Huynh - Harp of Burma

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.

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                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.

Huynh - Ghost in the Shell

Personal and social identities are things that can be changed or become corrupted, and this is shown in the anime films Akira, Perfect Blue, and Ghost in the Shell. Each film contains a character, a main character, which loses sight of who they are and take on a completely different persona because of advancements made in technology.
                In Akira, Tetsuo is experimented on, and ends up receiving these unnatural super abilities, and begins to gain power. Before this happened he was just a typical guy in a motorcycle gang and was the quiet one always being taken care of. Once he gains these powers, he instantly starts to change and go mad with power. He is no longer Tetsuo, because he is now some power hungry man on the loose. This power causes him to lose control of himself, and thus, loses his identity.

Image from Fused Film

 Mima in Perfect Blue is an example of how technology did not affect her physically, but mentally. She is an actor who lets the media and the internet change her life, and she no longer knows what is real or fake. It’s very interesting because technology we have today, like the internet, can mess up someone mentally and really make them question who they are, which is exactly what it did to Mima.

Ghost in the Shell is a film where the main character, Kusanagi, is a cyborg and loses the feeling of what it really means to be human. She has been changed so much that she is almost completely robotic and because of this, she no longer remembers what it feels like to be human and questions whether or not she even is one. It is another example of how technology can affect the way somebody sees themselves and how it changes ones view of their own identity. Here, Kusanagi doesn’t necessarily change her view of herself, but questions if it is even the same anymore.

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 Each of these films shows that the relationship between humans and technology has a very thin line. Once this line has been crossed, it can really affect ones identity and they way someone sees their identity as well. Where is the line crossed? When does becoming too tuned in with technology turn into becoming one with it? Or even becoming a part of technology entirely?

Huynh - Perfect Blue

                The film Perfect Blue was a very different anime film from the others that we have watched. Mima was the main character, and she started off as a pop singer, who decided that she wanted to become an actress and make it in the film industry. Unfortunately, a combination of her conscience and other people’s influence on her drove her mad and she got lost in the illusions created by her own mind and what is reality. The movie showed a lot about how Japanese society see women in media, and also shows the kind of effects it can have on these female celebrities. Mima, had to make some decisions she wasn’t happy about, that were against her moral rights, and allowed for herself to be raped and became an object in pornography so that she could make it as an actress. This is a serious problem, because it turns women into objects of lust and turns them into these things that mainly appeal to men, instead of all people. Being controlled by men, these female actresses like Mima, are likely to lose who they are as a person, and no longer know who they are. They do what it takes to make it in that world, and it changes them. This is seen very well in Perfect Blue with Mima. She starts off by doing things that she normally wouldn’t, in order to make it big, and then she begins to lose sight of who she really is.

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This messes with both you as a viewer, and with her as a character in the film. She starts off as this pop singer who knows who she is and then slowly, things start to change. Mima gets exposed to some of her crazy fans who manipulate her internet life, and she starts to believe that she really has done these things. As she finds herself in this confusing place, she starts getting manipulated more by people like Rumi and Uchida, and thinks that she turns into a killer. All this coincidentally happens and is very similar to the show she is a part of, and she begins to mix up what is reality, and what is just an illusion. All of this makes for a very complex, yet, interesting film.

P.S. - Have you seen House of Wax? Uchida looks awfully similar to Vincent...

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Huynh - Cowboy Bebop

In the film Cowboy Bebop, there is a bounty hunter named Spike who is the main character. He is a very interesting character because he used to be part of a gang, and now stays under the radar and does work as a bounty hunter. Spike has a unique personality and there were a couple of scenes that really showed a lot about who he is as a person. One of these scenes was in the beginning of the movie when Spike deals with the criminals in the convenient store. He puts an old lady’s life at risk in the process, and doesn’t care at all. It shows that he will do whatever it takes to get the job done. At this point in the film, you are not quite sure as to why he works so hard, but know that he does. The second scene that shows a lot about Spike’s personality comes very soon afterwards, when he is sitting with Jet in their “hideout”. He talks about how he is sick and tired of not having money and is tired of eating instant noodles. They then hear about a reward for catching a criminal, Vincent, for 300 million woo long and instantly react to it and know the need to do this job.

Image from Anime Cosmos

This part of the movie is a rather important one in showing what kind of a person Spike is. It shows that even though he is doing work, he is in desperate need for money, and that could very well be one of the incentives that pushes him to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Another thing this scene reveals is that by him having a hideout, and doing his work very discretely, and solo, that he is trying to stay quiet. He knows that he has left the syndicate and that they are out to get him, so he is alone in this world, trying to make a living as a bounty hunter. These scenes show very well what kind of a person Spike is, and as the movie goes on you start to learn more and more about who is he… and who he was.