Japanese filmmakers excel at captivating/terrifying audiences with films that deal with the psyche, the base human instincts to stressful or horrific events. As opposed to Western psychological thrillers that often focus on frightening the audience, Japanese psychological thrillers focus on the effects the and the inner turmoil that characters experience. A common aspect of these films is the repression of the self. Many of the characters put on a face to appear fine but when they have reached their limit it results in a complete breakdown. The character’s inability to suppress the reality of themselves seeps into what they project onto others. In Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue, Mima’s transition from the suffocating lifestyle of an idol to an actress is difficult. Rather than admit that something is wrong, Mima believes herself to be going insane and pretends to be fine when she clearly isn’t. She allows herself to be put into situations she’s uncomfortable with for the sake of her acting debut, further stressing her mind. Mima fears that telling someone will make her a burden or …show more content…
Rumi’s own restrain of herself, the idol she wanted to be, has lead to mental collapse. The film blends the psyche and reality to the point where audiences are left unsure of what occurred. Rumi does not accept her failure as an idol yet presents herself as a stable individual until she reaches her breaking point. Mima’s film role parallels Rumi’s reality. In this sense, she is (gets to be?) Mima. Rumi and Mima are acting out each other’s realities. Instead of coming to terms with her life, Rumi forms an unhealthy obsession to cope. She adopts Mima’s life, seeking to purge whoever does not fit into her illusion of an innocent pop idol, eventually attempting to remove the source of her fantasy. Rumi appears normal until her room is revealed, this is where she can become, or imitate, the person she desires regardless of if her methods are
Our identities are constantly evolving throughout our lives to adapt to certain people and environments. Lars Fr. H. Svendsen states “Self-identity is inextricably bound up with the identity of the surroundings” One’s morals and characteristics are forever changing and these self resolutions are influenced by the encompassing aspects of life such as significant events, environmental revolutions and one’s relationship with another. Due to factors sometimes beyond our control, one’s self prowess is merely an expression of their own prior experiences which conclusively preserve and maintain a state of fluctuation for one’s character. A similar concept is evident in the film ‘The Sapphires’
Her philosophy is to “go with the flow” and take life one day at a time. She falls into Marcia’s and Josselson’s identity diffusion status. During this stage, she has shown to have low levels of exploration and commitment because she has not considered her identity at all. In addition she has not established any type of life goals. Her “go with the flow” attitude reflects her hedonic behavior as she floats through life. The social process of how she learns who she is has not become integrated yet because she has not realized what her social identity is or defined her personality traits; therefore, she bounces from one thing to the next with no certainty. Many individuals in this stage of diffusion are obsessed by seeking out things for the gratification of pleasure (Oswalt,
The Yakuza (Pollack, 1975) was an interesting movie using the blend of American and Japanese culture to help build the storyline. This neo-noir film is about a man that returns to Japan, after World War II, to retrieve the daughter of his friends. Though he completes his mission he is pulled into something deeper that could claim his life. His movie is mostly about relationships between characters and how they change with better understanding of each other. Not only that, but the relationship between East and West. Using the Japanese culture the audience is enlightened about “many salient social and anthropological facts about Japan and its culture.”(Meyer, 1998) Like for instance that “Yakuza” is formed from numbers that when combined equal 20, which in Japanese gambling is an unlucky number. I take this in direct correlation with what happens to the characters in the movie, they seem to lose a lot before thy make it through to the other side of the storm.
"Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" Laura Mulvey asserts the fact that in mainstream films, women are simultaneously looked at and displayed. That is to say, the woman is both an object of desire and a spectacle for the male voyeuristic gaze. The male's function is active; he advances the story and controls the gaze onto the women. Interestingly, the spectator identifies with the male through camera technique and style. In an effort to reproduce the so-called natural conditions of human perception, male point-of-view shots are often used along with deep focus. In addition, camera movements are usually determined by the actions of the male protagonist. Consequently, the gaze is dominated by the active male while the passive female exists to support desire within the film. In an attempt to change this structure, Mulvey stresses the importance of challenging the "look." One way this is accomplished, is in the film Reassemblage, where the look of the camera is free from male perspective and dominated more by passionate detachment. In doing this, the filmmaker, Trinh Minh-Ha attempts to destroy the satisfaction and pleasure derived from images of women in film, by highlighting the ways Hollywood depends on voyeuristic and fetishi...
Modern day horror films are very different from the first horror films which date back to the late nineteenth century, but the goal of shocking the audience is still the same. Over the course of its existence, the horror industry has had to innovate new ways to keep its viewers on the edge of their seats. Horror films are frightening films created solely to ignite anxiety and panic within the viewers. Dread and alarm summon deep fears by captivating the audience with a shocking, terrifying, and unpredictable finale that leaves the viewer stunned. (Horror Films)
In his work, Goffman explains that ‘the self’ is the result of the dramatic interaction between the actor and the audience he or she performs to. There are many aspects of how an individual performs his or her ‘self’. One of the aspects of performing the self that Goffman labels as the ‘front.’ The front involves managing the individual’s impression.
Americans and Japanese are both fond of pointing out the difference in crime rates. To many Japanese, America is seen as an outlaw nation, bristling with guns. And for many Americans, the juxtaposition of Japan's often ultra-violent entertainment with their low crime rate is fascinating. Japanese pop culture and crime statistics are often cited to defend American entertainment when it is accused of inspiring violence. But for anyone paying attention, startling crimes have a way of popping up in Japan unexpectedly. There were the "Otaku Murders" of 1988 and 1989, where Tsutomo Miyazaki kidnapped and killed four girls of around five years of age, reenacting gruesome scenes from his hentai collection. The serin gas attack in 1995 is another notable incident in the analogs of Japanese crime history. Perpetrated by the Aum Shinrikyo cult, almost a dozen people were killed during the terrorist attack.
Nina has also blacked out on several occasions and shows signs of mutilation to her body without her knowledge: bruises, cuts, and scratches. According to her mother, Nina used to self-mutilate when she was a child, but it has recently started happening again. Nina sees images of herself, but a different and “evil” version of herself. This could be the awakening of an alter personality or sub-personality. Nina’s stress level with the new performance in her ballet company may have played a part in this change.
Bushido is a Japanese term for the samurai code of behavior that includes the ideal of self-control. Central to this ideal is the consideration that it is "unmanly" for a samurai to display his emotions on his face (Nitobe 94). This traditional aspect of behaviour penetrates deep into contemporary Japanese culture. By examining Fireworks, a Japanese film of the 1990s, we can observe how the idealized image of the samurai transplants itself into a contemporary gangster film (jakuzza-geki). Further, I will argue that Japanese ideal behavior (as descended from Bushido) implicitly calls for the cinematic presentation of emotion at a site other than the face. Using sequences from the film, I will explore how internalized emotion is presented in the form of graphic violence - allowing the main character, Nishi, to preserve his "samurai" dignity.
Napier, Susan Jolliffe. "Confronting Master Narratives: History as Vision in Miyazaki Hayao's Cinema of De-assurance." Positions: East Asia cultures critique 9.2 (2001): 467-493. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Gamble, Adam, and Takesato Watanabe. A Public Betrayed: An inside Look at Japanese Media Atrocities and Their Warnings to the West. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Pub., 2004. Print.
Spielberg’s Schindler’s List uses a variety of macro and micro techniques that are effective in eliciting strong emotional response form the spectator. Unlike horror films, which rely on micro techniques to create tension or foreshadowing, Spielberg relies on unconventional techniques that are often juxtaposed to have the spectator feel unsettled. Despite not being a horror film, it is compatible through the lack of violence in the film and the context of the Holocaust. Therefore, as a spectator, it is clear that ‘horror’ in a horror movie differs greatly to ‘horror’ in this particular film because of Spielberg’s raw and authentic style in making the spectator feel uneasy as the narrative progresses.
At least 30,000 Japanese have killed themselves every year for the last fourteen years. These rates are significantly higher than those of other industrial countries. They normally are around 24 suicides per every 100,000 people, making it roughly double the rate in the United States, and three times that in the United Kingdom. (Traphagan).
The films of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa have had wide ranging influence over contemporary films, with his ronin films Seven Samurai and Yojimbo influencing countless westerns and mob movies. Arguably, however, Rashomon has been the most instrumental of all Kurosawa’s films because it asks a question that lies near the heart of all cinema: what is reality? Today, any consumer of television or cinema has seen various permutations of the plot of Rashomon numerous times, probably without realizing. In the film, a rape and consequent murder are told five different times, by a woodcutter (Takashi Shimura) who seems to have witnessed the event, a bandit (Toshiro Mifune) who committed the rape, the wife of a samurai (Machiko Kyo) who was raped, and the ghost of the samurai (Masayuki Mori), who is channeled by a medium after his murder. In each telling, the viewer is presented with five realities that, through the use of various frame stories, are totally incompatible with one another. Throughout, Rashomon is a study in simplicity. The beautiful yet frugal cinematography of Kazuo Miyagawa and the minimalist plot, skillfully directed by Kurosawa, force the viewer to contend with two dissonant notions: that everything they have seen is real, but that none of it can be true.
In an era where Filipino horror films become an avenue for product placements and exposure for young actors, Yanggaw written and directed by Richard Somes certainly stands out as a local film that not only satisfies its viewers’ desire to be frightened but also gives the audience a different perspective where for once, the monster is the victim. This film’s simplicity makes it so realistic and relatable that it can pass as a movie that is based on a true story. Released on the year 2009 when all the other horror films tried too hard to scare its audience with the effects, script, plot and acting, Yanggaw takes on a simpler technique, challenging its audience