Akira Kurosawa's RAN
In this explication of this movie RAN several items will be discussed. Culturally the movie will be critiqued on how the Japanese culture is shown throughout the movie, and the structure of how the characters progress throughout the movie. The conflict between characters will also be discussed in reference to the obstacles they face and how they deal with them. This movie deals mainly with loyalty and tradition (bushido), and how a traditional Japanese family handles not only their personal problems, but also relating to their society and surroundings.
The main character or focal point of the movie is Lord Hidetora Ichimonji. He has bequeathed his is kingdom and his three castles to his three sons: Taro (eldest), Jiro, and Saburo (youngest). With his bequeath he has also given up his authority in society as well as militarily to Taro. With this announcement, Taro and Jiro show great hesitation in this yet Subaro shows defiance claiming this is a foolish mistake. Because of these comments Saburo is banished. This is a good example of loyalty to elders and creates an immediate conflict among family. Kurosowa attempts to show how important loyalty can be in the face of change, and even though Subaro does not agree, having a bit of faith in elders reflects also the loyalty that this culture believes.
With retirement at hand, Lord Ichimonji goes to the first castle to visit Taro. Taro shows great disloyalty to his father. Taro has had a rush of power and is now dishonoring his father with contracts to sign and so on. Within this culture, dishonoring one’s father is very humiliating, and, with no power, Hidetora leaves to the second castle to find refuge with Jiro. This conflict with Taro represents shibui in the fact that even though Taro has all this power and greatness, he has loss the love of his father all because he felt threatened by him because of his fathers respect through the land.
As Hidetora makes way to seek shelter with Jiro, he finds out that Taro sent orders to Jiro to not help his father in any way and to not allow Hidetora’s men to enter the castle. Even though Jiro is crushed, he follows these orders and dishonors his father. This is the opposite of Bushido because the father has been banished by family and family is a strong bushido trait.
'Even with all the mental anguish and struggle, an elemental instinct bound us to this soil. Here we were born; here we wanted to live. We had tasted of its freedom and learned of its brave hopes for democracy. It was too late, much too late for us to turn back.' (Sone 124). This statement is key to understanding much of the novel, Nisei Daughter, written by Monica Sone. From one perspective, this novel is an autobiographical account of a Japanese American girl and the ways in which she constructed her own self-identity. On the other hand, the novel depicts the distinct differences and tension that formed between the Issei and Nisei generations. Moreover, it can be seen as an attempt to describe the confusion experienced by Japanese Americans torn between two cultures.
Akira Kurosaw’s Seven Samurai is a film that encompasses various ideologies in order to allow the audience to understand the lives of Japanese people during the 1600’s. The film delves deep in social issues of the roles of the people within the society, the expectations as well as the obligations within the respected castes and elements within groups of ; suffering, working together, protecting family and working for the better good of the community.
In conclusion, Katsu’s tale allows one to delve deep into the day to day life of an unemployed samurai during the end of the Tokugawa era. His life can be observed to see the immense privilege the samurai status held. Not only that, he displays the values of a samurai warrior and although he does not act like an honorable samurai, he is an honorable warrior. Katsu displays the tenacity of both samurai privileges and values during the late Tokugawa shogunate. Although his life may not exemplify the ideal samurai, it does in fact allow one to observe the life of an ordinary samurai.
Throughout history artists have used art as a means to reflect the on goings of the society surrounding them. Many times, novels serve as primary sources in the future for students to reflect on past history. Students can successfully use novels as a source of understanding past events. Different sentiments and points of views within novels serve as the information one may use to reflect on these events. Natsume Soseki’s novel Kokoro successfully encapsulates much of what has been discussed in class, parallels with the events in Japan at the time the novel takes place, and serves as a social commentary to describe these events in Japan at the time of the Mejeii Restoration and beyond. Therefore, Kokoro successfully serves as a primary source students may use to enable them to understand institutions like conflicting views Whites by the Japanese, the role of women, and the population’s analysis of the Emperor.
Bushido - ???- the feudal-military Japanese code of behavior; the way of the warrior [samurai] Japanese chivalry [knighthood]
darkness to Macbeth’s plot of killing Banquo. He is asking the night to come and hide
The vision of the dagger, the murder of Duncan, the murder of Banquo, the sleep-walking of Lady Macbeth, all come in night scenes. The Witches dance in the thick air of a storm or, 'black and midnight hags', receive Macbeth in a cavern. The blackness of night is to the hero a thing of fear, even of horror; and that which he feels becomes the spirit of the play. The faint glimmerings of the western sky at twilight are here menacing: it is the hour when the traveller hastens to reach safety in his inn, and when Banquo rides homeward t meet his assassins; the hour when 'light thickens', when 'night's black agents to their prey do rouse', when the wolf begins to howl, and the owl to scream, and withered murder steals forth to his work. (307)
In 1952, Golding wrote a classic novel, Lord of the Flies and shows people are born evil. In this novel William Golding proves his point in writing this novel, while Jean Jacques Rousseau thinks the opposite of Golding. Rousseau thinks that people are born naturally good and pure, but society is what makes and turns some into evil. The novel Lord of the Flies starts out with a planes crashing and young boys being the only ones to survive. They are to start their own “government and rules” and the boys need to make their own society and survive until someone comes to rescue them. For a while they all behave, but then it becomes chaos and stop their society and do not follow their own rules. In my opinion, I would have to agree with Rousseau, because he thinks man is naturally good and pure and that society corrupts man.
There are two types of people in this world, good and evil. Some people think that evil comes to us from the surrounding society, others believe it is inside us and we are born with it. William Golding in the novel Lord of the Flies believes that all people are born with evil inside which needs to be restrained by a civilized society. In the novel, there is a stark contrast between the two societies set up by Ralph and Jack. Ralph is restrained by a civilized society, yet Jack is not restrained so his evil comes out at a faster rate. This shows through the personalities and the roles of each leader, in the different qualities in the second in command, Piggy and Roger. Most of all it is noticeable in Jack’s and Ralph’s values.
I believe Rousseau’s philosophy conserving human nature because I believe that people can do much greater things then what society expects and if people were not guided by society and societies prejudices they would be less tempted to do wrong if they were allowed to be themselves. I believe that society can help us be more productive but not necessarily better people. I also believe that without society we might be less productive but not less evil. In conclusion man is basically good even without society.
In the novel, "Lord of the Flies," a group of British boys are left on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere. Throughout the novel, they have conflicts between civilization and savagery, good vs. evil, order vs. chaos, and reason vs. impulse. What would it be like if the boys were replaced by a group of girls? Would they behave the same way they did in the novel? I believe that the girls would act in the same behavior as the boys in all ways because, everyone is installed with evil inside them which is their natural instinct, also because in life there is always a power struggle in all manners, and the outcome with the girls would be similar-since both sexes would plan on getting rescued.
It can be observed that even the servants are hostile and aggressive towards the rival family, which again contributes to the dramatic effectiveness of the scene. They fight among themselves for the honour of the family they represent.
...ile the war is still happening. The lack of freedom and human rights can cause people to have a sad life. Their identity, personality, and dignity will be vanish after their freedom and human right are taking away. This is a action which shows America’s inhuman ideas. It is understandable that war prison should be put into jail and take away their rights; but Japanese-American citizen have nothing to do with the war. American chooses to treat Jap-American citizen as a war prisoner, then it is not fair to them because they have rights to stay whatever side they choose and they can choose what ever region they want. Therefore, Otasuka’s novel telling the readers a lesson of how important it is for people to have their rights and freedom with them. People should cherish these two things; if not, they will going to regret it.
Humans are intricate. They have built civilizations and invented the concept of society, moving accordingly from savage primal instincts to disciplined behaviour. William Golding, however, does not praise humanity in his pessimistic novel, Lord of The Flies, which tells the story of a group of British schoolboys who are stranded on an uninhabited tropical island without any adults – a dystopia. Golding evidently expresses three views of humanity in this novel. He suggests that, without the rules and restrictions on which societies and civilizations are built, humans are intrinsically selfish, impulsive and violent.
The setting shows a world of opposing ideals, contrasting the weight and solidification of the port and land with the open and free sailor life that Ryuji has been living. This realm of opposites is bolstered by the physical environment in which the characters are placed. Yokohama, a busy Japanese shipping town, is an ideal representation of conflicting spheres. As the city is the ideal connection amidst land and sea, the ocean plays a vital point in connecting the differing ideologies present in the novel. As the plot begins, Fusako and Ryuji’s affair show how Ryuji attempted to overcome the grasp of sealife. The scene of consummation shows the elements of land and sea, Fusako and Ryuji respectively, in perfect harmony with each other as “the universal order [was] at last achieved” (13). The simply beautiful act of sex becomes su...