Yasukuni documentary suppressed

[Aaron Gerow]

>
> It will be interesting to see what happens with this.

Let me just add that what is interesting about this case is that it  
is becoming not just a case of political censorship, either of the  
vocal kind or of the violent kind, but of financial censorship. This  
is a problem filmmakers are facing now that the government has  
"rediscovered" the movies and is providing more "support" for it.  
There are cases of governments aiding the film industry with few  
strings attached, but the LDP politicians are firmly trying to  
establish the precedent that that is not the case in Japan: to get  
money to make films, you have to make a film that does not offend the  
government (i.e., the LDP). Government support for the movies comes  
at a price. The hubbub is probably going to scare the Bunkacho (the  
politicians are demanding the Bunkacho open up their records and  
reveal the process through which the Yasukuni film got money), as  
well as those applying for money.

I am reminded that Oshima Nagisa long argued against government  
support for filmmaking. This is probably one reason why.


Aaron Gerow
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Film Studies Program
Assistant Professor
Film Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
Yale University
53 Wall Street, Room 316
PO Box 208363
New Haven, CT 06520-8363
USA
Phone: 1-203-432-7082
Fax: 1-203-432-6764
e-mail: aaron.gerow at yale.edu