Shin No Shikoutei

[graham lincoln]

Thanks for that info - I'm a little puzzled as to why such an apparently
obscure old Japanese movie should make it onto vcd in Hong Kong, but I'm not
complaining.

I think 'Fist of Legend' deserves credit for a rather more sophisticated
approach to racial stereotypes than the original 'Fist of Fury' (although I
agree with you on the importance of the nature of perceived impotence in the
shaping of that film's narrative, with Lee's character a conscious reaction
against that, as in the scene where he smashes the notorious 'no dogs or
Chinese' sign outside the park). 'Legend' seems to much more consciously
recognise that the conflict is not based on ethnicity, but in imperialism.
The imperialist Japanese characters are the villains of the piece, while
there are several sympathetic Japanese characters, including the Japanese
martial arts character whose duel and subsequent debate with Jet Lee seems
to be an attempt to recognise shared cultural values.

 I'm tempted here to try to discuss such films as Hou Hsiao-hsien's 'The
Puppetmaster' as an example of a portrayal of Japanese culture in Taiwanese
film, but I hesitate to stray too far off topic (if I haven't already done
so!), so, given the current thread on anime, I'll instead mention that I'm
reminded of a comment by, I think, Helen McCarthy on the way that in
Japanese animation the main characters are frequently 'Europeanised' in
terms of appearance, while villains usually have much more obviously
Asian/Japanese characteristics. Anyone care to comment on this?


graham





> Secondly, I too have seen many Hong Kong films where the villain is
> noticeably identified as Japanese. However, this tends to occur in stories
> that take place during the war of resistance against Japan
> (1937-45) - such
> as Fist of Legend that you mentioned. Understandably, this is a period in
> the Chinese psyche where aggression and brutality mark the Japanese
> expansionism in greater Asia. I'm not passing a judgment on
> whether Japanese
> villains should be justified in these HK action films, but this is the
> historical context for such portrayals. China's perceived
> "impotence" in the
> first half of the 20th century of international affairs, has, to an
> overwhelming extent, shaped the narratives to come later. Film narratives
> are part of this "psyche" - if it can be characterized as such -
> where past
> experiences of traumatic invasions have be understood or at least
> attempted
> with screen creations of heroes who were perceivably absent when
> the nation
> was under siege.