unacceptable has continued from previous decades. To cite, those who demonstrate what is deemed as egocentricity and narcissism keeps on being reprimanded. A number of representation of inappropriateness are new: women who react to sexual aggravation unbecomingly by laughing nervously or pretending to be pleased are condemned, similar to those women who are uncertain and ignorant. The conclusion also points out that there are dissimilarities in what juvenile men and women consider as objectionable look and conduct. Inside this realm of accepted descriptions we observe an interaction among forces of homogenization and disparity, integration and struggle to prevailing, class-based model of womanliness. It cannot be generalized that violence in Japanese movies are instigated by men. Levi states that Anime and other types of Japanese movies are sensational due to the existence of women representations of strength and power. In the series entitled Battle Angel, the man character is Gally who is described as a teen which is half-human and half-machine. the protagonist earns money from rewards due to capturing villains. Western audience may seem shocked or astonished with the degree of violence seen in cartoons (Anime) once it is compared to American cartoons. There can be several explanations about the popularity of strong women in Japanese films as well as anime. A woman will also stake anything to get what she wants and like a man will even bet life or freedom to get what they want but the only difference between a man and a woman is that a woman have passion and they do not think to overthrow, perhaps they do think to outshine and get attention but unlike men, women are not so easily taunted by minute challenges and snap bets, they plan and they put on a strategy so that at the end of the game, win or lose, a man will still adore her. Man has these urges that a woman will never understand; the urge to be at the top, to be hailed and be revered. They always seem o want to supplant the man who has the most power, to challenge the will of gravity and of science itself, they dare to be gods and move planets with their minds, they are the one who are to dream of things bigger than what they can control. Women, in Japanese movies, are not to be taken too lightly either because they unleash the fury of hell when they are indulged to do so or provoked very well but the fact still remains that men will do anything to gain more greatness in their hands, they will continue being an adventurer as when they were a child and even as they have grown, the dangers that they hunger for will be great as well. Women on the other hand may be equals of men now but they are still as soft as they were before and therefore would commit less crimes no matter what timeline they live in because in this planet, men are the dominant species. Japanese films, anime and manga is characterized by a deep cultural convention rooted from the primeval Japanese classical theater of Noh. Japanese film pursue the ethnicity and rituals of a society that considers entertainment that is courageous enough to bring about the unusual and what other people may consider as unacceptable or taboo. Cazdyn, Eric. "Pornography: Totality, Reality Culture, Films of History." The Flash of Capital: Film and Geopolitics in Japan. Durham: Duke UP, 2002.167-203. Cook, David. "Wind from the East: Japan, India, and China." A History of Narrative Film. New York: W.W. Norton, 1996. 828-876. Desser, David. "Ikiru: Narration as a Moral Act." Reframing Japanese Cinema: Authorship, Genre, History. 56-68. Ehrlich, Linda C. "The Taunt of the Gods: Reflections on Woman in the Dunes." Word and Image in Japanese Cinema. Ed. Dennis Washburn, Carol Cavanaugh. Cambridge, England: Cambridge UP, 2001, 89-107. Levi, Antonia. "Samurai from Outer Space: Understanding Japanese Animation". USA: Open Court Publishing Co., 1996. Turim, Maureen. "Cruel Stories of Youth and Politics." The Films of Oshima Nagisa: Images of a Japanese Iconoclast. Berkely: U of California P, 1998. 27-60. Williams, Eric. "Cinema and the Feminine Threat: The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum and A Taxing Woman." Significant Others: Gender and Culture in Film and Literature East and West: Selected Conference Papers. Ed. Valerie Wayne et al. Honolulu: U of Hawaii P, 1993. 75-83. Read More