Analysis of the Japanese Movie Titled ErosPlus Massacre - Essay Example

JAPANESE CINEMA MIDTERM PAPER Cinema or the film industry is that fraternity which has drastic impacts and is playing a very important role in reshaping society worldwide. It is quite saddening that sex and violence are an integral component of all movies. Today movies that are being produced across the borders have incorporated a variety of sexual and violent content. The Japanese filmmaking agency is also a victim of this trend in which entertainment is provided by using bold content. It is quite astonishing that such content is appealing to the masses who prefer movies which contain sexual activities or violence, specially the youngster are more inclined towards movies which portray exploitation. We have observed that in the 21st century that there has been a drastic increase in the rate of rape cases that are reported, sexual harassment, child molestation in Japan."Japanese film-makers were beginning to spice up their period stories with a dash of sex and violence."(Berra, 179) Sigmund Freud a very famous psychologist believed that sex and violence are one of the requirements of every human. According to Freud if an individual involves insexual activities as a result of these movies it is quite legit as this is what we see and adapt. I completely disagree with his approach as exploitation due to any reason is not acceptable at any cost as it propagates the spread of social evils in the society. After the Second World War there was immense brutality and violence in Japan. It has been observed that the rules that deal with sexuality and violence in Japan are quite gender biased and the content is usually loaded with sexuality and violence causing indirect propagation of these sins."Not only was there more sex and violence, but the very manner in which they were made appealed to the young." (Richie, 180) The reason why such content is quite popular is because most of the people prefer watching such stuff as a source of entertainment but they do not realize that this leaves a profound impact on their mind resulting in creating desires within them. These desires cause them to opt for various ill means to overcome their temptations which force them to involve in these misdeeds. Today what I believe is the reason behind incorporating sex in the movies is because it sells. Like I mentioned earlier that people prefer watching stuff with bold content hence the reason to add such scenes is basically to attract the masses. At times it is quite relevant to add such stuff as it helps to bring about the depth of the characters and to show the level of intimacy between them. The issue has merely gained so much popularity is because today movies, TV shows novels etc. sell such content on regular basis. It has been recorded that in Japan when there is any form of sexual exploitation or any physical violence against women are considered to be standard form of entertainment which people thoroughly enjoy in movies which belong to the action or adventure genre. It is pretty astonishing that when it comes to Japan there is a vast variety of content available that deals with sexually provoking material but the rape rate tends to be tremendously low within the region. The themes that involve sexual activities are quite common when it comes to Japanese legacy and they do not find any type of shame when associating themselves to it. There is a very controversial issue about pictorial representation of genetical areas. Japan does not allow to replicate/represent in pictorial form but does not prohibit the exploitation of such parts in movies, novels, TV shows etc. unlike the united states. The rape cases that take place in japan are majorly underreported and are usually done by underage individuals or gangs. Since the Japanese society is based on virtues like cooperation, order, duty etc. hence such activities are considered to be shameful for the families and majority of the time are not reported at all. This provokes those individuals who involve in such activity to gain motivation. The movie ErosPlus Massacre gave the Japanese a new concept when it came to love. Initially the concept of love was very pure and divine which lead to the establishment of the family structure. This movie turned out to be a breakthrough highlighting a concept which was not so common priory in Japan. Free love that was shown in the movie was about being involved in women without having tied the knot. Free love is far beyond the concept of family structure as well as parenting. This was the core idea of the film which caused immense instability in the family system. As now individuals got the idea of involving in sexual activities without the need of any serious commitment. Further the three concepts provided in the film regarding the sexes that is financial independence, separate residences and the right to involve in adultery whenever they felt like doing so. The scenes where Eiko is involved in sexual activities with various men and her play with the camera etc. portray a negative image of the character amongst the masses. Thus the movie was quite bold which resulted in the spread of sexual violence amongst the masses by means of the film industry. Today women have captivated the media by exploiting themselves which has apparently resulted in violence on the screen. The reason why women have started to exploit themselves is pretty obvious; the need that has aroused in women to be equal to men has caused them to put their dignity at stake. Women want to come on the same level when it comes to the area of sex or violence. This helps them to gain popularity in front and back of the camera. This exploitation helps them to gain the limelight as well as gain international status. This is one of the major reasons why women choose to involve in sexual violence in Japan and other countries. This shallow thinking has resulted in the propagation of social evils in the society. (POTTER, THE AGE) It needs to be kept in mind that the Japanese cinema has always been under the influence of west. The west has always been dominant on Japanese cinema and therefore all the prevailing vulgarity in the Japanese cinema is a result of the western movies which were always loaded with sexually explicit content. The popularity of such content was realized by the Japanese filmmakers and hence they started to incorporate sex and violence as major themes of their movies irrespective of whether it was required or no. there came a time in the Japanese cinema known as the "Apocalyptic culture" in which the major themes that were incorporated in the movies were traces of acts against Christianity, cyberpunks, various sexual distortions, postindustrial situation and violence. Hence, "The new emphasis for audiences of contemporary Japanese films is their subversive and explicit treatment of sex and violence and the multiple ways in which they transgress the norms and expectations of Hollywood cinema." (Eleftheriotis, 9) The origination of sexual perversions in the movies was initially because Japanese manga which contained a lot of sexual perversion in itself. This lead to creation of the term Hentai.Hentai basically is something which is against the moral codes of conduct. Further with time 'yaoi' became quite popular amongst the Japanese ladies which was basically written for females and contained a lot of bold and sexually explicit content. Gradually with time these became quite popular amongst the Japanese people. Considering the popularity of such bold, the Japanese started to incorporate sexual perversions in their movies. " Here I would like to talk about "Cruel story of Youth". "In many ways the cruel story of Youth is a typical example of a youth film. After the world war two the presence of youth as such emerged as a distinct theme in Japanese cinema." (Phillips, 170) This movie is a masterpiece in itself. The director Oshima had a vision before directing this film and that vision was to criticize the society's evils that prevailedirrespective in an aesthetic manner irrespective how brutal or cruel the reality might be. This was only possible through self-negation he believed. He was that filmmaker who incorporated reality in his movies which helped him to truly understand the beauty of the subject. In order to portray reality, he at times crossed the line of ethical and unethical which resulted as sexual violence in the movie. His works represents the sound balance he created between art and reality. He camouflaged reality in such an artistic manner that one could not negate the content under any circumstances. It is quite natural that bold themes usually face lots of criticism but still Oshima did not fail in portrayal of reality at any point. Hence if one has to sum the theme behind the 'Cruel story of Youth' then one can it is about love relations which crosses all boundaries and is not confined to the paradigms set by the society. Such intimate relations breach the morals set by the society and exploit them outrageously. There are numerous scenes in the movie that are representing sexual exploitations. The first scene I would like to analyze here is when Makoto met with Kiyoshi. They were young couples who were in their high schools. They met after Makoto experienced a devastating ride. A businessman offered her a ride home and instead of dropping her he took straight off to a motel in order to take advantage of the young amateur girl. This scene had a very deep and profound impact on me as it relates to society and the evils prevailing in it. The young girl Makoto who was innocent and was not aware of the damage a single ride could cost her willingly sat in the car of the shrewd businessman. Further he convinced her that he would drop her mom but later took her to a motel where he could use her to his satisfaction. Such incidents are quite common these days where the dignity of young girls is at stake. Men convince them and later take advantage of them. Further there was a lot of sexual violence that was also depicted in the scene when the businessman started to use force in order to persuade Makoto. He also slapped her a few times so that he could by hook or by crook take her benefit. This scene was quite sexually violent and had a very profound impact on the mind of all viewers. The issue highlighted in the movie is quite realistic as today we see many such cases occur but majority go underreported as the society considers it be unethical. When a person actually understands the real reason behind the sexual violence depicted he/she would realize that it is highly important to portray such scenes in order to develop awareness in people thus ensuring the safety and dignity of a girl. Personally I believe that the way sexual violence has been depicted in this scene was quite essential to spread awareness and warn young girls about the evils that persist in Japanese society. On the other hand some might consider the scene to be too sexually bold and exaggerated. Hence personally I believe this movie played an integral role in spreading awareness. The scene was beautifully directed and depicted the exact amount of emotion, violence and sexual exploitation required. Later it was shown that Makoto becomes so sexually exploited that she starts taking such rides for the sake of joy and sexual pleasure which turns out to be something quite astonishing and bold. This was not required as it gives a wrong image of Japanese ladies and their sexual desires. Turning into a sex worker of involving in sexual activities for the sake of fun is not acceptable under any circumstances. This negative portrayal of women which was depicted in various scenes throughout the movie developed a brutal image of Japanese women as individuals started to categorize them in the same criteria. This movie was a result of the rebel that place inside the heart and mind of every individual. At times an individual gets so bound to the codes of conduct coded by the society that he she cannot take it anymore and as a result they start to question the norms set by the society. This results in aggression which causes such severe attitude in the young blood. In order to rebel against the orthodox communities of Japan they rely on each other. Like I previously mentioned that Japanese societies is based on virtues hence to break out from those barriers set is something unacceptable. Later it was shown that in order to extract money from the man they use the power of their only weapon "sex". They hypnotize him in such a deadly manner that he submits to their plan and eventually gives up on everything he possessed just for the sake of satisfying his sexual desires. This is one of the serious issues that were highlighted in the movie, today we see that many people become victims of deceit and fraud for such purposes without even realizing that they are being used by the brutal weapon of sex. The issues highlighted in the movie were quite realistic and provided an insight of the social evils and the sexual violence that persisted in the Japanese society. Hence in a nutshell if this movie is taken as an example through which one can gain inspiration and bring about positive changes within them then this movie's cause is pretty dignified to spread awareness. For those who take it to satisfy their sexual pleasures then it can act as a catalyst to motivate wrong doings within the society. Hence in a nutshell Japanese society is a very dignified community who has their own values which need to be abided under any circumstances what so ever. Such movies which are based on sex and violence tend to spread negative influence within the society promoting individuals to involve in such activities in order to fulfill their sexual drives that provoke them to involve is various instances. What needs to be done at this point is that a system of check and balance needs to establish that decides what content is suitable for juveniles so that such movies do not cause any harm on those who are underage or growing. Apart from that I believe such movies are quite important to spread social awareness as it enlightens people about the evils persisting in society and how to counter such adverse situations. There is always a decent way of present old content if that path is chosen then such movies can play a good role in shaping the society. WORKS CITED: Potter, Cherry. "The new feminism: lots of sex and violence - www.theage.com.au." The Age - Business, World & Breaking News | Melbourne, Australia.N.p., n.d. Web. 8 July 2013.  Phillips, Alastair, and Julian Stringer. Japanese Cinema: Texts and Contexts. London: Routledge, 2007. Print. Eleftheriotis, Dimitris, and Gary Needham. Asian Cinemas: A Reader and Guide. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2006. Print. Berra, John. Directory of World Cinema: Japan. S.l.: Intellect Books, 2010. Print. Richie, Donald, and Paul Schrader. A Hundred Years of Japanese Film: A Concise History, with a Selective Guide to Dvds and Videos. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2005. Print. Read More