Japanese film and the political right

[Mark Schilling]

Aaron asked:

 Are some  Japanese filmmakers resisting this rightward trend in their own
way?  Or, 
wittingly or unwittingly, backing it?  Just what is the place of politics 
 in contemporary Japanese cinema?


A better question might be "What is the place of politics in Japanese
society?" When I arrived in Japan in 1975, politics still mattered to more
than what Gore Vidal once called the chattering classes. Shunto was still a
big deal to millions of ordinary workers (even I, as a member of the Sony
LL teachers' labor union, donned my red headband when negotiating with
management). Radical student groups were still fighting it out with lead
pipes. My students -- mostly college kids from Kichijoji -- would corner me
for earnest discussions about "America's responsibility for the atomic
bombings."

This fevor, which was waning even then, all but vanished years ago. How
many Japanese filmmakers under the age of forty (perhaps I should say
fifty) ever joined a political study group, marched in a demonstation, or
otherwise took an active interest in political change (other than casting a
ballot against the LDP every couple of years or so)? Damned few, I would
imagine. The will may have been there, but the zeitgeist hasn't been right.

But even if they were to try to make a film about, say, the Emperor system,
how would they find financing and distribution? Not from Fuji TV or Toei, I
would imagine. And even if  have the clout of a Juzo Itami, they might
suffer his fate -- being nearly stabbed to death for speaking out. 

More than a straight-ahead political film -- say a leftist rebuttal to
Pride -- satire of the Kokkai e Iko type stands a better chance of getting
made and screened. Given the current public mood -- apathetic, but cynical
-- satire might be more effective as well. 

Where is the Japanese Tim Robbins when we need him? Any candidates out
there? One of mine is Harada Masato, the director of the excellent Kamikaze
Taxi and Bounce. But he might have to lighten up a bit first. 

Mark Schilling