On The Last Samurai - Annotated Bibliography Example

?Dresner, Jonathan. “How True to History is Tom Cruise’s The Last Samurai?” , History News Network, 2004, April 13, http hnn.us/articles/2746.html The article “How True to History is Tom Cruise’s The Last Samurai?” categorically describes in a comparative framework the areas where the film, though based on history deviates from the actual records. The author first gives a brief synopsis of the movie and later moves on to analyze the characters and performances. The reviewer has closely observed the movie and hence his accounts are vivid and informative. The article also gives some facts about the history and background of Japanese economy and social structure during the times of the samurai and how the same has been depicted in the film. The author is a member of the HNN team and his research essentially centers on Meiji-period (1868-1912) social history. He discusses this Meiji era in the article in the context of the movie. The article therefore gives a backdrop to understand the history especially for the audience of the movie. Books 1. Ravina, Mark. The Last Samurai: the life and battles of Saigo Takamori. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2004 The book on The Last Samurai written by Ravina, an expert in Japanese History and an Associate Professor of History at Emory University, centers on the life and the battles fought by Saigo Takamori. The book describes the entire phase from the moderate origins of Saigo and his development to the stage of a deprived samurai. Then his eventual rise to powerful position as a national leader. Finally it shows how events unfold to bring on his death as a leader who died in rebellion. This book has been the base for the movie centering on Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe. Saigo’s significance has been revealed here especially in the context of the Meiji rule. He was the first to overthrow the feudal dominion and build the Meiji base in Japan. His battle was a fight to preserve the honor of a samurai and his consequent loyalty and service to the society. Hence he was against the idea of centralized country running on impersonal and commercial grounds. The book gives an elaborate account of his deeds and his contribution, which turned him into a folk hero, and gradually compelled the government to raise him to the position of national martyrdom. The spirit of the samurai captured here has given the inspiration to the movie and hence becomes useful to the paper. 2. Turnbull, Stephen. The Samurai Swordsman: Master of War, Tuttle Publishing. The book written by Turnbull, a historian specializing in the history of the samurai gives a clear account of the Satsuma rebellion with respect to the honor of the sword of the samurai. More than anything else, the portion, which is most relevant to the paper, is the role played by Takamori in the Satsuma rebellion and the way he revolted against the western government. The author’s knowledge in military history has helped him frame the revolt with a cause to support it. He did not agree to the reforms led by the government and revolted with his army to preserve the pride of the samurai. The book contains quotes and opinions of experts and historians apart from reporters. The leader carried out several organizations and built schools in euphemistic style named as “Private Schools” the academics were rendered in military style training such that a private army could be formed. The students had to take an oath in blood to be loyal to the purpose and this alarmed the Meiji government. These movements and tactics of the plan are interesting to note and compare to the movie with respect to its adherence to the facts. 3. Logan, John, Herskovitz, Marshall, Zwick, Edward and David James. The Last Samurai. Time Inc Home Entertainment, 2003 The book contains some parts of the script on which the Last Samurai is based and the making of the movie in general including some stills and comments form the acting team and director. The contributors to the book are all a part of the moviemakers’ team. The book reveals what inspired the actors and the director to work in the movie. Cruise the protagonist talks of the purity of the Samurai ideals and their relevance to the modern times. The book gives details regarding the economic conditions and the social structure of the period. This gives the readers a stronger foundation to understand the life of Takamori and the rebellion. The paper uses this source mainly to gain insights into the Meiji period and the reasons for the rebellion along with its consequences. The book is vivid with illustrations and text, which gives the reader the feeling of moving back in time. 4. Dickinson, Ben. Hollywood’s New Radicalism. I.B. Tauris, 2006 The author Ben Dickinson who has extensively studied movies, in this interesting piece of work, brings together an analysis of different movies of Hollywood along with interviews and comments of some experts and members of the Hollywood family by combining both politics and movies in order to explore the twenty-five years’ span covering Reagan’s Presidency and George W. Bush’s regime. The author compares the film The Last Samurai with other movies like Fahrenheit 9/11, Bulworth and Erin Brockovich in the light of the context. The author also analyses the work of the director of The Last Sammurai in focusing on the historical period and the Meiji society and political backdrop. Mostly the film has been criticized for deviation from historical facts but here the author picks some opinions, which claim that the director did a good job from the Hollywood point of view. The Samurai role has been compared to the modern context as well. He even puts the movie in comparison frame with other films with advanced and progressive views like Hey Arnold the Movie and Matrix, which gained popularity from the masses unlike the case of The Last Samurai. The author however does not deeply analyze the causes behind the failure of the movie at the box office. Reviews (negative and positive respectively) 1. Wei-Yu Chen, Gavin, “The Last Samurai: A Historically Accurate Depiction?”, UNC, n.d., April 13, 2011 from: http://www.unc.edu/~gdpgc/w1.doc The article “The Last Samurai: A Historically Accurate Depiction?” written by Wei-Yu Chen who is a student in Master’s of Arts in Chinese studies from the Valparaiso University, gives an account of the historical background behind The Last Samurai movie. The author matriculated with Bachelor of Arts in History and Asian Studies (Chinese) from University of North Carolina. The article discusses the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. It points out the factual differences between the historical backdrop and the incidents revealed in the movie. He source is important for studying the actual nature and characteristics of a samurai as per historical records and the ones, which has been depicted in the movie. Reading this article before watching the movie can enlighten the viewers especially the students who are unaware of the truth lying behind the historical backup of the film. Entertainments need not always follow the facts to the core despite being based on historical records. Yet the filmmaker should take the responsibility for educating the layman about the actual facts and this source particularly helps us figure out how much attention has been paid to this issue by the maker. 2. Lovgren, Stefan. The Last Samurai: Movie Myth or History, National Geographic News, 2003. April 13, 2011 from: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/12/1202_031202_lastsamurai.html The reviewer underlines the colors of mythology in historical setting as reflected in the film. The movie was set in the time of transition when the Meiji period was set in Japan. The author described the heroic status of Saigo as a person devoted to his principles. The reviewer here describes the period of change without directly mentioning the rebellion. The character representing the role of Takamori Saigo is Katsumoto. On one hand he talks of the historical setting like the researcher Desner and also he presents opinions of experts, which speak against the ideals of a Samurai. The article puts forward Zwick’s views about the culture and traditions of a samurai. The movie presents a combination of western and eastern traditions, which moves backward, and forward. The article puts forth a solution for the critics who have criticized the movie in terms of lacking educational value and deviation from historical facts. Zwick points out the importance of looking at this as a movie rather than a mere historical document. The choice of a different but alike name of the hero proves this. The director did not want the audience to match every detail with the historical context. The author here ends the article with a positive note in terms of serving the real purpose of the movie, that is, pure entertainment. Newspaper article 1. Shuler, Deardra. “’The Last Samurai’: The return to a code of honor”, New York Amsterdam News, December 18, 2003, 94. 51, 22 Shuler, a columnist of New York Amsterdam News points out the elements within the film The Last Samurai and justifies her recommendation to watch the movie. She highlights the pride in the death of a samurai. The identity of a Samurai lay in his purpose in a battlefield and honorable death was the ultimate goal of Samurai. The fight between Katsumoto and Algren becomes more interesting as both the rivals believe in the same concept of understanding the opposition and develops mutual respect for one another. The author marks this as a story of “love, honor, tradition, ethics, custom, warfare”. The article will help in exploring into the basic themes of the movie and can be incorporated in the article likewise. Magazine article 1. Calhoun, John. “19th Century Impersonations”, Entertainment Design Magazine, (February 2004), 38.2, 2. John Calhoun in this article attempts to describe the logic behind the settings used in the production of the movie The Last Samurai. He compares this with the making of the Cold Mountain. He shows how both the movies depicting different historical backdrops were shot at different places. The reasons were both logistics oriented and economical. The article moves on to describe how the look was changed artificially in order to give a proper feeling about the place, which was technically supposed to be Japan. The details, which helped in faking the set, might also help us understand the way the team tried to match every detail with the actual historical setting. The article also gives an idea of the time taken to produce a scene and justifies the time by showing the amount of work involved in making the scenes as realistic as possible. Journal articles 1. Keirstead, Thomas. The Last Samurai, American Historical Review, (Apr2004), 109. 2, 496-496 The author Keirstean from the Indiana University of Bloomington rightly points out that it will be too much to expect a movie to follow every particulars of the historical backdrop. The author here establishes the goals of a historical epic film. such a movie tends to connect together the viewers and the legendary entities of the past and this association is based on emotional linkage. The mode of exposition is different form that of academic historians. Therefore the author kind of echoes the view of Lovgren and claims that the movie encompasses the soul of Japan. Bringing in Calhoun’s description of the way the setting was built in New York, one cannot but stop to appreciate the honest effort made by the movie to connect to the audience and highlight the central themes that enlivened the lives of the samurai warriors. 2. Ikegami, Eiko, Shame and the Samurai: Institutions, Trustworthiness, and Autonomy in the Elite Honor, Social Research, (Winter 2003) 70.4, 1351-1377. The article written by Ikegami, a professor of Sociology concentrates on the culture of samurai traditions. It focuses on the importance of dignity and honor to be preserved by a true warrior. Certain emotions of shame and honor were taken as the identity of the samurai as imposed by the elite. He analyses how the Japanese and the Chinese cultures view shame. He points out certain words, which highlight the sentiments of a samurai. These comprise of name, honor, shame, pride and face. Then the author connects these essentials with the political participation of the samurai. Lastly this article can provide a clear vision of the society of Japan at the time of the samurai and this knowledge will help us understand the samurai sentiments highlighted in the movie. 3. Friday, Karl F. “Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan “The Journal of Japanese Studies (2005) 31.2, 466-469 The author Karl Friday, a professor of History in the University of Georgia describes the process of evolution and transformations in the military base of Japan as a slow and steady process rather than anything drastic. He points out that it is not only war, which can bring about major changes. The traditions in the society and the political framework can also establish the same. The change occurred through a gradual interaction between the social setting and the warfares. The warrior class or the honorable samurai of Japan is the main focus here. There were widespread changes in the fourteenth century in terms of the social and political settings and this article will therefore help us understand the difference of the film with the history. The context of the war and the sentiments of samurai might be compared here. Original resources Koun, Takamori, Saigo Takamori Statue [sculpture], December 18, 1898, Tokyo, online < http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Ueno/blog-349622.html> The statue was built by the Japanese sculpture Takamori Koun and the veil was raised on December 1898. The idea is obviously to honor the brave deeds and contribution of Saigo Takamori as a samurai warrior. Ueno Park is an open and spacious park of Tokyo. Different temples were built in order to subdue the evil spirits from the northeast. The Saigo Takamori statue is one of the many sites located in the park. Takamori rebelled against the government with armed forces as he was against the reforms. This was known as the famous Satsuma Rebellion in history. The Seven Samurai, Dir. Akira Kurosawa. Perf. Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura and Keiko Tsushima, Toho Company, 1956 The black and white movie The Seven Samurai directed by a Japanese filmmaker and shot in the same nation gives a far more original impression than The Last Samurai in terms of costumes and settings. The story is fictional here. The movie highlights similar sentiments of the samurai. However it focuses more on the war tactics. The samurai’s are hired to defeat the bandits in exchange of two square meals a day. This also highlights the economical backwardness despite the honor, which is preserved by this class of warriors. The movie arouses emotions as well and is ideal to watch along with The Last Samurai, which will help one compare, the emotions aroused in each case. The system of samurai training is depicted in both cases. Yet the black and white movie might give a more realistic impression. The colorful setting of a film automatically degrades its power to instill an impression of historical document. The Seven Samurai represents conflicts of trust and need, survival and honor, loyalty and fear quite like the film in the present study. it shows a similar built in identity of the samurai. Read More