Message from crieder

[Anonymous]

After reading two reviews of "Memoirs" in Asia Pacific Arts it made me aware of just how much controversy there is over the film.I read the book and saw the movie. I loved the book and was drawn into the story and the characters. I read the book about 5 years ago. I thought I would be disappointed by the movie. I watched it much less critically than the movie reviewers in Asia Pacific Arts. The controversy over who should have the starring roles was interesting to me. Why was a Chinese woman asked to play a Japanese geisha.

The articles helped me understand the contorversy a little better. There are so many past interactions political and social that drive the discussion of the film. The more I learn about China and Japan I can appreciate the differening opinions of the film and who should have been awarded the leading roles. From a novices point of view it would just be the story, the cinematography, the music, the costumes I might have thought about as I watched and evaluated the film. Now with more knowledge of Asian history I begin to question historical accuracy. Reading the articles in Asia Pacific Arts made me question if I should have enjoyed the film or if I was just culturally illiterate.

My awareness has been raised but as far as entertainment, I have to say I did enjoy the book and the film version kept me entertained and engaged. I did come home after I saw it however and look up geisha on google because I wanted to know more about their history. So the more knowledge you have the more critical you become. Becomiing more culturally aware is a good thing. The seminars, studying, reading, and sharing is "all good." There is so much to learn!