Communism in The Seven Samurai - Essay Example

Communism in The Seven Samurai The Japanese are popular for richness in maintenance, and strict observance of their cultures, some that have been around for multiple millenniums. They are also famous for their Samurai films, wherein a Samurai represents a military man or warrior in the Asian culture, a character they integrate in most of their literature and films. The following context will highlight and discuss the role of the Samurai in depicting the theme of communism or interdependence within the Japanese culture, an attribute they consider paramount in the interrelationship between groups and individuals as opposed to individualism. The discussion will do this by providing in-depth evidence as appears in Akira Kurosawa’s film, The Seven Samurai. The story mostly circles around a small village that is striving to protect itself from bandit attacks, a condition that forces them to form a coalition with their samurai, who in this case appear rather impoverished. Though the relationship between them is a strained one, they maintain a mutual bond that sees them through a tough wartime in which the community’s needs and individual selfishness dominate and succeed in portraying the theme [importance] of communism and unselfishness over individualism (Wallace n.p.). To start with, Akira introduces the theme of community spirit early in the film through the character Kimbei, who is one of the Samurais. To do this, his film highlights the importance of hair in the culture as we see different hair styles appearing on the heads of many characters. Then contrast cuts in when Kimbei decides to shave his hair so that he can trick some bandits into releasing a small boy who falls into their hands. He shaves his head clean so as to feign the image of a village priest, and at the end of it all, he succeeds in saving the boy. The act of a Samurai shaving his head is sacrificed because the culture views shaving hair as a breach of the culture’s norms. Kimbei’s life does not go back to normal, but he takes up the role of serving and leading his community because he open up to realities that his community has needs that need addressing, such as protection from the bandits, and dedicates his life to serving them. Further evidence appears when he is seen opening up to his servant telling him that they would rather die serving. The perspective of “we” shows his call for oneness, thus communism. To further in this, Akira tactfully applies a direct quote through Kimbei at the scene where he forces a group of villagers to return to their posts during the struggle with bandits. His voice is heard barking at them like, “… who thinks only about themselves will destroy themselves as well!” Kikuchiyo, a fellow Samurai to Kimbei, rises above his peasant nature to join the seven warriors. Although they work together as the team of seven, he displays rather self-centered attributes which to an extent annoy Kimbei. For instance, we see Kimbei scolding him when at a point Kikuchiyo leaves his watch post, runs into the camp of the enemy and comes back with a gun. When this should be an act praised by many, Kimbei is annoyed. Akira uses Kimbei to let it known to the viewer that such an act is selfish. Reason? The reason for this, according to Kimbei is that Kikuchiyo acts to earn the title of a hero while exposing the entire village to a bandit attack (Wallace n.p.). It is this same mean and selfish lust for fame that plunges Kikuchiyo to his death. During one of the battles with the bandits, he is maddened by the slaying of his fellow Samurai, Kyuzo, and charges blindly at the bandits’ gang leader. He falls to the bandit’s gun. This adds to the theme in that Akira creates Kikuchiyo’s death to pass a message; that selfishness is dangerous, and unnecessary. This is because had he not fallen to his mean desires for recognition that made him act blindly to his fellow Samurais, Kikuchiyo would have lived through the film. The other instance that portrays communism or rather anti-individualism is near the end of the film where after killing all the bandits, the village is dense with celebration but Kimbei is gloomy and refers to the whole event as a loss. This leaves most of the villagers in wonder. To answer this, Akira’s direction takes us to the burial place of the four fallen Samurai. What Kimbei is suggesting is that while the four died to protect the once endangered village, the village no longer notices or encourages them. This is evident in the same scene as we see the villagers celebrating in dance but none of them notices the bunch of Samurai who stand gazing at their colleagues’ graves. Kimbei, who is obviously the hero of the day is not overridden by pride and heroism, but feels like a loser because as a leader, he failed in protecting his fellow Samurai. It is possible for this scene to be misunderstood or confuse one, but the point hidden behind it is unselfishness in that he does not feel for his own soul but for his friends as well. Wallace gives an additional scenario that reflects on this theme where he points at one of the Samurais’ conversation. The samurais, who were able to work together in defending the village, attribute this to their sacrifice and selfishness. They in turn decide to cultivate this nature into the villagers. One of them, Gorobei, led the others in addressing the villagers, telling that that they were going to live in groups, and execute all their duties such as harvesting in collective groups but not as individuals. Wallace (n.p.) quotes Gorobei as, “we’ll harvest as groups, not individuals… from tomorrow, you will live in groups… not as individuals.” This phrase is self-explanatory and sufficient in supporting that Akira’s film indeed advocates for collectivism amongst the villagers. For one, we learn that the samurais have realized the importance of unity and selflessness, and are going to use any means to transfer this to the villagers. This film is based on the communism aspect of the Japanese people which exists from the time they gained independence, a battle that was fought and achieved through unity and collective decisions. As such, we can attribute the themes depicted in the film as advocating for the historical notion discovered by the early Japanese. This is evident in the film because we see the samurais led by Kimbei advocating for selfishness and using strategies, including force, to make the villagers to work together in fighting the bandits attacking the village. It might be possible that the villagers represent pre-colonial Japan, and the bandits represent the colonialists, and finally the war between the two parties might represent the struggle for independence. Concisely, the film is about the ancient Japan’s history, which seemingly led to the embarrassment of unity and collects, and which remains treasured in the state. In conclusion, the above discussion suggests that through Kimbei’s devotion and sacrifice, Kikuchiyo’s punishment, the samurais insisting on the villagers’ unity and co-operation, and finally the village’s ungratefulness towards the four fallen heroes, Akira’s samurai film has a strong attribution to the theme of communism and unselfishness. The bandits help in developing the theme in that they install fear into the villagers who in turn have to unite in order to survive their frequent attacks. In fact, they are forced to humble themselves and adhere to the instructions of the samurais’ protecting them, creating a bond between the two parties. Concisely, Akira successfully brings to light the nature of group-thinking and communism highly practiced in the Japanese fraternity. Works Cited Wallace, E. “Through Kurosawa’s Looking Glass: Seeing Post-War Japan via the film Seven Samurai”, 2012. Samurai Archives Online. Web. 28 February, 2014. Read More