The Takarazuka Revue's Elisabeth

(I apologize for all of the issues with the video. The first line freezes up but hopefully the rest of it plays fine. The subtitles also don't show up without CC turned on, which doesn't seem to happen by default in the embedded view.)

I chose to subtitle a scene from the 2001 performance of the musical Elisabeth by a Japanese all female theater troupe, the Takarazuka Revue. Nearly all of the shows this company puts on have a strong element of melodrama, usually accentuated by the acting style, as you can see in some of the choreography here. The melodrama of this musical involves family, wealth, and power--the protagonist Elisabeth's son, Rudolf, is harshly rejected by his father upon attempting to explain his political views. Tormented by this emotional response and the prospect of losing his future power and esteem, Rudolf reunites with the physical manifestation of Death in the human world (who happens to be pursuing his mother). Their duet, "Darkness Encroaches," which follows hopefully speaks for itself.

This scene has some classically dramatic lines which I felt required some extra melodrama in their translation, even at the expense of fluidity. Seeing the piece as melodrama changed my choices from prioritizing natural language to attempting to retain that sort of excessively emotional spirit. I also focused on attempting to keep the aristocratic feeling from the setting without breaking the standards of modern English too badly. I chose words like "shall" and "O," which I would normally avoid, in an attempt to communicate both the dramatic nature and this older, high-class setting. Hopefully this sort of decision lends the translation a similar over-the-top flare to the original.

Chinese Han Goddess Rhapsodies and Japanese Love Suicides as Melodrama: Abstract

Pursuit of Forbidden Love and Control of Passion:

The Case of Chinese Han Goddess Rhapsodies and Japanese Love Suicides as Melodrama

Kelsey Kornblut

Boston University

XL470 Professor Sarah Frederick

12 December 2014

Abstract

This paper seeks to learn something new about melodrama as a genre of literature. Providing a case study of Chinese Han goddess rhapsodies and Japanese love suicide plays, I investigate how the two genres become melodramatic in similar and different ways. Since the two genres originate in different countries, different time periods, are formally different, and are typically read as traditional Chinese poetry and tragedy respectively, they are an interesting case to study melodrama. Drawing from three goddess rhapsodies and two love suicides, I illustrate how a “pursuit of forbidden love” and a “control of passion” dynamic create the excess in emotion within the two genres. I discuss how these dynamics develop from class stratification, religious messages, and societal mores. Ultimately, I argue that these particular dynamics are what allow goddess rhapsodies and love suicides to be read as melodrama and serve to benefit the genres as literary works.

"The Love Suicides at Sonezaki" by Chikamatsu Monzaemon

"The Love Suicides at Amijima" by Chikamatsu Monzaemon

"The Goddess of the Luo" by Cao Pi

"Rhapsody on the Goddess" attributed to Song Yu

"Goddess on the Gaotang Shrine" attributed to Song Yu

Popularity of Korean Dramas in Japan and Japanese Dramas in Korea: Why?

SMAP (JAPAN)

GIRL'S GENERATION (KOREA)

K-Pop and other Korean related culture are booming in Japan, creating a huge fandom and a place for Korean culture to settle in Japan. In the same way, Japanese Pop culture is penetrating Korean market with drama, music, fashion and what not. It is quite interesting how two neighboring countries are always arguing politically, yet love each other so much when it comes to Pop culture. Isn't that so melodramatic! I would like to discuss the characteristics of each pop culture, and why they are so popular in each other's country.

Korean Pop Culture

Korean Pop Culture, just like Japanese Pop Culture, mainly consists of music (called K-Pop), drama (TV series), and fashion. Before starting this point, I would like to introduce the concept of "idol" in Asian countries. Unlike the actual meaning of "idol," in Asian countries, especially Korea and Japan, idols are usually boy or girl groups consisted of many young people singing and dancing a popular song, whether it be K-Pop or J-Pop. They also excel in many other areas, such as dramas, movies, musicals, and what not. Back to the main point, K-Pop has become a huge presence, since Korean Idols started to go abroad in Japan and other Asian countries to gain more fans around the world. It was so successful that now most of the idols go abroad, once they gain a certain level of reputation and popularity in Korea. To be a popular K-pop idol, one needs to dance, sing, and act well. Not just that, but pretty and skinny to where all the cute, sexy clothes. It is hard to be a popular K-Pop group, but once you are, everyone will love every single thing you do. They go through many years of training, some even stay as a trainee up to 10 years. Now that the Korean system of producing "idol" has improved to the extent that people from other countries go to Korea to train and become one.

Next, dramas are actually one of the culture that Japan loved the most from the beginning. Starting with the boom of "Winter Sonata", in which Yong June Pae starred, young and old Japanese women started to dig into Korean dramas. Korean dramas are characterized by its very melodramatic plot and intense character development, individually and together, forming many types of relationships. Also, Korean dramas usually consist of male characters that any woman on earth would want to date. For example, this one male character is handsome, tall, muscular, yet is a doctor, who is faithful to whom he loves. When he talks, he talks in a mid-low-pitched voice, with the sweetest words. How can a girl pass by without falling in love with him? The best part is that usually in Korean dramas, these perfect men fall in love with the most ordinary girl. This is why all the female audience can't stop staying away from the television every morning and night. Not just these, but all the melodramatic features catch audience's attention every single moment. There is no one moment, in which people are bored. Depending on the length of the production, the plot advances at the right pace, so that audience can immerse into the story and feel for the characters. This is one unique characteristic for Korean dramas. While showing a character with all the qualities that people want, dramas also give you a character that matches the characteristics of "you," the viewers. This way, people can immediately empathize with characters and become a loyal audience of the show.

Fashion, however, does not impact much in other Asian countries, given that each country usually follow their own celebrities' fashion trend. However, this point relates back to the Idol culture, since fans try to buy fashion items or clothes that their favorite Idol wears to be more like them. Otherwise, Korea and Japan have very different fashion sense, and they do not affect each other too much.

Japanese Pop Culture

Before even starting an entire discussion, I would like to state that Japanese Idols are the first ones in the world to be called as Idol in such a way I described previously in this post. Just like Korean Idols, Japanese Idols have to excel in various fields. Thus, the Korean and Japanese Idols share most of the characteristics. However, unlike most of the Korean Idols, many Japanese Idols are known to be "exotic." I am not sure how to describe, but it is true that many groups have a very "different" sense of beauty. Also, there are many groups in Japan with more than dozen of people. They even compete against each other to be the leading member of the group. Strange it may seem, it is one of the reason why Japanese Idols are so unique.

Japanese dramas are certainly a prominent field. Japanese dramas have so many different themes, making them unique from other countries'. For example, one of my favorite Japanese drama is "Gokusen," and the background is High School homeroom full of students with bad behaviors. Surprisingly (or maybe not even surprisingly), the new homeroom teacher is a brave girl from Yakuza family. This setting already shows how intriguing Japanese dramas are. This is just one example; that is, there are many more dramas with themes that are hard to even imagine. I personally think that Japanese dramas are so diverse that you can choose what to watch, even though most of them are still entertaining to just watch. These days, there are many dramas that cover issues that are socially controversial. This point, I'd say, is similar to Korean dramas, yet many of Japanese dramas pick on some issues in a very straightforward manner. On the other hand, many dramas try to teach lessons to audience. It means that the dramas are written so that at the end, audience should feel in a certain way.

Why are they so popular in each other's country?

(From now on, I would like to base many of my ideas on my personal experience and talking to other Japanese and Korean women in their 20s.)

KPOP and JPOP are similar, yet different. I think this is why they love each other so much. To start with music, Korean Idols train for a long time to sing and dance well at the same time. Songs usually are high-pitched, making it even harder for them to sing, but then they have the most complicated dance routine ever, which makes it very difficult for a normal person to imitate. However, Japanese idols usually either concentrate on one or do both at a simpler level. I am not saying that one is better than another, but there is a difference in what they pursue in order to increase the number of fans. This subtle difference allows Korean fans to love JPOP and Japanese fans to love JPOP. The difference between them is actually pulling each other together.

Korean dramas have been a sensation in Japan since "Winter Sonata." After that, many of the Korean dramas have been exported to Japan. At the same time, many of Korean actors and actresses became very famous and popular in Japan. It created a new type of fandom, different from Idol fans. Like this, Japan imported lots of Korean dramas, and showed the translated versions on TV. However, the way Japanese dramas became popular in Korea is a little bit different. At first, many Korean people watched Japanese dramas individually, since there weren't many TV channels that imported and showed Japanese dramas. Also, the number of people who liked it was not as many as some people thought. Interestingly, when the story was adapted to Korean culture and reproduced, Korean viewers loved them. Thus, Korean production companies started to import the scenarios or stories, and reproduced the dramas with Korean actors and actresses, filming them in Korea mostly. This way, Japanese dramas gained popularity in Korea, since many Korean viewers went back and watched the original Japanese drama to compare and contrast.

Although they appreciate each other's pop culture in a slightly different way, I think it is great that one complements the other, and vice versa. This way, both KPOP and JPOP can improve and develop to become a better partner for each other.

Twenty-Four Eyes

About the Production of the Movie:
Twenty-four eyes (二十四の瞳, Nijushi no Hitomi) is a 1954 black-and-white film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita. It is based on the 1952 novel of the same name written by Sakae Tsuboi.


Plot:
Oishi-sensei is a teacher who takes over another teacher's place after she gets married. She becomes the teacher of a class of twelve 1st graders, and ultimately plays the role of a second mother figure. This movie follows the life of all the characters, showing what happens to each of them as they grow older in a period of time where war was imminent. 


Themes/Important Details:


War
"Don't see, hear, or talk. We teachers have a duty, we prepare our students to serve the nation." (Principal to Oishi-sensei)

During the warring state of time, teachers in Japan were supposed to encourage students, especially males, to support the war and to do their share in helping their country win. For females, this meant giving encouragement to the males. For males, this meant getting ready to sacrifice their lives to fight. While most teachers did their jobs, Oishi-sensei was the only character in this movie who did not support the notion of war. She was against it, but could not speak much about being against it as it would make her look like a communist. Most of the male students grew up to become soldiers, but many of them ended up dying as a result. Takeichi and Nita were some of the students who had died in war. Sonki had survived the war, but was blind as a result. Kic-chan was the only one who had led a "normal happy" life as a fisherman. As Oishi-sensei had mentioned, war was a reason why so many good people had died.

*Oishi-sensei's first son was named Daikichi. His name could mean "great luck". Oishi-sensei had mentioned Takeichi to Daikichi, and how Takeichi had decided to go off to war but unfortunately died. Perhaps Oishi-sensei named her son "great luck" so that he would be lucky not to be drafted into war.

Communism
Anyone who looked suspicious and might have been a communist was arrested and interrogated. It was seen as being against the country, or being unpatriotic. In this movie, one teacher (Kataoka-sensei) was arrested simply due to suspicion of being a communist. He was let go after there was a lack of evidence. Oishi-sensei had received a book that was anti-war and supported communism, and she had shared some of the written essays with her class. It was noted that the principal quickly burned the book and reprimanded Oishi-sensei on doing so. He later on also scolds her for asking her class about communists and capitalists. Such talk was considered taboo.

Gender
It was noted that most of the personal problems that appeared in this movie belonged to the girls. Matsue lost her mother and her baby sister and was separated from her father when she was adopted by someone else, forcing her to quit school. She became a waitress in a restaurant. Fujiko was a poor girl who had to leave school due to money problems and moved away. Masuno gave up her love for music and left school, and ended up working in her family's restaurant. Another girl had promised her mother that she would give up school so that she would be able to go on the class field trip. Kotoe went to Osaka to become a maid for her mother's sake, but ended up contracting tuberculosis and was forced to come back home. She was shunned by her family and ended up dying due to the disease. 

While the children were writing about their future, it was noted how dark the future was for the females. The males all wanted to become soldiers, but the females had a variety of thoughts. Fujiko was not able to write anything and considered herself to not even have a future, as she was very poor. One girl had mentioned that she wished she was born a boy instead of a girl. Another mentioned that if women were jobless, they would have no future and would not be able to survive. It was almost as if it was bad luck to be born a girl. Out of the three children Oishi-sensei ended up having, she lost her only girl child, Yatsue, who fell out of a tree. 

Compared to the girls, it seemed as most of the boys were able to continue their schooling. One boy had ended up leaving school to become a pawnbroker's assistant in Osaka, but was able to go to night-school while learning. Misako was one girl who had managed to continue schooling, and had a beautiful wedding at the end. Sanae also managed to become a school teacher after graduating from college.

Music:
The song about the crows was often sung by Oishi-sensei and her students. At the end of the movie, there are only seven students left out of the original twelve. One part of the lyrics, "Mother crow why do you sing so sadly? Because she left a child of seven in the mountain," seems to be symbolic. Oishi-sensei spent one year as their teacher, and if you add up each remaining student's year, then it comes to be the total of seven years as mentioned in the song.

Towards the end, the children were singing a song about a "glow of the fire in the village", which meant that villages were on fire. Many of the children songs sung contained dark themes.

Questions:

1. Why do you think it was mostly the girls who had so many problems with staying in school?
2. Do you think there was a correlation between staying in school and happiness?
3. Before Matsue had left school, she had mentioned wanting a lily-designed lunch box, and there was a closeup of the lunch box after Oishi-sensei bought one for her. What do you think was the purpose of the lily? (The white lily symbolizes purity/chastity)
4. When the boys were sailing off to war, what do you think was the meaning of the ribbons that were held by the soldiers and their loved ones?
5. Why do you think almost all the boys wanted to become soldiers?
6. What was the purpose of the bike?

Floating Clouds (1955)

Floating Clouds

Floating Clouds (浮雲, Ukigumo) is a black-and-white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse in 1955. This film is based on a novel with the same title written by Fumiko Hayashi in 1951.

Casting

Yukiko Koda: Hideko Takamine

Kengo Tomioka: Masayuki Mori

Sei Mukai: Mariko Okada

Sugio Iba: Isao Yamagata

Kuniko Tomioka: Chieko Nakakita

Seikichi Mukai: Daisuke Kato

Plot

The film starts with Yukiko Koda's return to Japan from French Indochina, specifically Da Lat, Vietnam. In Da Lat, she worked as a secretary for the forestry office. She falls in love with Tomioka, who is a married man. When they come back to Japan, situations change, and Tomioka goes back to his wife, who has been waiting for him the entire time. However, Tomioka visits Yukiko and continues to have an affair with her. Even when he is with her, he still plays around with other women. In the end, Yukiko follows Tomioka to Yaku-shima, and meets a tragic ending.

War

First thing that comes to mind, when watching this film, is war. The film's background is after Japan's defeat in the war. People come back to Japan from abroad, such as Borneo and Da Lat (Vietnam). Many things are changed, and people have harder time to move on in their lives due to the poor economy, and also because of their mentality of being empty and aloof from the reality. In my opinion, this also affects the emotional stability, which is shown clearly in this film through main characters, Tomioka and Yukiko. For instance, it is quite apparent that Yukiko is mentally unstable, given that she always looks for someone to depend on. When Tomioka is back with his wife, Yukiko meets an American soldier and has a very superficial relationship with him, showing how Yukiko had to have someone to depend on, for the one she used to depend on is gone. It is also shown in Tomioka's state of mind; it is actually shown in the movie through Tomioka's wife's lines, saying how even though Tomioka is physically back in Japan, he seems as if he is still away from home. If the person who lives with him feels that way, I think it is quite clear in how Tomioka could not settle back in Japan well. Additionally, the unstable economy and country's situation directly influences families in many ways, and this is shown through unstable relationships, such as affairs. For example, Tomioka's marriage becomes unstable as their household becomes unfortunate due to financial reasons (and, of course, I also believe that it is Tomioka's tendency to play with so many women, too). Even after his wife dies and he gets back with Yukiko, he still turns his eyes around to other women. This shows that Tomioka is unstable in both psychological and financial terms. Not only Tomioka, but Yukiko also moves around place to place, and never settles down. This is shown in the film through "life transition" scenes, such as Yukiko moving in with Sugio Iba at the temple, where she is not emotionally attached, yet financially fulfilled. This shows how the war created the unstable state in people's minds. Thus, they are always "floating" around like "clouds."

Flashback

During the film, you can see many flashback scenes. I would even say that the movie is focused more on the flashback scenes, rather than what is portrayed in the present time. They are mostly Yukiko and Tomioka's happy time spent together in Da Lat, Vietnam, during the war time, where they could have exploration in jungles, yet it is seen more as a romantic getaway. In my opinion, these flashback scenes show how Yukiko and Tomioka never actually "returned" to Japan. That is, although they are physically back in Japan, they never mentally returned. They are always reminiscing the old times in Da Lat and how happy they were, forgetting all the reality problems, especially marriage and other responsibilities they have in their actual lives.Therefore, whenever Tomioka and Yukiko meet up, they think of the happy and romantic days back in Da Lat, trying to get away from the reality, in effort to hide away from their responsibilities.
After Yukiko dies, the last flashback scene appears, in which Yukiko looks very free and happy. From this scene, I thought that Yukiko could not go through Japan's loss on the war, and her only escape was now gone that she did not have any more reason to cling on to her life. Although she had Tomioka with her at the end, this was still very different from their times in Da Lat. After watching the film, I thought how Yukiko tried to "own" Tomioka, believing that her happy and lovely times will come back to her life, even in Japan, yet the reality was different from her ideal, worsening her physical conditions.

Clothing Style

Yukiko's clothes are very diverse, and it clearly shows her financial situation and the general environment she is in. Her clothing style in Da Lat is very westernized and fancy. However, back in Japan, she wears old clothes with fewer patterns, showing how it's less stylish; it also shows that not only Yukiko, but many people don't have time or money to afford luxurious clothes. However, when she goes into a relationship with an American solider, her style changes again, along with her hairstyle. I think she changed her style to live up to her new lover's standards, and to look attractive to him. Everything changes yet again, when the American solider leaves and she gets back with Tomioka. Unfortunately, her poor financial status does not let her to buy pretty clothes and what not. These conditions change when she parts with Tomioka and goes to Iba at the temple. She is now well off and is dressed in better clothes. All these descriptions, however, I think shows her personality. There is a saying that one's wardrobe shows his or her personality. This applies very well to Yukiko's case. Yukiko always tries to cover up her secrets or other emotions through clothing that matches the situations. Also, the variety in clothes shows how she does not know where to settle down. This again leads back to my opinion that she is mentally unstable.

Music

In this film, music was well used to describe the atmosphere of each scene, and also emphasize the characters' emotions. For example, when the scene shows Yukiko in Da Lat, the music is rather exotic; it is different from a traditional Japanese style music. This can be compared easily when the scene suddenly changes back to a poor room Yukiko is in Tokyo after the return. Through these musical elements, it makes easier for audiences to understand and feel what kind of situations they are going through. 

Discussion Questions (Presentation)

• If you speak Japanese, do you think the translation of the film is fair?
• Who do you think is the "floating cloud"?
• Do you think Yukiko is naive for following Tomioka til the end?
• Do you think Tomioka sincerely loves Yukiko?
• Why is Tomioka so popular among women?

Stella Dallas

         The film Stella Dallas (1937) is a film based on the novel by Olive Higgins Prouty. There are many melodramatic elements of this film. To begin with, we will start with a synopsis.

          Stella Martin, the main character, grows up in a very poor family and shows her desire to reach a higher social level that is only possible marriage. Stella meets a wealthy man, Stephen Dallas, after reading about his misfortune in the newspaper and setting up a “chance encounter” with him when she goes to bring her brother lunch at work. Eventually Stephen and Stella marry and have a daughter, Laurel. Stephen takes a job in New York and asks Stella to move with him, but she refuses for fear of losing her recently achieved high status and friends such as Ed Mudd. Laurel stays with Stella and visits her father on occasion. Stephen then runs into his ex-fiancé, Helen Morrison, and her three boys at a local shop in New York. The two rekindle their romance and Stephen moves in with her. Stella realizes that she can never give Laurel the things she would need to achieve the status of young lady that Helen Morrison and Stephen Dallas can provide her. She decides to send Laurel to live with them, and when Laurel realizes this, she returns home only to find that Stella has decided to “move away with Ed Mudd- a man who has since turned into a poor drunk.” Laurel returns to her father and Helen’s and eventually marries a young gentleman. The film ends with Stella watching Laurel’s wedding through a window outside the house in the pouring rain. She walks away with a smile on her face.
            Some melodramatic themes that we see in this film are family relationships and conflicts, and the focus on wealth and social class. In terms of family relationships, Stella marries Stephen Dallas in order to achieve his social status. We see that Ed Munn, whom Stella believes can help her achieve an even higher level of social status, plays an important role in the film. At first, Ed seems as an instrument that Stella will be able to use to her advantage. Ultimately, Ed turns out to be a drunk who seems to hold Stella back from moving up in the modern society- something that she only seems to realize it is too late. We also see the importance of the mother daughter relationship that has often been used to create a connection with female audiences. Stella and Laurel have an innate relationship and love for one another- one that almost nothing can break through. This creates a lot of space for conflict. We also see the relationship between Stephen and Stella fall apart and the relationship between Stephen and Helen blossom. Helen is not portrayed as a villain, surprisingly, but rather as one of the only characters who can actually see through Stella's act. She is almost a comforting character, and we see even Stella turn to her in her time of need.

            From the beginning, the audience can see the importance that Stella places on wealth and social status. She seems obsessed with it. We see that this obsession eventually leads to the downfall of her marriage and life in general. For instance, when Stephen has a lawyer request a divorce from Stella, she concludes that it is about money and that she will give Laurel all of the fancy and expensive things that she wants. Stella goes over the top and does not see that the world’s version of high class has become far more modern and less in your face. She fails miserably at the new high class. We also see Helen Morrison as the perfect form of this new high class.

           Another important conflict that we see is the conflict between roles. Linda Williams refers to this conflict between roles in Stella Dallas as the conflict between “womanly desire and motherly duty” (Williams 1984). This conflict surrounds the majority of the plot. Stella dreams of being a good mother and tries her hardest to be one, however ultimately Stella’s desire to be part of the superior group in society is the downfall of her ability to also be a good mother. Stella seems to be using Laurel as a way to make up for her inferiority by giving Laurel everything that she would desire and that would make her a high-class young lady. Stella seems as though she sees Laurel as “her double” (Williams 1984). As Williams also points out in her chapter "Something Else Besides a Mother", “in these films it is quite remarkable how frequently the self-sacrificing mother must make her sacrifice that of the connection to her children- either for her or their own good.” Stella makes this sacrifice when she realizes that she cannot give Laurel what she needs. By asking Helen Morrison to have Laurel live with her and Stephen Dallas, Stella is doing what she feels is in the best interest of the child. Helen Morrison can provide Laurel everything that Stella wishes she could but has realized she cannot.

One interesting part is when Stella and Laurel are in bunk beds after the scene at the country club where Stella is dressed excessively and elaborately and all of Laurel’s friends make fun of her. Stella hears Laurel’s friends while they are laying in bed and knows that she is holding Laurel back. Laurel, who is on the top bunk, comes down to the bottom bunk where her mother is and climbs into bed with her. In a way, this could represent Stella holding Laurel at a certain lower level (the lower bunk) and Laurel always coming back to where Stella remains.

The ending of the film is especially dramatic, with Stella watching her daughter reach the status and marriage that she never had but always desired. From the outside of the house, Stella watches her only child get married, without Laurel's knowledge, and then walks away slowly in the rain, smiling, as if things in life have finally worked out for the one person she has always loved.

Shina no yoru / China Nights

Historical Context:

Shina no yoru or China Nights, a Japanese film released in 1940 by the Manchurian Film Company, is best known as a piece of wartime propaganda. It is set in Shanghai, China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. This war took place from 1937-1941 and was fought between China and Japan. It is known as the largest Asian war in the 20^th century, where Japanese imperialist policy aimed to dominate China politically and militarily and to secure its raw material reserves and other economic resources. During this time period, cinematic excursions into China increased. Shina no yoru is appealing because its melodramatic framework uses emotional persuasion to advance a political cause. Furthermore, its settings, especially the hotel and Manchurian battle space, was considered "exotic" at the time.

Main Characters:
-Keiran, a Chinese orphan played by a Japanese actress; the film's "heroine"
-Mr. Hase, a Japanese soldier who ends up taking in Keiran and marrying her; the film's "hero"
-Toshiko, a model of the “modern 1940 woman”
-The hotel "mom"

Historical Relationships:

Naomi Ginoza argues in Dissonance to Affinity: An Ideological Analysis of Japanese Cinema in the 1930s that Mr. Hase’s compassionate and friendly personality is an allusion to “wakyo gaiko” (diplomacy of peace and cooperation) initiated under Foreign Minister Hirota Koki. I am not so sure that I agree with this argument. I do think that Mr. Hase is benevolent from the fact that he takes Keiran in off the streets, but his physical violence towards her and his mentality that he owns her would not signal to me that he is supposed to represent Japan’s “friendly” diplomacy towards China in the mid-1930s. I saw his character as more complex and problematic than Ginoza describes and if anything I would argue that he represents more of the “bully” side of Japan than the “friend” side during this time period.

Ginoza also argues that Shina no yoru makes an effort to achieve political mediation via femininity. Again, I am not so sure that I agree with this argument. Yes, it is true that Keiran, a woman, transforms from an anti-Japanese orphan to a supportive Japanese wife, but is this really political mediation? And yes Toshiko is supportive of Keiran and Mr. Hase’s relationship, but again is this really political mediation? I would have liked to have seen more grappling with what the raw issues between China and Japan were rather than just seeing generic anger from a Chinese individual go away due to a relationship with a Japanese “hero.” 

Themes:
Fluidity of cultural identity/masquerade: Yamaguchi Yoshiko/Ri Koran, a Japanese actress/singer, plays Keiran, a Chinese orphan. I liked that this actress/singer represents how culture is fluid and not a static category, but I did not like how she “passed” as a “dirty” Chinese woman and then turned into a well-put together Japanese woman. Her character almost seemed to present the fantasy of a China that desired Japan.

Repetition of speech: Keiran consistently repeats herself in short phrases. I believe that this repetition of speech aids in the pressure that builds throughout the film.

Death: Near the end of the film, a soldier announces to Keiran that Mr. Hase has died in battle. Even though she does not believe that he is dead, it almost seems as though she is ready to commit suicide in the last scene when she enters the water neck deep. However, Mr. Hase ends up living after-all and “saves” Keiran. The film ends with them reunited and the viewer assumes that they live happily ever after. This ending is quite different from some of the works we have read/watched recently. Even though the film does end happily, I do not think that it takes away from the melodramatic essence of the story.  There are also a few other scenes that grapple with the theme of death to include the shoot-out scene where we think Mr. Hase may have been shot and the cemetery scene where Keiran is visiting her deceased brother. 

 Community gossip: There are several scenes where people in the hotel are gossiping about Mr. Hase and Keiran. This reminded me of Far From Heaven where the women in the community would gossip about Raymond and Mrs. Whitaker. I believe that this type of community gossiping intensifies the characters that they are gossiping about actions.

Transformation: Keiran transforms from a Chinese orphan to a loyal Japanese wife. This transformation is not just on an internal or legal level; it also happens physically since she takes a bath and receives beautiful clothing and jewelry.

Patriotism: When Mr. Hase is called off to war, there seems to be much more of a sense of pride and obligation than a sense of worry or resentment on both Mr. Hase and Keiran’s part. It’s clear that Keiran is sad about the situation but she seems to understand how important it is for Mr. Hase to leave.

Physical aggression:  When watching Golden Demon, we discussed how the threat of physical aggression was certainly there but never really advanced to more than pushing around. However, in Shina no yoru there is clear scenes of physical aggression especially the scene where Mr. Hase slaps Keiran across her face. I think that this physical aggression adds to the shock value and subsequently melodramatic aspect of the film.

 Timing: Timing is an important element of melodrama. There are several places in the story where timing seems to create the question of “wait, how did/ why did that happen?” For example, Mr. Hase is called to war right after he gets married to Keiran.  Additionally, after the segment of battle where the ship is burning down, it quickly switches to the hotel. Furthermore, after the shoot out scene it switches to Mr. Hase and Keiran walking in the park exchanging "corny" comments such as "I didn't think there could be such happiness in the world." These quick plot shifts and scene changes certainly initiates that thought in the viewer that this story is “so melodramatic.”

Questionability of truth: At the beginning of the story, it is unclear whether Keiran is honest when she says she does not speak Japanese. This questionability of truth adds to the tension between characters and subsequently the pressure within the story.

Songs:

“Shina no yoru," sung by Watanabe Hamako, became one of the most famous Tairiku melodies. This song also became popular among American soldiers based in Japan and Korea after WWII. However, they couldn’t pronounce the song title so it came to be known as “She Ain’t Got No Yoyo.”

Discussion Questions:

1. Did you like the ending?

2. Did you view the film as propaganda?

3. How do you feel about the “wait, how did/why did that happen?” moments?

4. Does the film achieve reconciliation?

5. How did you feel about the physical aggression?

6. How did you feel about the language?

7. Opinions on Keiran as strong or desperate?

8. Opinions on cultural “counterfeiting”?

9. Were there any elements of feminism in the film?

10. How did you feel about the songs?