The 10 Western films that have affected Japan the most.

[Matthew Bernstein]

Interesting that you mention SHANE.  David Desser, in THE SAMURAI FILMS 
OF AKIRA KUROSAWA, offers an extended comparison between that western 
and SANJURO (in both, the action is seen through children's eyes; the 
hero arrives from no where and departs from no where).  The question of 
influence is always a dodgy one, and as I recall, Desser makes no such 
claims.  In any case, Desser's discussion is quite interesting and 
definitely worth checking out.  The book also has an extended comparison 
of westerns and samurai films (taken up in Stephen Prince's THE 
WARRIOR'S CAMERA), though this may be well off your topic.

Matthew Bernstein

John Dougill wrote:

>Interesting research topic...  Purely on an anecdotal level, I remember one
>of my students telling me how much Shane made an impression on him as a
>youth in terms of the individual hero...  I guess High Noon too would stand
>out in terms of individualism, though I guess you would have to wade through
>contemporary reviews and articles in Japanese to get something concrete...
>I would guess too that there were some interesting cultural comparisons made
>about the Western remakes of The Seven Samurai and Yojimbo...
>
>on 11/3/03 9:25 AM, John Gorman at macfugu at mac.com wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Which 10 Western films do you feel have affected Japan the most?
>>
>>I am a graduate student at University College Dublin, Ireland working on a
>>master's thesis. Having lived in Japan for an extended period, I am very
>>interested in the affect of Western cinema on Japanese culture specifically
>>regarding democracy, women's roles and individualism. (I would like to look
>>beyond the affect of Western films on Japanese films.) While I would be
>>delighted to find for example that after the showing of a certain film the
>>divorce rate doubled or kimonos were abandoned in favor of Levis, I imagine it
>>will be rather daunting to prove direct causal relationships between specific
>>films and specific changes in Japanese society.
>>
>>I am beginning my research by seeking the views of recognized experts on
>>Japanese culture and cinema. Based on the results, I hope to narrow my
>>research down to three films. I will then conduct focus groups and a survey
>>upon three generations of Japanese; seniors, middle aged folks and current
>>university students. (I will also pursue as much documentable fact as possible
>>including; links between films and specific events, box office receipts,
>>awards won, reviews published, etc.)
>>
>>I would greatly appreciate if you could assist me by submitting your list to
>>KineJapan, if possible including your rationale for at least your top three
>>choices. Further I would be delighted if you would join the Yahoo! group I
>>have established to research this topic further as it is rather divergent from
>>the main purpose of KineJapan, will allow the participants to more clearly
>>focus on the various threads of the discussion and will allow me to better
>>manage the information generated through the greater resources available on
>>the Yahoo! group site.
>>
>>To join please send an email with your name and position to:
>>
>>WCi_Japan-owner at yahoogroups.com
>>
>>Thanks much, Yoroshiku!
>>
>>John Gorman
>>
>>
>>
>>    
>>
>
>  
>

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