jimusho and the film industry

[Aaron Gerow]

Like much on NeoJaponisme, this can be pointed and provocative but tend towards the excessive and lack subtlety. The blog's general perspective has mostly been crude Frankfurt School (e.g., Adorno). 

That said, I have already heard from industry people that jimusho now have a lot of power in filmmaking, especially now that television networks are the major player in the industry. I have personally experienced this power when I heard studio employees telling me I can't do this or that in my research or publishing because the jimusho would object (even though in many cases there was no legal grounds for that). In the extreme, there are reports that jimusho managers are on the set making sure that their tarento are used properly.  

But we should always have a historical perspective (which Marx's piece does not). Movie stars were also often created phenomenon, and studios were protective of their stars and made sure they were used in certain ways. The crucial thing is not to complain about some new, foreign influence, but understand the exact historical conditions and what has changed or stayed the same. 

Aaron Gerow
Professor
Film Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Film Studies Program
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
website: www.aarongerow.com





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