Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo - views in Japan?

[Anne McKnight]

Hi Frako,

this played at a couple of indie theatres here, and a festival, but I  
couldn't swing any of the screenings.
It was reviewed in the Weekly, at http://www.laweekly.com/2010-05-27/film-tv/beetle-queen-conquers-tokyo-a-bug-s-life/

I was trying to get the director out here for something we were  
putting together on eco-criticism, and had a short e-"conversation"  
with her about this and about Lafcadio Hearn. Reading the  
descriptions, his essay, "Insect Musicians," sprang strongly to mind;  
apparently it was indeed in the mix. Mind you, I haven't seen the  
film, so I can't say anything about algorithms of influence/patterns,  
but Hearn really talks up insects in such a way that students I've  
read the essay with feel inclined to talk about "nature." "IM" is a  
pretty modern view of nature, and a real jeremiad-like one--"we" have  
messed it, and it's still valued in Japan, so look out!, before the  
end of days, while are still no contradictions between capitalism &  
nature in Japan, like there are in the "west."

On Jun 11, 2010, at 1:53 PM, Frances Loden wrote:

> Jessica Oreck's debut documentary, Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo, is  
> opening in the San Francisco Bay Area soon and I saw it on DVD  
> screener. As a wide-eyed film "about" Japan, it has its share of  
> essentializing and typical images of trains, pedestrian crosswalks,  
> neon and guys with pompadours in Yoyogi Park in addition to its main  
> focus on the Japanese hobby of keeping crickets and beetles and its  
> connection to bonsai, haiku, cherry blossoms and mono no aware.
>
> Can you point me to any reviews of the film from Japan, whether in  
> English or Japanese?
>
> Thanks a lot,
>
> Frako Loden
> Berkeley, CA

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