Orientalism In 47 Ronin

Based on the theme of this movie, the travesty of Japanese history in ’47 Ronin’ can be seen as a failure. Whereas the ignorance in cultural differences of clothing and hairstyle between Japan and China is one of the most obvious examples. In the Edo period, the Japanese traditional hairstyle worn by samurai is called Chonmage (topknot haircut). Only men of high rank and status such as nobles and samurai were allowed to have this haircut. Besides, it was considered a disgrace to have the topknot cut off. (Yasuka, 2015). Yet, a hair style for men in the movie all have long hair and did not tie it up which similar to the hairstyle during Hun period in Chinese history. This might imply that the chonmage hairstyle is not well-accepted by European

In term of ideology, Orientalism has been defined as the framing of prejudices that bolster a sense of European superiority over the East and thus implicitly or explicitly legitimate imperialism and colonialism, the exploitation of subjugated people deemed culturally or racially inferior to the dominant culture. To emphasize this ideology, the movie made the main character a Westerner and ended with the same old plot, a white man saves the day. Keanu Reeves starred as Kai, a half-breed who was adopted by the benevolent Lord Asano Naganori and in love with Asano’s daughter, Mika, while others samurai sneered and looked down at him. There are two contradict reasons that can be explain why the main cast turned out to be a European which completely vanished the sense of Japanese. First, no one can deny that Keanu Reeves is one of the most famous actors in the United States and of course, his reputation would attract more audiences to pay for the movie. It is noticeable that the movie tries to stress the fact that during the feudal period foreigners are not welcomed or accepted by Japanese people as well as Kai who cannot be a samurai because of his mixed ancestry. The samurai insulted and disdained Kai, but after the unjust death of their lord, surprisingly, they need to ask for Kai’s help so that they can defeat the enemies. In this case, it seems that the purpose of this movie is to broaden Japanese people’s perspective that it is unjustified for the foreigner to be considered as an unlucky charm or misfortune object. On the other hand, it does not sound right for a half-white character teaching the Japanese how to use a sword, defeat the Japanese demons, and lead to the true nature of bushido. While the group of ronin strictly believed in spiritual and tradition, Kai set himself along the line of logical and rational. Besides, it is Kai who is able to defeat a powerful witch