The Harp of Burma was a very interesting film about war. It showed how the Japanese felt during the end of the war and how they got through it. From the films and the readings, you learn a lot about how Japanese see death. The act of suicide and taking one’s life away is seen as a negative thing in American culture. It is a seen as a sin, and a sign of weakness, and should never be done. In Japanese culture, it is completely the opposite. The act of committing suicide when defeated in battle is a way to re-earn ones honor and save their family’s reputation.
In the Harp of Burma, Mizushima finds Japanese dead comrades and knows that he must stay behind, and do what is right, and give their souls peace. He gives them a proper burial. This is very similar to American culture.
In the Harp of Burma, Mizushima finds Japanese dead comrades and knows that he must stay behind, and do what is right, and give their souls peace. He gives them a proper burial. This is very similar to American culture.
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| Image from xlacayo |
In Letters from Iwo Jima, you see examples of how Japan sees suicide differently than America. The group of soldiers does not know what to do as supplies run out, and they decide to go out with honor and each kill themselves. This is very hard for the soldiers to do, but they do it in order to better serve them emperor, keep their honor, and their family’s honor as well. This is very different from American ways, because in America, committing suicide like this is not seen as an act of honor. If this were to happen with American soldiers, it would be seen as a sign of weakness, sin, and giving up, which is exactly the opposite of what Japanese feel it is about.
The second example from this film is when the last platoon decides to go out into battle. They all know that they are going to be defeated, yet they still make the decision to go out and fight for their country and fight for what is right. This is something very similar to American beliefs, because it is seen as sacrificing yourself in order to help the country that you love and the ones that you love as well.
Death and suicide are very interesting topics to discuss when talking about war time films. It is something that is seen very differently in different places of the world. The Harp of Burma, and Letters from Iwo Jima both show the Japanese view on this very well.
John,
ReplyDeleteYou make a great point about the differences between American and Japanese view of suicide and death. Nice details supporting each topic and good job on your blog. You mentioned Mizushima staying behind to bury his fallen comrades and how it was American-like. I'm not 100% sure if that is totally an American thing to do seeing as he needed to burn the rotting corpses in a fire to pass them on to the spirit world or something of that sort. Anyways, I agree on the differences you mentioned and how America sees suicide as just a sign of weakness. Unfortunately some people are harassed so intensely now-a-days that suicide seems like the easiest route rather than staying and enduring the hell they receive. Giving up on life is a huge deal and it is an even bigger deal when religion comes into play. I don't think you mentioned religion but I know that you are aware of the repercussions of suicide in the predominately Judeo-Christian America. Great job overall, did you like the movie though? ( I think I ask this every time.) Lastly, we are some of the few that see and fully understand the effects of music in life in all aspects :D
You did a good job exploring the contrasting ideas of the Japanese and American people concerning suicide. I find it strange that they would rather kill themselves to prevent being captured and tortured/dishonoring their families than to keep fighting for their country. I mean, it seems more useful to die fighting during war than to kill yourself during war, not really accomplishing much. I like how you used Letters to Iwo Jima as an example to explain it. That movie was intense, I didn't know they held grenades and exploded themselves... Pretty crazy stuff. I definitely would've chickened out like the main character did. The harp of Burma was much more light-hearted and less gory than that movie. Good analysis of the movie! Also, that's a really cool picture, is that from a real movie?
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