Yasujiro Ozu's Late Spring - Essay Example

Discussion: “Yasujiro Ozus Late Spring (1949) is a conservative criticism of the influence of the American occupation of Japan after WWII”. Japanese films possess a unique place within the context of the growth and development of film industry. One can see that the Japanese directors helped the world to know more about Japanese culture and social structure. Within this context, the film Late Spring (1949), which is directed by Yasujiro Ozu, deals with the problems faced by individuals in their private domains and the grass root level reason behind the same. On the other side, the director does not ignore the influence and consequences of American occupation after World War II. Still, the film provides ample importance to the problems related to marriage and family life in the Japanese society. Thesis statement: Yasujiro Ozus Late Spring (1949) is a conservative criticism of the influence of the American occupation of Japan after WWII because the director makes use of his characters to criticize the influence of Western culture on the Japanese society. Plot summary and brief introduction to Conservative criticism As pointed out, Ozu’s films are interconnected with the day to day problems faced by individuals in the lives and the effect of westernization/modernization on the same. The plot of the film Late Spring revolves around two characters, a professor named as Shukichi Somiya, and his daughter, Noriko. Somiya is a widower and his daughter is still unmarried. As a father, Somiya is aware of the fact that he needs to find out a suitable bride for his daughter. On the other side, Noriko is aware of the fact that her marriage will force her to part with her father. At the same time, both the characters are aware of the fact that the father will be forced to face alienation and the daughter will not be able to look after her father. Eventually, Noriko agrees to marry and Somiya agrees to remarry. In the end, the viewers come to know that Somiya does not like to remarry and his one and only aim is to keep his daughter happy. Within this context, conservative criticism is important because the conservative critics provide ample importance to traditional values and continuity. Nisbet and Stone stated that “Conservative Criticism of the philosophy of progress, a very center-piece of modernity, is reflective of its general role of culture-critic in the contemporary world” (100). When one superimposes the essence of conservative criticism to the context of the film, one can easily identify that Somiya does not like to break the Japanese tradition but pretends to be ready for remarriage. He is aware of the fact that remarriage will not help him to be happy, but Noriko’s marriage will help him to deal with his own life. From a different angle of view, Somiya is aware of his place in his daughter’s personal life (say, as a loving father), and he is not ready to create trouble in her life. Discussion: As the discussion is based on the conservative criticism of the influence of the American occupation of Japan after WWII, a number of points related to the Japanese culture, family life, tradition, parent/child relation and symbolism are examinable. A. Japanese culture v/s Western culture First of all, Japanese culture is entirely different from the western culture. At the same time, the American involvement in Japan after the WWII deeply influenced the Japanese culture. To be specific, the Japanese culture is based upon the loyalty towards the ruling class. Within this context, the inculcation of American model democracy in Japan eventually led to the creation of bureaucracy and related problems. One can see that bureaucracy control the Japanese politics and it deeply influences the Japanese culture and way of life. The influence of Zen Buddhism and the traditional oriental way of life helped Japan to be a strong nation in Asia. But Japan’s involvement and failure in WWII and the American occupation deeply influenced the Japanese culture. In the film, Ozu makes use of Somiya as his mouthpiece to communicate with the viewers. For instance, Somiya’s decision to lead a lonely life is interconnected with the Japanese view on remarriage. On the other side, Noriko is ready to accept modernity (say, leaving her father after her marriage). Besides, the director provides ample importance to the transformation of joint families in Japan to nuclear families. The reason behind Noriko’s decision not to marry is based on the fact that her father will be a burden in her new family. But Somiya is ready to give up his happiness. He is aware of the fact that he cannot live with his daughter. In this film, Somiya’s views on married life and family are interconnected with Japanese culture. On the other side, Noriko’s views on married life and family are interconnected western culture. Within this context, Somiya’s views represent the director’s conservative criticism on the influence of western culture on Japanese culture and tradition. B. Family life v/s public life In the film, the director portrays the day to day events in the private and public life of the people in post WWII era in Japan. Gazetas opined that “His films deal with the loss of patriarchal authority after the defeat of Japan in the Second World War” (177). Noriko’s private life includes her duty towards her father. One can see that her attitude towards her father is deeply influenced by the Japanese tradition. On the other side, Professor Jo Onodera, (Noriko’s father’s friend) represent modernity because he was ready to remarry. This deeply influenced Noriko and she tries her level best to convince her father that remarriage is the best possible way to solve his problems. This change in attitude can be considered as the influence of the American occupation of Japan after WWII. On the other side, some other characters like Aunt Masa (Somiya’s sister) represent the post war society of Japan. To be specific, Aunt Masa is aware of the fact that Somiya’s negative attitude towards remarriage is hindering his daughter’s progress. From a different angle of view, both Somiya and Noriko are trying to shrink into their shells (say, their private domain or family). On the other side, the characters like Aunt Masa try their level best to lead them towards their public domain (say, the mainstream society). Somiya is ready to accept her transformation from a daughter to a dutiful wife because she represents modernity in the Japanese society. But her reluctance to accept change proves that her attachment towards his private circle deeply influences her decision-making capacity. Her decision to enter the public domain is based upon her practical thought. One can see that Noriko’s status in the society is interconnected with her father’s status as a professor. If she is not ready to marry, she will be forced to face isolation in future. In short, the director tries to prove that the American occupation of Japan after WWII deeply influenced the family structure in Japan. C. Japanese tradition v/s modernity The people of Japan provide ample importance to family genealogy, which helps them to maintain warm relationship among the family members. To be specific, family genealogy is considered as more important than blood relationships. Besides, one’s duty towards one’s family is considered as most important. Earlier, the female members of the Japanese families were not allowed to own family properties. Cazdyn made clear that “Late Spring is produced at a critical juncture of post war Japan- the moment of the reverse-course” (228). One can easily identify that Japanese tradition is based upon the unique structure of families within the society. Gradually, the American occupation of Japan after WWII helped women to claim equal rights in the society. Besides, arranged marriages became outdated. One can see that Japanese tradition was affected by the introduction of modernity in the society. In the film, Somiya does not try to impose his ideas upon his daughter. He is aware of the fact that his daughter’s marriage will badly affect his relationship with his daughter. Weston stated that “Professor Sumiya wants Noriko to meet a perspective husband, but when she seems reluctant to do so, he tells her that he will soon marry himself” (309). One can see that Somiya cunningly solves the problem by pretending that he is ready to remarry. So, Somiya is not ready to accept modernity in his private life, but is ready to follow the tradition. At the same time, he allows his daughter to accept modernity or modern life. So, one can easily identify that the element of conflict between Japanese tradition and modernity is utilized by the director to criticize the influence of the American occupation of Japan after WWII. This is important because the protagonist (say, Somiya) is aware of his status in the society. At the same time, he is not ready to give up his tradition and to accept modernity. D. parent-child relation In his films, Ozu provides ample importance to parent-child relation. Thompson opined that “If we assume that Ozu’s ideology is not a monolithically conservative and traditional as some have claimed, we must also toss out the notion that his style is the way it is so that it can function to support such an ideology; that is, Ozu’s style is not austere because it is meant to reflect some sort of innately Japanese view of life” (326). From a different angle of view, Ozu’s films portray the degradation of family structure in Japan. One cannot consider this as a positive change because the success of Japanese society is interconnected with the strong bond of oneness or cohesion that can be seen in the Japanese families. Within this context, close relationship among the members hinder growth and development of individuals. For instance, Noriko’s close relationship with her father hinders her from taking an apt decision to be safe in her future life. But she cannot desert her father because he is an elderly widower. On the other side, her father does not give importance to his life because he tries his level best to convince her that her marriage will not affect him. One can see that parent-child relationship is the grass root level reason behind the conflict in the film. Somiya is a professor by profession, but he is not ready to accept modernity. From a different angle of view, Somiya is aware of the negative effect of accepting modernity without any solid reason. On the other side, his daughter is ready to accept modernity in her life. The deterioration in family structure is deeply influenced by the acceptance of modernity to the core of the society. After the WWII, Japan underwent rapid social transformation and it affected parent-child relationship in the society. One can easily identify that the director made use of the relationship between Somiya and Noriko to portray the deterioration of parent-child relationship in the Japanese society. E. Symbolism The film’s theme and plot are symbolic of the influence of the American occupation of Japan after WWII. For instance, Somiya represents the Japanese tradition and moral values. On the other side, Noriko represents modernity/ democratic thought and individual freedom, which can be termed as the influence of the American occupation of Japan after WWII. But Somiya is not totally against modernity or modernization. For instance, he does not hinder the growth and development of his daughter. At the same time, he is totally against remarriage. In the beginning of the film, Noriko does not accept her father’s advice to marry. In this stage, she proves to be a duty minded daughter who is ready to serve her father. Bandy and Monda opined that “Many narratives of post war Japan show sexually loose young people acting out by drinking, sassing elders, and indulging in other “wild” Western habits, but Noriko’s response to the post war situation is to burrow in, using ultra traditional values to protect herself against moral contamination” (65). Gradually, Noriko develops into a modern woman, who is ready to ignore her duty towards her family, especially towards her father. But this evaluation is partially incorrect because she does not try to desert her father. Instead, she persuades him to remarry and to be safe in his future life. From a different angle of view, both the characters are aware of the fact that marriage/remarriage will destroy the strong bond between them. So, they chose the easiest way to solve the problem. Earlier, Noriko was totally against modernity. When she came to realize the positive side of modernity, she was ready to embrace the same without any hesitation. On the other side, Somiya is symbolic of continuity of traditional values in Japan. He does not like to act against his will. He is aware of the fact that he does not have the right to intrude into the private life of his daughter, and he decides to deal with his own life. Ozus Late Spring (1949) is symbolic of the conservative criticism of the influence of the American occupation of Japan after WWII because the protagonist is aware of his role in his private and public domains. Summing, Ozu’s films portray the life of common people and the effect of modernity on traditional way of life in the Japanese society. The director provides ample importance to the common people and the problems faced by them in their private and public domains. The ethical/moral dilemma faced by Somiya and Noriko represent the influence of western culture in Japan. At the same time, these problems are symbolic of the influence of western culture within the families in Japan. Besides, Noriko’s decision to marry proves that she is ready to accept modernity. One can see that the American influence after the WWII deeply influenced the context of family relationships, especially Parent-child relations. In addition, the plot of the film is symbolic of the American influence in Japan after WWII. In short, the film Late Spring (1949) can be considered as Ozu’s conservative criticism of the influence of the American occupation of Japan after WWII because his main characters represent his messages to the viewers. Works Cited Cazdyn, Eric M. The flash of capital: film and geopolitics in Japan. USA: Duke University Press, 2002.Print. Gazetas, Aristides. An introduction to world cinema. North Carolina: McFarland, 2008. Print. Lea Bandy, Mary, and Antonio Monda. The hidden God: film and faith. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2003. Print. Nisbet, Robert, and Brad Stone. Conservatism: dream and reality. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1986. Print. Thompson, Kristin. Breaking the Glass Armor. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1988. Print. Weston, Mark. Giants of Japan: The Lives of Japans Most Influential Men and Women. New York: Kodansha America, 2002. Print. Read More