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Rob_Hugo@PortNWHi everyone,
Please reply to this message and share your thoughts about our January 19 session on postwar growth and crisis in Japan by Professor Pitelka.
-Miranda
AnonymousMany thanks for an interesting and varied lecture. Thanks too to Prof. Pitelka for answering the many questions we had.
I've always wondered why Japan was able to recover so fast after WWII and now I can teach about this in a more educated way! It makes sense that the same obedience citizens gave to their leaders during wartime expanded to post-WWII, at least until the 1960's. How amazing that the Japanese came so far, so fast, and have given the world so much incredible technology--and still are. I want to see one of those cool, advanced washing machines Lois mentioned.
I was interested too in the anime movies Prof. Pitelka mentioned at the end of the lecture. I did know that many high schoolers are into anime, but I didn't know about the variety of the genres available. It never occurred to me to watch anime--I don't watch American cartoons for kids or for adults (Simpsons, South Park etc. don't interest me at all). Now, I want to at least watch a few of the anime movies for kids because of the strong female characters and the life lessons they're supposed to have. At the least, I'll be able to relate to my students in another way!
AnonymousThis was a MOST interesting night for me. I was amazed at the way the Occupation Forces conducted the affairs of post-war Japan. The decision to sanitize the Emperor's influence and position during the wars was a revelation to me. I have believed - and taught - that the Emperor was a benign force within a power-hungry military government. I think this kind of 'occupation' model could not happen today, because of the immediacy and ubiquity (is this word?) of the press - of the internet. MacArthur was able to conduct the Occupation in his own way so successfully in large part, I think, because he was able to filter what and how much information was distributed to the 'West.'
AnonymousThank you so much Professor Pitelka. Wow I loved the lecture (until I had to leave). I especially loved (because I love Film Noir) the film clip at the beginning. I really enjoyed seeing Tokyo from the occupation (it looked very similar to the Philipines to me). I did not know the details about the Occupation. Frankly I only knew that it went smoothly and that many new products (including those with the label "Made in Occupied Japan") came to the United States. Thank you for the recount on the rise of Japanese industrialization/modernization. I was amazed at MacArthur. I really came from the lecture, thinking of him as a genius. I really didnt think much of him before. I really need to emphasize, in my lectures, his brilliance in forming the new Japanese government. I usually just concentrate on his actions in the Pacific (during the war) and in Korea. Again, thank you for all your insights. I profoundly enjoyed it. Go Oxy!
AnonymousYes many thanks to Professor Pitelka, I was unaware that The 1947 Constitution enfranchised women, outlawed racism, guaranteed fundamental human rights, and encouraged land reform. It is also ironic that the human rights guarantees promoted in Occupied Japan during that time, where not practiced in the US, where Blacks and other minorities were facing racism and discrimination back home. I also enjoyed that Professor Pitelka’s lecture included Japanese authors Yasunari Kawabata and Yukio Mishima and a discussion on anime and manga.
AnonymousThanks to Professor Pitelka, who during this meeting opened up Japan for many of us; Japan was always a myth for me. Kawabata Yasunari and Mishima Yukio's contributions to Japanese Literature and social life was a topic of much interest. Thanks Professor Pitelka for all the information.
AnonymousIt was an engaging session. It was interesting and astounding to learn that Japan, in such a short amount of time after the war, managed to work their way to become one of the most powerful economic forces of the world. With the aide of US and some other countries, Japan was able to mobilize their cultural group-think to an advantage--so much that in the 50's, half of Japan's population owned a television in their homes! I've also been acquainted with Mishima Yukio, whose work I am interested in reading; I can't imagine the amount of pressure he had upon himself, leading a dual life(in his case, his sexual orientation). There must be so many others who have died, living in such silence.
AnonymousThis by far was probably the most interesting lecture I've heard so far (and they've all been fantastic)!
I'm teaching an AP World History class for the first time at my school and I really love how Pitelka already makes the information accessible to me and my students in one amazing lecture. I really enjoyed his exploration of social classes on 1/12 and I have to say that I was not disappointed by his lecture on 1/19.
Sometimes I forget how film is a reflection of a culture and the events that are happening "independently" from those films. I did not realize how much America influenced Japan culturally in the 1940's and beyond. Seeing a Japanese film noir was out of place and exciting all at the same time! When discussing Rising Sun (Sean Connery and Westley Snipes) I also forgot how Hollywood demonizes the countries with whom our relationships are not fantastic. This brings me back to the days when I used to watch "True Lies" over and over because it was so cool! Reflecting back on it, I realize now that the Middle Eastern Terrorists were a reflection on what America was doing in the Middle East and Eastern Europe in the 1980's and early 1990's. I have similar thoughts about the movie "Avatar" that just came out. I had a discussion with a colleague the other day about how one could not understand the environmentalist and imperialist policies that were going on in that particular film! She said something that blew me away and I thought was ludicrous- only the educated and politically aware individuals see the film for something more than entertainment value. As I reflect on "True Lies" and "Ferngully" and many of the other Japanese Anime films I watched in high school, I realize I took them for face value- artistic films with cool and interesting characters- not politically motivated, environmentally friendly, etc, discussions of our society.
Whether Hollywood is a lover or a hater of other cultures, we do see that reflected in our films. Japanese Anime films equally apply themselves to this discussion. However, because they were animated cartoons and not "real" people, I have always dismissed them as nothing more than things to watch when I have free time and not what the artist saw when creating this piece of artwork. I will cast aside my "Buffy" and my "Xena" DVD's for a renewal in my anime phase.
This will help me to teach my students about Japanese history (the mythological and historic figures that some of the anime's do portray) and allow me to discuss serious issues on a level that they will find both entertaining and stimulating. Thank you Professor Pitelka!
AnonymousI enjoyed Professor Pitelka's presentation about the irony regarding
Japanese and their automobiles:
Japan is associated with automobiles (among other types of technology)
However, few Japanese, save for the wealthy, could afford one.
Finally, when they could buy a car, it was given the nomenclature of
"Mai ca," meaning, this automobile would be something that they could call their own.
A purchase such as this was separate and distinct from the life they had to live outside of their car:
worrying about what others thought, making certain that they lived up to the
standards of their family and community.
I find it very interesting that a county such as Japan took longer to modernize than
the US, yet they have surpased us in the quality and sales of automobiles, education
(in some areas) and in technology.
AnonymousI guess since I am really into film and this is the week of the Sundance Film Festival - I am reminded of an EXCELLENT film about contemporary Japan. It is called "Departures" (or Okuribito in Japanese). It is about an out of work cellist named Daigo, who decides on a career change. He trains for a new professional role as a nakanshi, or one who prepares the dead for burial. He discovers first hand the cultural stigma associated with death in Japan. The film won an Academy Award last year as Best Foreign Language Film. Check it out. You Won't be disappointed!
AnonymousI attended a make-up session at Manhattan Beach. I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Pitelka's presentation on Contemporary Japan. He mentioned while Japan had enjoyed dramatic economic growth and modernization after WWII, there has existed an undercurrent of dissatisfaction by some intellectuals in the path that Japan has taken, most notably, authors, Kawabata Yasunari and Mishima Yukio.
He further mentioned the phenomenon of "shut-ins" in Japan, a whole generation of young males who have basically shielded themselves from the broader Japanese society. A book which chronicles these "shut-ins," in Japanese called, hikikomori, is Shutting Out the Sun, by Michael Zielenzieger. This book provides a glimpse into how some aspects of modern Japan have stifled many of its younger citizens, and Zielenziege's research can be placed into the larger context of dissatisfaction among many Japanese that has characterized modern Japan. [Edit by="rhitlin on Jan 31, 1:24:31 PM"][/Edit]
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AnonymousThis message is to respond to the movie, Departures. I have seen this movie twice, once in the theater, and once on DVD, which I bought, and I agree, viewers will not be disappointed. While the movie does deal with death and the fragility of life, it does so with warmth and humor. Another movie about contemporary Japan, that I would recommend is Tokyo Sonata. Tokyo Sonata's plot tackles how unemployment and limited economic opportunities in Japan, are tearing at the fabric of modern Japanese society. [Edit by="rhitlin on Jan 31, 1:23:31 PM"][/Edit]
AnonymousIn the make-up session at Manhattan Beach, we discussed the economic crisis that had gripped Japan in the lost decade of the 1990's. Many economists have drawn parallels between the banking and economic crisis in Japan to the crisis that the United States finds itself in presently. Indeed, a recent NY Times editorial on January 3, 2010 argued that President Obama and his economic advisers should look at the Japanese experience and the government's lack of a response as a model of what not to do. The editorial concluded that Obama must continue to be bold in dealing with the crisis, in contrast to the Japanese government's response which was timid and unresponsive.
AnonymousAs a Doctoral student at Claremont Graduate University in Education and Political Science, presently, much of my research has focused on immigration and diversity within contemporary Japan. My research has analyzed the demographic trends within Japan that have contributed a great need for foreign workers in Japan, and how this need is contrary to Japan's desire for cultural and racial conformity. My research has used the experiences of Brazilian-Japanese in Japan as a case study to gauge the willingness of the Japanese people towards a greater acceptance of "multiculturalism." My research builds upon the work by Dr. Tsuda of UCSD, who has found that the Brazilian-Japanese have had a mostly negative experience in Japan despite the greater economic opportunities in Japan.
AnonymousAdding on to my posts about "multiculturalism" in Japan, I would like to discuss the concept of "Japaneseness," and the research of Creighton.
"Japaneseness” reinforces the axiom that Japan is ethnically homogeneous and culturally similar. While advertisements in Japan feature "foreigners," Creighton argues that images of foreigners in Japanese advertising to provide an oppositional contrast, to promote a representation for "otherness," and to help construct and perpetuate a strong Japanese self- identity (1997). The image statements surrounding foreigners in Japanese advertisements serve not only to define Japanese identity traits, but ultimately to project heterogeneity onto the outside world, reaffirming Japan's self assertion of homogeneity, while symbolically negating diversity within Japanese society (1995).
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