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Lost in Translation=teh racist?
Sam
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1130137,00.html
I wrote this person an email that I'm going to repost here which is basically my take on it-
The anti-Japanese racism in Sofia Coppola's new film just isn't funny
Kiku Day
Saturday January 24, 2004
The Guardian
Film reviewers have hailed Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation as though it were the cinematic equivalent of the second coming. One paper even called it a masterpiece. Reading the praise, I couldn't help wondering not only whether I had watched a different movie, but whether the plaudits had come from a parallel universe of values. Lost in Translation is being promoted as a romantic comedy, but there is only one type of humour in the film that I could see: anti-Japanese racism, which is its very spine.
Article continues
In the movie, Bill Murray plays the alienated Bob, a middle-aged actor shooting whisky commercials in Tokyo. He meets the equally alienated Charlotte, played by Scarlett Johansson, a Yale graduate accompanying her fashion photographer husband. The film is billed as exploring their disconnection from the country they are visiting and from their spouses, and how they find some comfort in one another through a series of restrained encounters.
But it's the way Japanese characters are represented that gives the game away. There is no scene where the Japanese are afforded a shred of dignity. The viewer is sledgehammered into laughing at these small, yellow people and their funny ways, desperately aping the western lifestyle without knowledge of its real meaning. It is telling that the longest vocal contribution any Japanese character makes is at a karaoke party, singing a few lines of the Sex Pistols' God Save the Queen.
The Japanese half of me is disturbed; the American half is too. The Japanese are one-dimensional and dehumanised in the movie, serving as an exotic background for Bob and Charlotte's story, like dirty wallpaper in a cheap hotel. How funny is it to put the 6ft-plus Bill Murray in an elevator with a number of overly small Japanese? To manufacture a joke, the film has Murray contorting himself to have a shower because its head isn't high enough for him - although he is supposed to be staying in a five-star hotel. It's made up simply to give western audiences another stereotype to laugh at. And haven't we had enough about the Japanese confusing rs and ls when they speak English?
While shoe-horning every possible caricature of modern Japan into her movie, Coppola is respectful of ancient Japan. It is depicted approvingly, though ancient traditions have very little to do with the contemporary Japanese. The good Japan, according to this director, is Buddhist monks chanting, ancient temples, flower arrangement; meanwhile she portrays the contemporary Japanese as ridiculous people who have lost contact with their own culture.
Coppola follows in the footsteps of a host of American artists who became very interested in the cultural appropriation of East Asia after the second world war. The likes of Lou Harrison, Steve Reich and John Cage took "eastern" philosophy, music and concepts to fit an image of the mysterious east, which is always related to ancient civilisations.
Those not conforming to this never have a voice of their own. They simply don't have a story to tell, or at least not one that interests "us". This is the ignoble tradition into which Lost in Translation fits. It is similar to the way white-dominated Hollywood used to depict African-Americans - as crooks, pimps, or lacking self control compared with white Americans.
The US is an empire, and from history we know that empires need to demonise others to perpetuate their own sense of superiority. Hollywood, so American mythology has it, is the factory of dreams. It is also the handmaiden to perpetuating the belief of the superiority of US cultural values over all others and, at times, to whitewashing history.
The caricatures play to longstanding American prejudice about Japan. The US forced Japan to open up for trade with other countries in 1864, ending 400 years of isolationist policy by the Tokugawa regime. The US interned thousands of Japanese during the second world war and dropped two nuclear bombs on the country. After Japan's defeat, America became more influential in East Asia; Japan was occupied, not only by the US forces but, more important, politically and culturally.
Some have hailed the film's subtlety, but to me it is reminiscent of the racist jokes about Asians and black people that comedians told in British clubs in the 1970s. Yet instead of being shunned, the film this week received eight Bafta nominations, and is a hot favourite for the Oscars.
Coppola's negative stereotyping of the Japanese makes her more the thinking person's Sylvester Stallone than a cinematic genius. Good luck to the director for getting away with it, but what on earth are people with some semblance of taste doing saluting it?
· Kiku Day is a musician specialising in shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute); she spent 10 years living in Japan
I wrote this person an email that I'm going to repost here which is basically my take on it-
Dear Ms. Day,
having read your 2004 article on racism in Lost in Translation, I felt
compelled to question some of what you posit.
You point out that the Japanese characters are belittling caricatures.
While I don't doubt that this is the case to some degree, I feel you
are mistaken in assuming there is any malice behind it. Matthew Minami
the (arguably) most eccentric Japanese person in the film is a
television personality playing himself- and I am not assuming that you
aren't aware of this- but I feel that most of the humor that you feel
is at the expense of Japanese culture is intended not to put Japanese
down whilst inflating the Western ego, but to simply contribute to the
atmosphere of bizarreness that exacerbates and underscores the
alienation and existential melancholy of the leads. At this point it
is also worth indicating that the portrayal of American characters is
*far* from flattering. From the giggling ditz star promoting awful
Hollywood drivel to the hack lounge singer they are far more
frivolous, ridiculous and culturally oblivious and than any of the
Japanese characters.
In fact, the only characters in the film that have a modicum of
rationality and sensitivity are Bob and Charlotte, although they are
not above compromising themselves, which is the reason they both come
to Japan to begin with- Bob turns down legitimate thespian endeavors
to peddle whiskey, while Charlotte is unemployed with no career
direction despite her Ivy League education.
I would also question the film's alleged championing of ancient Asian
customs over contemporary culture. Throughout the film, Japanese
culture is seen only through the eyes of Bob and Charlotte, and the
mise en scene serves to portray the awe of witnessing something as
serene as a a traditional wedding witnessed for the first time. As for
the depictions of modern Japanese culture, the tone is never
disapproving,or even judgmental. Charlotte's scenes in the arcade and
subway underscore her position as an outsider, which figuratively
extends to her connections with people in general, from her friends to
her husband.
The humor that is at the expense of Japanese culture mostly involves
slapstick, and can be construed as going both ways- on the one hand
the inherent bizarreness of certain aspects of Japanese society and on
the other, the childlike inability of the main characters to fully
understand what is going on around them- which again reinforces the
parallel of their confusion maneuvering the streets of Tokyo and their
inability to find fulfilment in life.
I do agree that there is a great deal of self congratulatory cultural
imperialism that still pervades Western media to this day. I also
agree that L<->R Japanese accent jokes have been overdone and
unoriginal long before this film.
However, I would urge you to reconsider lumping this film in the same
category as the likes of revisionist cultural appropriations with no
historical or artistic merit- or to be succinct, *trash*- like The
Last Samurai.
Thanks,
S
Sam on
0
Posts
There are just as many people who dislike Lost in Translation as like it. Noone thinks it is the second coming.
Not all vampires suck blood.
Not all of them die for love.
:?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v369/ahmed413/pazone1024b.jpg
took out her barrettes and her hair spilled out like rootbeer
BTW, you do notice that article's from 2004, right?
I didn't get this.
Seriously. I could've sworn I uttered a very autible "WTF?" when I read the article.
Mario Kart DS: 3320 6595 7026 5000
Yeah, look at the early portion of his response. I get the impression that he wants to talk about the movie, not necessarily in the context of breaking news. I haven't seen the movie, so I can't comment much. Have fun.
Me neither. Stallone won two Academy Awards for Rocky, after all.
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It makes more sense if you think of the writer as a 12-year-old on gamefaqs
:roll:
The fact you only watched the first hour just makes your opinion that much more ludicrous.
:roll: :roll: :roll:
Is this movie overrated? Probably.
Is this movie racist? Unequivocally, no.
What I see in the quoted article is a gross misinterpretation. I usually like to try to respect and seek to understand every opinion, but I'm having trouble taking this one seriously.
But there was proper spelling, capitalization and usage of punctuation.
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i pretty much agree with the girl who wrote the article. i think the movie attempts to capitalize far too much on stupid, arguably racist cliches, almost all of which are mind-bogglingly stupid.
but bill and scarlet are great, so there's that.
Everybody in my department (East Asian Studies, about 80% of whom are specialized in studies of Japan and about 70% of whom are from Japan) that I know has seen it, loved it.
Here's the thing, though- the Americans come across as bigger idiots.
The movie isn't about Japan or Japanese culture any more than Casablanca is about Moroccan culture. But seriously, there's nothing judgmental about Japanese culture, and if any culture is being mocked, it's American culture (The movie that the bimbo is promoting, which Keanu Reeves co stars in) The hip-hop guy who spits nonsense about turning something random into a beat and then goes on to start beatboxing very badly, Murray's wife who fedexes carpet samples to his hotel room...the Japanese are tame/sane/intelligent in comparison. Not that one is being drawn or anything.
Why should I waste time on a movie I already know is crap? Can you honestly say you watch every bad movie to its entirety.
No but considering many people have enjoyed it, its key to give your reasons of criticism some backing by watching the whole film. This way people know you've watched it, and are disatisfied with it as a whole. Saying that its horrible and overrated, and oh yeah I only watched half of it, isn't going to be taken seriously by people discussing the film.
i dont think the film was solely about bizarre japanese niche cultures and stereotypes, but such items were definitely included for a reason.
if you think that the film was about poking fun at bill and scarlet's inability to fit into a culture of terrible professional translators, violently aggressive hookers and wacky tv show hosts, then you simply didnt watch the movie at all. if anything, we were meant to empathize with the characters not fitting in. we were supposed to feel alienated with them. in no way did they movie poke fun at their inability to "fit in". they didnt "fit in" because the culture was strange, not because they were strange. it's a big difference and im surprised you would come away from the movie thinking we were supposed to be laughing at bill and scarlet.
just because your friends are able to enjoy or laugh off jokes about niche japanese culture doesnt make it representative of japan. japanese people always laugh at otakus here, and if you made a good movie about them, they would laugh and like it too. that doesnt mean otaku's are representative of japan. i havent seen borat, but when i do, im guessing i will love it. that doesnt mean i will necessarily think it is representative of american culture though (or whatever culture it is trying to represent).
small things:
showerheads are not too short in 5 star hotels. im 6'1" and have no problems with japanese showerheads, either in hotels or in my apartment.
fuji takashi is the wackiest tv host in japan. they picked him for a reason. it's like portraying bill o'reilly to be some typical talk show host. fuji takashi is not representative of japanese culture just as bill o'reilly is not representative of american culture.
No, what it does mean is that their is no deeply offensive message in the movie offending Japanese left and right. All I see are a couple of shitty article writers getting their shorts in a knot over a complete misreading of the film.
I have no idea what you're arguing here. Like Lost in Translation, Borat isn't trying to represent another culture, accurately or not. It's merely using one culture as a tool with which to talk about something else entirely.
Yes, and the showerhead in the movie is clearly adjustable. The joke's on Murray as much as it is on anyone, there. It's part of the whole "him not fitting in" theme. It's not some kind of insult to anyone, hypersensitive article writers be damned.
Was I in the can when they said Matthew's Best Hit TV is in every way representative of Japanese culture? The joke was how horribly he was misprepared for a very wacky and out there show; it wasn't "the Japanese Johnny Carson" at all.
Again, him not fitting in, things not working out the way he was told they would. Alienation, not "zomg racism".
The only racism I ever see at all connected with this movie is "holy shit, a zany slanty eyed person, they must be saying all slanty eyed people are crazy". It's a piss-poor, lazy reading of the movie.
I can independently confirm this fact. Five Star hotel, or crappy motel, showerheads are lower in Asia.
i think that's why some people would react badly to it. the movie doesnt present itself as "japan's funniest videos" or whatever. it pretends to provide a glimpse of a possible experience for the tourist visiting japan. however, the experiences that have been cobbled together are so deliberate and misrepresentative that i could see why a japanese person would find it detrimental to honest cultural intercourse.
i think it's reasonable to maintain that the movie does not go so far as to be "racist". but i also think it is reasonable to argue that the movie is backward in its presentation of a country and contributes more to confuse cross-border discourse than to enlighten it.
edit: btw, i understand that the movie is not about promoting cultural understanding so i dont think it needs to go out of its way to do so. that being said, to someone like me, who has a relatively long history with japan, i saw and enjoyed the movie in a slapstick-y sort of way. i think that's the only possible reasonable interpretation. so when people come and tell me how wonderful and touching it is, i kind of think, wtf? that's like being moved to tears by the friendship between chris rock and jackie chan in rush hour.
which 5 star hotel did you stay in? how tall are typical showerheads in the states? or were you comparing to some other country? if some other country, which country and how tall are typical showerheads there?
i dont mean to be an asshole, im just trying to illustrate a point. which is, i find your conclusion regarding showerheads in the entirety of asia based on your anecdotal evidence somewhat unconvincing.
if you had conducted some kind of study, what you posted might have been an interesting fact. instead, it comes off as benign, but pointless stereotyping.
fun fact: my wife, who is japanese, is miniscule compared to my american friends.
We were supposed to empathize with them, because we were supposed to empathize with and personalize their sense of alienation. The Japanese setting established their lack of place initially, and the course of the movie develops the idea and sense that their placelessness runs deeper than being immediately surrounded by the unfamiliar.
I liked the movie, and if the more bizarre elements Japanese culture were used as a setpiece to illustrate alienation, I'm all for it.
I now believe that all of Japan is pachinko parlours and yaoi. A whole fucking nation of fixated ball-watching boylovers.
i think the movie as a whole is fine and generally accomplishes its goal.
but i think it's reasonable for a half-japanese person to find the movie offensive in its portrayal of japan and not because of the choice of bizarre scenery but rather because of the way it presents these scenes as typical and normal, almost as if they were something any traveler might encounter. it's especially insidious in that it mixes the totally out there (e.g. hookers, strip (?) club, etc.) with the relatively typical (e.g. bad english, etc.). that's the kind of shit that would piss me off if i were japanese. and i think it's a point that should be recognized, that's all.
in fact, one might argue that if the point of the movie were to show that these two people were alienated not because of their environment (or not only because of their environment) but more for their own reasons, then it would have been a much stronger film if the audience was not presented with such a weird setpiece. then we would really be able to focus on the flawed characters as opposed to being continually distracted by the slapstick, three stoogey stuff.
If they were stuck in the smack dab middle of say, Mexico or France, it wouldn'tve been quite as funny. While the story is alla bout two tourists befriending each other and trying to cope with a foreign environment, the environment itself was a big consideration. If the movie was racist, there would've been a snarky narrator or the main characters would've been running their mouths in an extremely obvious fashion the entire movie, or every last Japanese person would've looked exactly the same with huge glasses and buckteeth. Or something.