Zen and 'cultural studies' group-think

[Aaron Gerow]

Nice discussion on the Zen Buddhism issue (and thanks to Joss for 
reminding us of previous posts).  Without typologizing our opponents, I 
think we can all agree that the influnce of Zen Buddhism and any other 
"tradition" on Japanese cinema cannot be ignored, but must be approached 
with the same scholarly rigor we use when considering the influence of 
say TV on Japanese film.  We must be very careful, as with any scholarly 
pursuit, what our position is in relation to the object of study is 
crucial and must always be subject to self-critique (again, the danger of 
exoticizing and over-valorizing the Other; as great a danger as ignoring 
it if your theoretical stance does not allow for it).  

Then, in a Jamesonian fashion, I think we do need to "always 
historicize."  It is blatently wrong to say that traditional art forms 
like kabuki have had no influence on Japanese film, but when studying 
that influence, it is important to remember that: the influencing has 
been done in the 20th century, not in the 18th; kabuki is not exactly the 
same as it was in the Edo era; the influence has always been mediated by 
the way cinema has been defined through other factors; the use of 
tradition is always a contemporary political and national issue; etc.  
The same is true of Zen.  It is very important to study Japanese film 
through Japanese religion, but we must remember Buddhism is only one 
aspect of Japanese religion and Zen only one aspect of Buddhism.  Why is 
there no research on the influence of Nichiren Buddhism on Japanese film 
(a good topic given that Nagata Masaichi was a Nichiren Buddhist)?  We 
also must account for the state of religion in Japanese society: Just how 
religious are contemporary Japanese? Even if a filmmaker is well-versed 
in Zen, that can mean little if his/her audience is not versed enough to 
be able to read these Zen meanings.  You can't just learn about the 
director, but must learn about how audiences read and understand films.

I would like to see more work on film and Shinto/animism (just why is the 
research on Japanese film and Buddhism much more popular than on film and 
Shinto?).  Clearly there are many contemporary filmmakers from Miyazaki 
to Yanagimachi, from Ogawa to Kawase/Sento who express some kind of 
animism.  (I read some French criticism of _Suzaku_ which called it Zen, 
but I think they got it wrong.)

I think Peter gives us some good questions to begin some research, though 
perhaps they should be phrased differently.  It's the old auteur problem, 
but statements by the director about Zen should always be taken with a 
grain of salt.  They should never be ignored, but rather used carefully.  
Suzuki Seijun has announced his interest in Zen, but does that make 
_Toyko Drifter_ or _Elegy to Violence_ a Zen movie?  Remember he is also 
interested in Taisho, so those competing discourses should also be taken 
into account.

Much more can be said.

Aaron Gerow
Yokohama National University
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