Japanese Cinema Sensuality and Politics
Uploaded by lonewolf88 on Oct 26, 2011
This paper examines three films by Oshima Nagisa and seeks to explore the relation between sensuality and politics in each of them.
I Introduction
When we think of Japanese cinema, the image of the samurai, usually played by the great Toshiro Mifune, is what often comes to mind; a warrior swashbuckling across a medieval Japanese landscape. Sensuality and sexuality seem far removed from this austere picture.
But Oshima Nagisa’s vision is precisely the opposite of what we think of when we consider Japanese cinema. His work is extremely sensual, evocative, explicit, and at least in one film, very disturbing.
This paper examines the relationship between sensuality and politics in three of Nagisa’s films: “In the Realm of the Senses,” “Cruel Story of Youth,” and “Gohatto” (“Taboo”).
II General Comments
Politics in the context of these films is not politics in the sense of votes, lawmaking, and campaigns for elective office. It is instead the shifting relationships among people, based upon the way power flows within a group, or between individuals. That power is often based on sensuality; one person has more power than the other because she or he is in control at the moment. As the relationship shifts, the power balance shifts as well; that is, the politics of the situation changes.
The three films are very different in their examination of the way in which sensuality dictates human interaction. “Cruel Story of Youth” is a tale of young lovers who are destroyed by their own recklessness; “In the Realm of the Senses” shows us two people so obsessed with sex that death is the only release; and “Gohatto” (the English title is “Taboo”) is an illustration of the way in which misunderstandings about the true nature of a relationship can lead to tragedy. “Gohatto” is also the only one of the three that deals with homosexual love, and in many ways it is the most beautiful, both visually and in its handling of potentially explosive subject matter. It is also the least accessible of the three.
Sex in these films is brutal, bestial, rapacious, opportunistic, or animalistic, but almost never romantic. It is often a weapon, which one player uses to win power for him (her) self. Despite this, it is still fascinating to watch these films play out.
We’ll turn first to “Cruel Story of Youth,” then “In the Realm of the Senses,” and finally...