Zen and 'cultural studies' group-think

[Craig Sisman]

Zen and 'cultural studies' group-think
 
 I was delighted to see that there is someone else out there who is
interested in the influence of Zen on Japanese cinema (see Neil Martin's
recent self-introduction)
 
Back in March I  asked the list if anyone knew of any Japanese films which
reflect the influence of Zen aesthetics and philosophy. At the time I was
somewhat puzzled both by the complete lack of response to my query and by
the wide spread interest in 'the Peruvian Donkey from Hokkaido'
 
Over the months however I have become less naive about the list and the
interests of its members. A tendency which I have detected is that to
express an interest in Zen or traditional Japanese culture is seen as
'orientalist' whereas to express an interest  in contemporary Japanese
popular culture (such as 'the Peruvian Donkey from Hokkaido') is seen as
'politically correct'.
 
One of the delights of contemporary Japanese culture is the co-existence of
the old and the new. It  is a shame that the 'cultural studies' group-think
which is so prevalent on the list seems to marginalise traditional aspects
of Japanese culture in its valorisation of populist cultural forms...
 
Any thoughts - from anyone?

Craig