1. I think they show many ways in which the characters show the Do spirit within themselves. One would be how the baker talked about how he loved his craft of baking. By showing how much he was knowledgeable about it, it really showed how he dedicated himself to his art form and found his harmony in life with it. Another example would how the tank commander would still practice his horse jumping, even though it would not be necessary for combat what-so-ever. The biggest and last example I think you can see throughout the film is how the General really dedicated himself to being an honorable leader and being very knowledgeable about how to best defend against the American advancements.
2. I feel that drinking for the General and his old friend really shows a sense of Najimu. I have always felt that drinking with someone in such a manner shows that you respect the person and can trust them yourself while you are inebriate. Also, when you tend to drink you will tend to talk about more personal things rather than just business, which would also build this sense of Najimu.
3. A very negative effect of Hedataru to Najimu with the sense of "uchi to soto" can be observed by looking at the interaction between the navy leaders and the army ones. They consider each other to be complete separate entities while, as stated by the General very early, they need to work together in order to put up a better stand. It was reflected time and time again throughout the film and it caused a lot of men to die for nothing.
4. The biggest example of the terrible effects of groupism in this film would be the scene where the unit committed a mass suicide with grenades. You could see that many of them did not want to, yet they still did, even while in tears. Even though many of them didn't see the value in killing themselves, they still did it because everyone else was doing it, and they didn't want to be singled out as dishonorable.
5. When they read Sam's mother's letter they really began to see that the Americans were very similar to them. It changed them from very Hedataru to a little bit closer to Najimu than they ever thought an American could be. To put it in other words, they were no longer just soto, they became a little more uchi by hearing that letter. One soldier even stated, my mother said very similar things to me, they seem just the same as us and not these savages I was taught to think they were.
6. I see very many similar ideals for the idea of the way of being a warrior, or Bushido, between both films. Honor is very important, it was spoken of throughout the entirety of the film. With this in mind, it really shows how the war in the Pacific was considered a very hard and bloody endeavor. This need to stay honor caused many Japanese soldiers to fight literally to the last man, even when they were out of food, water, and even ammunition. The want to die honorably and to never surrender really shaped the Japanese defensive and shows why it took so long to win in the Pacific.
7. I feel that there were many examples of Haragei in the war. The first one that comes to mind from the film, would be the fact that the General was never told about the defeat of the Combined Fleet. This showed that the empire wanted to keep its face, even if it screwed over those who were working to defend it. Another example would be the many times that the soldiers did not fight back against there leaders and just went with the flow of things. It kinda showed their want to to "keep face" with their leaders.
8. Saigo and Lieutenant Ito both got captured in the end of it all. However, when you look into them as characters, they seem like complete opposites to end in the same fate. Saigo has a very small sense of patriotism, to him the country's war has only led to him losing his business and separating him from his dear wife. Ito, however, is patriotic to the point where he is willing to kill himself to destroy one of the American tanks. He is willing to sacrifice his body for his Emperor and the glory of his country. I feel that they having differing views really drove me to feel more towards Saigo. Saigo seemed more sane and rationale with his way of thought. However, Ito seemed more blinded by the group thought and his sense of Bushido.
9. The most obvious concept that we learned previously in class would be Bushido. This film being about a more modern version of the warrior class, we can see throughout how those ideals are still stuck within the military. Many times they talked about honor, loyalty to their Emperor and such. It would be very hard to find a scene where at least one aspect or another of Bushido is shown in some way.
10. I really learned a lot from this film. I found it very interesting that the General's idea of how to defend the island was not held in good regards with his subordinates. As we know, Iwo Itta was one of the hardest battles one by the Americans in the Pacific and one of the most influential. The fact that the General was able to do so much in the time he was given is pretty awesome.
No comments:
Post a Comment