Session 5 - August 7, Kerim Yasar, USC

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

I really enjoyed the film clips and the stylistic aspects, and now I want to see the film all the way through. What I find really interesting in terms of story and perspective, is the mix of modern and traditional, Western and Eastern- how "old" ideas and ways are combined with "new" ones.  I feel like this must really reflect the struggle of mid-20th-century Japan specifically, and more generally, the mid-20th century globally. Older women dress and act traditionally, younger women sometimes do, too, but other times dress and act according to modern expectations or what is deemed acceptable in the West and to the younger generation. I wonder how much of this comes with the occupation, and how much would have happened reagardless just due to changing times and increased global contact.

I found the smiles to be awkward and uncomfortable. In one scene, Noriko is smiling as she tells her father's friend that he is "filthy" and "indecent" for remarrying; the constant warm smile feels misplaced.  In another scene, her father smiles and smiles when the dialogue is kind of sad, regarding Noriko leaving him alone as she will be married off.  I couldn't figure out why there was this disconnect, at least to my interpretation.

I would also really be interested to see his earlier films from before or during the war for comparison. I'm trying to understand what Ozu really wants to say, and what he was forced to leave out or spin due to the pressures of censorship.

In terms of teaching, I'm not sure how much I can use these films because my focus is on Medieval Japan, but I'd like to recommend them as possible extra credit, or maybe start a monthly movie event after school. I also might look for ways to use clips to reflect some issues of culture and change.

[Joy Chao]

I was moved by the part in which Noriko’s father giving her the reasons why she should get married. He keeps on emphasizing the importance of giving her best to make her marriage work and not to expect immediately happiness, because “happiness comes through the couple’s effort in their marriage.” He uses his own marriage with Noriko’s mom as example, how she had to put up with him at first but they were able to work on their differences throughout their marriage to achieve happiness. Throughout his last “lecture” for his daughter, there was no outrageous emotions; no confrontation, no arguments whatsoever. When Noriko took a knee in her wedding gown, thanking her father for all these years raising her, I noticed that the father helps Noriko get up by holding her left hand, and lightly pat on her back, all these take place within only 3 seconds. This is the only part that I noticed that they have some kind of bodily contact. Again it was very subtle and almost unnoticeable, but I think this gesture express more than words. A father’s love for his daughter may be lack of words, but it runs deep and lasts forever. I think this film is one of the best representations of such affection I’ve seen.

[Joy Chao]

I also found her smile to be awkward, or fake, even. I wonder if it was a social norm for the women to always wear a smile at that time, or it was the intention of the director, asking his cast to put up a front of artificial happiness, as a reflection of post-war spirit? I noticed there were quite a lot of contradictions in the film - the smile you mentioned, the traditional tea ceremony vs. coca cola & British shortcake, life vs. death (Noriko's mom), women wearing kimonos vs western dress, old men getting married vs. young women getting divorced; however, Ozu combined all of this in the film but it was harmoniously presented in one. 

[Jennifer Chang]

Hi Joy! 

I like how you pointed out the physical touch that occured at the end of the film! I also noticed it, but didn't think much about it until you menitoned it. The subtlety of the touch along with the monologue beforehand really does showcase the father's love for his daughter and that he does want what is best for her. 

[Nira Sun]

I would like to say that I totally enjoyed the film Late Spring even though we were only shown with a few clips. I now will go to YouTube to watch the entire film.

From a few scenes I watched so far, I somehow feel the portrait of the coexistence of traditional and modern perspectives. These two seem to be conflicting to be presented together yet its wonderfully crafted in this film.

The type of marriage that Noriko entered was typical arranged marriage in which major traits to be considered as a decent husband was his degree, job, and reputation. The demonstration of the conflict was when Noriko’s friend, Ayako, who persuaded her to enter this arranged marriage with a modern perspective of having the freedom to leave it whenever she wanted. Aya was portraited as a young lady who carried westernized interpretation of marriage and lifestyle yet she took part in persuading Noriko to accept a traditional arranged marriage. I’m curious to know how she dealt with such conflict inside of her.

If we compare the wardrobe of Noriko, Ayako and her aunt Masa, we’d find out that Noriko and Ayako dressed in western dress and Masa has always been in traditional Japanese Kimono. Appearance wise, Noriko is a young modern Japanese lady with a traditional perspective that I felt was quite similar to the filial piety we discussed yesterday. I can’t be sure of her intention of staying single and living with her father since I haven’t watched the entire movie yet. However, I’d like to assume that she was intended to sacrifice her happiness so that her father didn’t have to spend the rest of his life alone. Maybe it is not uncommon to be a conflicted hybrid individual. I’d say that director Ozu made an advanced step to let us see the inside of ourselves 70 years ago.

 

[Nichole Morales]

I also noticed the female and male dress in the film clips. The director's choices were detailed, informed, and meaningful. For me, Clothing on Noriko, Ayako, and Masa were illustrative of generation and culture, and made me what to research Japanese clothing more.

[Nichole Morales]

Films with enduring themes are a great way to bring historical information and concepts to students. In the clips that we saw about Late Spring, family, gender roles, and change are ideas that students can relate to personally. From that point of connection, they can insert new schema about postwar Japan or gender roles. This strategy would work great in a history class, but also in other classes. In English, students could compare the director of Late Spring and his choices to an author and the author’s choices of a similar time period, reading the film as text, informing writing choices. 

 

[Joel Jimenez]

The video clips from Ozu's Late Spring portrayed a great story of every day Japanese people post-WWII and how they deal with every day issues.  The manner in which Ozu films 'Late Spring' revolves around being subtle, yet emotional, in which the audience (especially Asian and Japanese people) are able to directly relate to the characters and the story line.  There are many themes such as traditional gender roles, progressive rights and cultural nuances for women and for post-WWII, comedy and nostalgia. 

The theme that drew me was the character of Aya and her progressive behaviours and the way her character differs from Naroko.  The fact that this film was done in 1949, in a country that is very homogeneous and traditional, Ozu pushes the envelope to show that even women post-WWII, even if rare, were taking up different gender roles and differed than the previous generation when it comes to marriage, relationships, divorce and the western culture.

[Joel Jimenez]

Yes, this part of the film was powerful.  In a very Japanese patriarchal manner, her father gives reasons why Noriko should marry.  What was iteresting, is that prior to this scene, the father had not really given any thought to Noriko getting married until the aunt brought up the issue.  Like Noriko, he had been very content having Noriko at home, tending to the father's needs, almost taking the place of her mother.  Great couple of scenes.

[Monica Munguia]

The scenes in the movie progressed to show the characters’ inner struggles.  It brought up persistent cultural gender views that were similar in my culture as I grew up and are still present today in families.  I internalized the emotions of both the father and Noriko.  They both wanted to break traditions, but knew they both had to comply to make each other happy and prosper in their roles.  I wanted to seek solutions for both to be liberated as I often did in my own life growing up.  Gender cultural views were then changed with Noriko’s friend.  The friend relied on herself; yet, she still could not decipher which was better a traditional marriage or the marriage she had.  Yet, even till this day personally I am torn between the traditional woman expectations imposed and often unthinkably enforce with newer generations.  Yet, I also question the traditional gender expectations brought in from home in my students. 

[clay dube]

Ready to binge? Criterion, the company that Kerim Yasar writes subtitles for, has a streaming channel. And they offer a 14 day free trial:

https://www.criterionchannel.com/

Criterion restores the films and updates the translations, etc.
Ozu films: https://www.criterionchannel.com/search?q=ozu

 

[Eva Morales]

I found that the reading went in depth in regards to the analysis the video clips that were shown in class. I found interesting that Noriko was easily influenced by her family and that one friend to get married. I feel like this differs in the way that people look at marriage in the US. At my age 26 in the US, I don’t feel like I have pressure to get married. Although three years ago, when I went to my parents’ hometown Union de Tula, Jalisco, Mexico, I did feel some pressure. When I went to a fonda with my father and the ladies asked for my age and if I was in a relationship or married. I told them that I was 23 and that I had a boyfriend. I did clarify that in the US, women had the opportunity to go to college and pursue their purpose. They said, “Well good thing you have a boyfriend, and that you are able to go to school.”  They felt that they could ask me these questions, because my father went to the fonda often. Additionally, everyone knows each other in the small town.

 

 

[Eva Morales]

From the video clips, I saw that women had the opportunity to be on their own and make a decent living. In contrast to my mother’s story, she did not have support to pursue a middle school or even high school education. My grandfather thought that a woman's role was to be a homemaker, she was not able to go to school past the sixth grade. I tell my students the story and they laugh that first, but when I explain the reasoning behind it they ask questions. I tell them these stories so that they are able to appreciate the opportunities they have, and so they can understand that people in other countries don’t have the same opportunities that we do now. My mother’s story happened in the nineties, but I also tell them about my young 19 year old cousin who has not been able to go away do to the same ideology. 

 

[Xiaowei Hunt]

Professor Yasar introduced us to “Banshun”(Late Spring), a Japanese movie released in 1949. I learned a couple things. First of all, the impact of American occupation of Japan is obvious. This can be seen from the Coca Cola billboard advertisement in “Late Spring” on the road Noriko and Jun ride bicycles. American soft culture is also embedded in Masa, Noriko Somiya’ Aunt’s words about finding a good-looking future husband who looks like Gary Copper, a famous handsome American actor at that time. Secondly, winning of Filial Piety is straightforward, which is evidenced by Noriko Somiya’s eventual marriage. Even though she does not want to get married at the beginning and middle of the movie due to her wanting to accompany her widowed dad, Noriko marries at the end anyway for her father, her aunt and by the social norm then. This is an act of filial piety that wins at the end. Thirdly the symbols of Japanese tradition are seen everywhere. Late Spring is suffused with the symbols of Japanese tradition in the tea ceremony that opens the film, the temples at Kamakura, the Noh performance that Noriko and Shukichi (Noriko’s father) witness, and the landscape and Zen gardens of Kyoto. 

 

 

[Jennifer Chang]

Thank you for sharing!!

[Author]

Posts