The Role of Violence in Japanese Cinema - Coursework Example

Discuss the role of violence in Japanese Cinema Introduction: Japanese cinema is one of the world’s most uniquely identifiable forms of cinematic art, it has several definitive features which has distinguished it from other cinematic forms of expression and has perhaps one of the most extensive histories of belting out unique and ground breaking films, pioneering new forms of film making techniques, experimenting with genres and using cutting edge technology. Even in today’s world of advanced special effects, CGI and green screen technology, Japan continues to be one of the leading countries in the world where filmmaking is a genuine art form. Japan can boast of such giants as Kurosawa, Susumu Hani, Nagisa Oshima (Yoshimoto, 2000) and other notable worthies who have, in one way or the other, touched, shaped and influenced film making not only in Japan but all over the world. Filmmakers of all nationalities have drawn inspiration from the work of Japanese filmmakers and Japanese cinematic trends have shaped the global filmmaking agency for decades on end. This distinction of being one of the pioneers of filmmaking and cinema also comes with its unique set of disturbing trends and phases. For instance, Japanese movies, even since the time of Kurosawa’s samurai epics to the modern day classics like “Battle Royale” or “Ringu” have set a disturbing precedent of the mistreatment of the human body. Such mistreatments have ranged from the mildly amusing to the intensely grotesque, from sexual violence to outright mutilation and sadistic violence. In this context, Japanese cinema stands head and shoulders above all other nationalities and cultures, in the sense that not only is such brutal violence unequalled throughout the global filmmaking community, it is also barely censored or checked and instead in many cases encouraged and rewarded. This essay aims to establish the role of violence and other such grotesqueries in the world of Japanese cinema. Violence in Japanese Cinema: One of the best ways that one may demonstrate marked phenomena in a cultural or technical trend is to find its simile or parallel and provide commentary and analysis of that. Similarly one of the ways in which we can analyze the role of violence in Japanese cinema is to select one such example from its many productions and analyze the violence and graphic imagery in that very same example. For instance, we may choose Kurusawa’s samurai epics and look at the use of violence, particularly in relation to the sword fighting duels therein, or we may chose one example from the many productions of Japanese horror stories and look at the targeted, gendered violence in those, not only towards the victims of the ghost or the antagonist but also towards the ghost as a victim of extreme violence as well (Alastair 2007). One of the finest and most widely acclaimed movies of Japanese film industry is the 2000, Kenta Fukasaku cult classic “Battle Royale” and it is this movie that I will be analyzing and commenting on to analyze the role of violence in Japanese cinema. The movie has been release in a number of variations with different versions coming out in DVD format and being released to public theatres. The initial success of the film saw several new versions being released with each version containing some extra perk of either extended footage or previously unseen footage or with extended director’s commentary etc. The movie is based off of the novel of the same name, authored by Koushon Takami. It has also spawned its own Manga cartoon and a sequel in 2003 titled Battle Royale II. The film contains several elements of Japanese culture in both its aesthetics and character dynamics. Critics of the film have labeled a lot of the film being excessively Manga-ish and drawing heavily from the popular genre of Japanese anime, particularly in how violence is depicted in the movie. There is some truth to this criticism particularly as the central theme of the movie, children abandoned on an island, fighting for survival while engaged in a quest is a fairly common narrative in that kind of genre. Analysis: Battle Royale may be classified as a setting of totalitarian dystopia that provides the backdrop for existentialist sci-fi angst set in an alternate future (Donald, 2001). The film is reflective of various issues that Japan faced in the aftermath of the Second World War and has advanced those very scenarios into extreme conclusions. One of the finest points of this movie is how it illustrates the consequences of the actions of adults on the youth of Japan, delinquent youth, but youth nonetheless. It also features the nuanced and delicate combination of violence, combined with coming of age issues and adolescent emotions, maintaining an admirable balance while also incorporating symbolism of Japans social, political and cultural issues at the time of its production. Battle Royale, like most science fiction movies set in an alternate universe, deals with a violent dystopian future where a dictatorial authoritative government deals with issues of youth unrest in the most exaggeratedly violent and tyrannical way possible. The movie depicts the youth as having brought unrest and violence to the country, authority is disrespected and violence escalates on a substantial scale. The tyrannical government consequently formulates the BR law, which mandates forcing the unruly youth in a violent, gladiatorial game, so that they may understand the severity of the problem which they have created. Thus every year, a class of students is selected to participate in a battle to the death with each other, the survival earns the right to go home. The equation of students with juvenile delinquency is blatantly obvious, an exaggerated, overhyped form of juvenile delinquency no doubt, but an issue that is clearly terrifying to Japanese society based on its notions of how youngsters should behave, supremacy of authority and the emphasis it places on obedience and loyalty. The violence is gory and brutal and illustrated in great graphic detail through the utilization of brutal and diverse weaponry at the hands of adolescent high school students (Joseph, 1999). The film is a graphic symbolization of Japans history, particularly during world war two. The brutal visual depictions of death, battle and dismemberment of high school students was reflective of how the director felt about the way that children were drafted to fight for Japan in World war two. In a later question asked by a journalist, the director had asked ‘How would it be for those young people to go through the same experiences?’ The film’s controversial issues continue in the genre it belongs to, that of teen slasher/horror movies. The fact that makes it stand out is not the sheer body count or the bloody brutal nature of the killings. It is the simple fact that the movie presents in such chilling detail and gore the act of children killing each other. The fact that the actors are not mainstream twenty something’s but actual teenagers, most of them being around only fifteen years old is especially chilling. This use of young teenage actors completely changes how viewers saw the film, not only in the physical similarity but also the awkward, slightly forced nature of their acting completely impresses on the viewer the grotesqueness of the contradiction of their young age and of the acts which they are forced to carry out on each other and in many cases forced to be the victims of. This identification of the audience with the actors furthers the horror of the acts that are portrayed on the screen. Young people relate to the characters not only through the similarity of their physical and mental characteristics but through the portrayal of their own adolescent qualities, reminding them of their own situations of struggling through adolescence and maturity. The demographic cross section of the youth in the movie stimulate the moral concern over their behavior and each of the actors is given certain mannerisms and personal characteristics which further helps identify the character to the audience, increasing the obscenity of the violence which they are subjected to, or are the perpetrators of, whichever may be the case. Although many Japanese films have utilized the elements of violence and bloodshed to underscore points of cultural or political significance, Battle Royale, stands up among them for the simple fact of the sheer brazen clarity with which it utilizes violence, which in turn is reflective of the Japanese Cinema as a whole in their usage of violence as a tool for underscoring Socio-cultural points through the medium of filmmaking and grotesquery. For instance, in the movie the political scenario is set in an extremely violent, dystopian alternate future where society has collapsed as a whole and is trying to claw its way back past the various menaces of juvenile delinquency, social violence, break down of traditional Japanese cultural and social mores and traditions. This is clearly symbolic of Japan’s emergence from a brutal Second World War, of the various changes it had to make, of the extreme violence that it was a victim as well as proponent of. The relationship between the economic state of Japan and Japanese cinema is also vividly apparent in the movie with constant attacks on banks and financial institutions, depictions of the financial ruin of the world all over and Japan in particular, it is clearly obvious that this movie also doubles as a vessel for the director to express his concerns over the socio-economic state of the country, as well as his commentary on how the generation of adults of the current milieu are severely lacking in the will and grit shown by their predecessors following the second world war, but more importantly this movie also depicts the breakdown of communication between the different groups of demographics in this movie, between the adults and the children and between themselves as well. The violence doubles as a vessel of symbolism, reflection and artistic interpretation to the extent that the movie depends on depictions of the same (Keiko, 2009). This example of violence and graphic imagery as a tool of expression finds its roots not only in modern Japanese cinema but back through the years as well, even back to the era of black and white movies of the forties or fifties. The differences being that now, owing to a more relaxed and permissive artistic attitude, as well as the advancement in technology, such depictions are more widespread and much more graphic. Conclusion: Ultimately, the many representations of the obsessive, the sexually frustrated, the violent, and the extreme in Japanese cinema are rooted, like many other international styles, in the historical and socio-political ideologies of the nation itself. The representation of the shocking within uniquely Japanese genres may be motivated by a rich history of Japanese culture and how it has been adapted, for better or for worse, to complement the nation’s condition. Examples of sexual repression and obsessive desire may furthermore be connected to the abolishment of Shinto as the state religion, which denied the people the once sacred sexual freedom they once had, and comments upon the resulting violent tendencies that develops from physical limitation; the films communicate that the repression of the simplest desires for long enough will eventually supersede self-control in the form of excessiveness. The motif of sadomasochism is a representation of the implosively destructive dystopia that Japan became through its post-war self-alienation. Although the influences for each element of the perverse and gruesome in Japanese cinema may be several, it is undeniable that large changes to the country and specifically that of the effects of World War II are defining events that have contributed to the national cinema as a whole, distinguishing it substantially from other, differently influenced cinematic styles. In understanding the influences of a national cinema, an understanding of the country itself can also be formed to varying degrees. Such is the case for the particular Japanese genres that are extreme in graphic content, if one has the stomach and the psyche to endure them. References: Yoshimoto, Mitsuhiro Kurosawa: Film Studies and Japanese Cinema 2000, Duke University Press Phillips, Alastair Japanese Cinema: Texts and Contexts 2007, Routledge Press Richie, Donald A Hundred years of Japanese Film 2001, Ottawa Press Anderson, Joseph The Japanese Film: Art and Industry Princeton University Press McDonald, Keiko Reading a Japanese Film: Cinema in Context University of Hawaii Press Read More