Films that depict the occupation of Japan, made afterwards

[Thomas LaMarre, Prof.]

There is also Setouchi shônen yakyû dan (1984), released in English as MacArthur's Children (no kidding).  Definitely worth a look.

Tom


On 07/09/10 3:04 PM, "Aaron Gerow" <aaron.gerow at yale.edu> wrote:

Kinoshita Keisuke's Nihon no higeki, which was made right after the
Occupation in 1953, concertedly places its hahamono story in history
and uses lots of newsreel footage, as well as "flashbacks" of
Occupation hardships, to do that. In the newsreel-like footage, there
are shots of American soldiers, including a pretty powerful one of
American soldiers cavorting with "panpan" girls. I haven't seen many
images like that in 1950s cinema.

Kobayashi Masaki's Kuroi kawa from 1956 has many images of American
soldiers, though I don't recall if any of them were specifically set
in the Occupation.

I think a lot of films in the yakuza or action genres, especially
ones with a historical bent like Fukasaku's Jinginaki tatakai, will
depict aspects of the Occupation, including American soldiers.


Aaron Gerow
KineJapan owner

Assistant Professor
Film Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
Yale University

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