Cruel Story of Youth and Giants and Toys - Essay Example

Cruel Story of Youth and Giants and Toys For anyone in the arts, life is the greatest motivation there can ever be. On a daily basis, events and circumstances come to be. Virtually everything is worthy of being turned into a movie script. Perhaps that is what inspired the two Japanese movies titled “Giants and Toys” (Masumura Yasuzo) and “Cruel Story of Youth” (Oshima Nagisa). The daily occurrences of life cannot just happen without those that engage in the creative craft having an opinion, depending on the director’s point of view. The main thematic thrust in both “Giants and Toys” and “Cruel Story of Youth” is about the manner in which the high standards of the old world order are quickly drifting apart. Writers and directors, as seen in both movies, have proven that on the one hand, the norms and standards that are established in certain climes are too good but also too odd to be upheld in this age and time; on the other hand, they also reveal that the truth in what happens in life now is that the high towers of morals that were set have been sacrificed on the altar of technology, self and competition (Mellen 112). In “Cruel Story of Youth”, one is made to realize how anyone can fall from the Olympian heights set by the society. This fall may not pan out to be as difficult as one may have ordinarily expected it to be because the standards that were being followed, in the first place, were not made to last. The character of Makoto, acted by Kuwano Miyuki, whom the viewer meets at the first scene of the movie, can easily be referred to as a good girl, even if it is only at the initial stage. At the moment when she is about to be “raped”, first unsuccessfully by the man that gave her a home ride, and second, successfully by Kiyoshi (acted by Kawazu Yusuke), she is initiated into the other side of the life that she had previously not been exposed to. Thus, one cannot but think that living by the apparently non-contemporary standards of the society of her time could be very boring; and as a youth, with the aid of peer influence, she felt the need to break away from the constraining grip of the norm of the society. This is what she ends up doing, even as she becomes some sort of social iconoclast. She is not alone in this; she has Kiyoshi to help her go all the way. In the capitalist world, competition is rife. Nothing comes before profit. In order to make profit, many lives and relationships have been turned upside down. “Giants and Toys” is set at a time when there is a three-way market rivalry between three caramel companies; World, Giant and Apollo. To reveal the devastating effects of capitalism and how much it has turned things upside down, the three rival companies recruit three friends. It is so amazing to discover the extent to which these friends can go for the good of their individual companies, rather than for the good of one another. (Or should one rather say that it is amazing the extent to which capitalism can make friends work for them?) Each of them plots and actually carries out their plots, even though it is not for their collective good as friends but for the good of the companies they represent. The viewer bears witness to a number of high level skimming and counter-skimming. This is a revelation of the extent to which humans are originally selfish. One must recall that before each of the friends got jobs with their individual companies, they were “true friends.” One can then posit that it is not as though they were selfless before, what happened to them is that under the previous circumstance, their original selfishness could not manifest. It is logical to believe that each of the friends have selfish tendencies already in them. All it took for it to manifest was the competition. The choice of capitalism as the tool to reveal the ‘true’ identity of these friends is an indictment of the advancement of the society. It is a revelation of the fact that the world has indeed become decadent. (One must recall that the advancement that the world today lays claim to, can be penned down at the door of capitalism). What one discovers from the two movies is that they depict similar sides of life. While “Cruel Story of Youth” rebels against the ideal standards the world supposedly stands for, “Giants and Toys” is a satire against the supposed advancement of the world. What binds these two is that they depict similar worlds. Another similarity that both bear is that they recognize the fact, that before the world orders which they depict, there was a norm in place. For “Giants and Toys”, it was a world where rules that recognized bogus morality, ‘sanctity’ and order reigned supreme. For “Giants and Toys”, it was a world in which the money is able to tear down the walls of friendships which were built to last, a world in which everything, is on a daily basis, becoming temporal. While the former seems to tell one that the old norm is too archaic to be followed, the latter tells one that the new norm has destroyed a number of things and people, so, it doesn’t deserve to be followed (Mellen 57). In terms of thematic preoccupation, even though both movies share similarities in many ways, it must be mentioned that certain features put them almost miles apart. For instance, the only reason that can be given for the misdemeanor of Makoto and Kiyoshi is plainly a desire to flout what has always been recognized as the societal norm. One must recall that in the movie, there are some students who rebelled in form of protest against the renewal of the US-Japanese treaty. Unlike Makoto and Kiyoshi, the students’ course is legitimate. The rebellion embarked upon by Makoto and Kiyoshi mainly took the shape of sexual frenzy and physical aggression. On the other hand, in “Giants and Toys”, the reason the three friends turn against one another may be considered, by some standards, as legitimate. They do not just turn against one another for the joy of doing so. They turn against one another for the joy of what their individual careers would give them. They engage in this “evil” for the good of their companies and in the long run, for their personal good. This is very dissimilar to the intent of Makoto and Kiyoshi whose sole aim for rebellion is not the advancement of societal or company values but personal enhancement. Some of the other themes that can be found in “Giants and Toys” include marketing as a way of subjugating the mind, the influence of the media hype, the usage of sexual hint even in adverts meant for children and fanatical enthrallment of technology. The movie, being a satire, mocks not for the sake of just mocking, it mocks because of the desire to effect positive change. It mocks the advancements that the society claims to have made. In the long run, these advancements leave much too be desired. For instance, this society lays claims to advancement by enhancing borderless technology, sex and media, yet all these elements are, on a daily basis, ripping lives apart (the very lives they were meant to hold). In the same light, one of the most dominant themes in “Cruel Story of Youth” is the unsuccessful attempt at breaking the norm. Makoto’s father in his days unsuccessfully tried to break the norm in his days. So, in the days of his daughter when she successfully breaks it, he plays little or no role to stop her from towing the line she chose. At the time “Cruel Story of Youth” and “Giants and Toys” were produced in 1960 and 1958 respectively, both were regarded to be very powerful. This was true because they both depicted what was against the norms of that period. However, if both movies are to be critiqued based on the standards of today’s filming technology, they may fail woefully. “Cruel Story of Youth”, for instance, can be considered to be too slow, by the filming standard of this age. The manner, in which the camera was placed at a number of scenes, by today’s standards, leaves the viewer with a sour feeling. With every move of the camera, the faces of the actors are captured in full frame (Mellen 81). This would be very unsettling for the contemporary viewer. One can only imagine how the actors of this age would feel about such a technique. Perhaps the actors of the period also felt ill at ease about such a technique. Similarly, in “Giants and Toys”, the way in which the camera is cut when shooting is on is rather unprofessional by standards of contemporary times. What this action succeeds in achieving is that it creates lack of lucidity and unity. On the other hand, in the case of “Cruel Story of Youth”, one may safely argue that the manner in which the camera is made to stare directed into actors’ faces easily creates some memorable images which one can easily recall. Some of those scenes that one would live to remember because they will continue to linger in one’s memory include the scene where Makoto and Kiyoshi make love on the quay, on floating wood. Similarly, one may want to put in words for “Giants and Toys” because whatever the cinematographer did was influenced by the dictates of the period in which it was shot. Beside, at the time it was produced, the movie was qualified to be called a blockbuster. Conclusively, from whatsoever angle one desires to look at it, “Cruel Story of Youth” and “Giants and Toys” are similar in more ways than they are different. In terms of their respective thematic preoccupation, what they share is their desire to reveal that the world is not a perfect one as it seemed. On one hand, one is made to raise issues about whether one should even live by the norms of one’s age in the first place. If the norm in one’s age is about being morally chaste, one is tempted to ask: Is it worth the while? Should one break the norm as Makoto and Kiyoshi do in “Cruel Story of Youth”? If one breaks the norm, is it right? (Of course, what is right or wrong is highly subjective). If the norm in one’s age is freedom to better one’s personal lot, as seen in “Giants and Toys”, one is tempted to ask a question like: Should one improve one’s own personal lot at the detriment of a loved one? In the face of all these, one thing is sure: whatever decision one takes at the end of the day is personal. Work Cited Mellen, Joan. The Waves At Genji's Door: Japan Through Its Cinema. New York: Pantheon. 1976. Print Read More