Analysis #5: Orientalism

In Orientalism, Edward Said argues that orientalism founded itself in the idea of the West needing something to create itself against, ultimately creating the East as the "other." The Oriental is a single image, a stereotype that crosses countless cultural and national boundaries. Daisuke Nishihara, author of Said, Orientalism, and Japan, writes, "The Europeans defined themselves as the superior race compared to the orientals; and they justified their colonization by this concept. They said that it was their duty towards the world to civilize the uncivilized world. The main problem, however, arose when the Europeans started generalizing the attributes they associated with orientals, and started portraying these artificial characteristics associated with orientals in their western world through their scientific reports, literary work, and other media sources" (Nishihara 242). This concept is directly seen in Edward Zwick's film, The Last Samurai (2003), an epic drama film that was inspired by the story of Jules Brunet, a French army captain who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in the earlier Boshin War of 1868. Although the film did not seek to duplicate history, it may be argued to be the depiction of Said's idea of orientalism. 


The film begins in the summer of 1876, introducing Captain Nathan Algren, an ex-United States Army captain. Algren is ordered under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Bagley to train an army of peasants to take them into battle against a group of samurai rebels, as Algren later becomes their captive. The samurai rebels are introduced as savages, uncivilized, and in dire need of western colonization. Later in the film, the samurai are ultimately represented as the epitome of Said's argument as he states that the foundation of orientalism exists upon a group of stereotyped individuals without choice. Nishihara writes, "Has not the West as much to unlearn about the East as the East has to learn about the West?" (Nishihara 242). This concept is seen during Algren's captivity as the audience soon learns that it is in fact the Western culture that fits the characteristics of "savage" more precisely than the samurai. Algren learns that the foundation of the ways of the samurai rests upon order, respect, and peace, and is shocked to see that the stereotypes that have been placed on them are completely false. Despite Algren's status as a captive, he soon wins the samurais' respect and admiration as they accept him for his character rather than his American identity. Thus, the samurai ultimately appear more humane than the Westerners. 

The epitome of Said's idea and argument of orientalism is represented through the character of the Emperor. Although an emperor is defined to be a sovereign ruler of great power and rank, the emperor presented in Zwick's film is soft-spoken, meek, and extremely feminine. He is also seen to be dependent on others to make important decisions for him. Although the emperor appears to know what is right and what kind of decisions should be made, he is essentially used as Mr. Omura's puppet. It is not coincidental that Omura is a Japanese businessman who seeks to westernize the Japanese Imperial Army.   Thus, it may be argued that Zwick was influenced by Said's idea of orientalism as it is clearly shown in the representation of the differences between traditional and westernized Japanese people.


Works Cited
Nishihara, Daisuke. "Said, Orientalism, and Japan." Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics 25 (2005): 242. JSTOR. Web. 4 May 2010.

Sex and the City

Sex and the City is presented as a radical text, having the idea of women enjoying "sex" be radical in itself. On the same note, the history of sexuality would argue that lesbians take on a more masculine identity which is clearly seen in Sex and the City with the character of Miranda. Because she surrounds herself with males and works as a lawyer (taking on a masculine profession), many people are led to assume that she is a lesbian. In doing so, Miranda may in fact be representing the refined idea of the "new woman," the more independent female who does not need a man to define her identity and existence.

Knowledge is Power

Michel Foucault examines the idea that knowledge is power. This was clearly evident in the clip of "Bye-Bye-Birdie" that was shown in class yesterday. The girl was was "pinned" did in fact begin with the most power by having the knowledge that she was asked out on a date by a popular boy. The fact that she was able to give that knowledge to her friend was a portrayal of power itself. Thus, once the knowledge was given to her friend, her friend was a carrier of such power as well. Evidently, the clip gradually showed the diminishing of the first girl's power as more and more people were aware of her relationship status. Thus, by the end of the clip, the girl and her now "boyfriend" were placed at the center of Foucault's theory of the "Pendulum" (a reverse Pendulum, if I can create such a thing).

Bigger and Better

Like Marxism, Postmodern businesses search for "flexible" labor, a group that does not specialize in a selected area but are able to function in any circumstance. It is a society in which there is an accelerated obsolescence. Consumers are constantly wanting the bigger, better, and faster, and businesses need to keep up with the demand. A classmate last week had given an example of such thing happening in our society today: Windows program for computers. That example provides another example with a similar approach: iPods. Consumers desire smaller gadgets with larger memory space, and Apple has made their dreams come true with iPods, iPod Nanos, iPod shuffles, and iPhones. Will there ever be an end?

My Part of the Marxism Presentation

I can honestly say that our presentation went a lot smoother than I had envisioned it to go. I had never known just how complex and confusing Marxism was, and I had let my nerves get the best of me while preparing my part of the presentation. However, after we had completed our presentation, I was surprised at how everything made sense and fit into place while discussing surplus value, commodity, social value, exchange value, and everything that flowed into it.

I particularly enjoyed the origami activity that we had the class do. Although it wasn't my idea, I helped with cutting the paper, making an example crane, and participating in teaching the class how to fold it. It was engaging for our classmates and rather than it be slightly off tangent, it was right on point with our presentation.

The section that I covered for the presentation was the multiple relations that exist between producers and laborers, mainly covering the idea that, "the relation of the producers to the sum total of their own labor is presented to them as a social relation, existing not between themselves but between the products of their labor" (667). I also discussed that the individual producer must acquire a "twofold character:"
1. The producer must create a product that is a useful kind of labor which satisfies a definite social want.
2. The product can satisfy the manifold wants of the individual producer himself, only in so far as the mutual exchangeability of all kinds of useful private labor.

Overall, the presentation was a success and I am honored to have been a part of such an amazing group to work with.  

Coraline

Here's the trailer for the film, Coraline. If you haven't watched it yet, you're missing out!

Analysis #3: Marxism in Coraline

Warning! This post contains movie spoilers.

Coraline (2009) has been an Oscar-nominated, and one of the most remarkably made movies history has ever seen. Created in stop-motion, it is said that it took almost three weeks to create 8-seconds of footage. This horror-fantasy film based on Neil Gaiman's 2002 movie of the same name, has been a tremendous influence for artists all around the world. Imagination, creativity, and genius warped into a single film has completely changed the definition of a "movie."

Under the magic and glam, Director Henry Selick may have been influenced by Karl Marx himself. Too far of a stretch? Let me prove it to you. 

The story of Coraline begins with a young girl, Coraline Jones, who moves from Pontiac, Michigan into the Pink Palace Apartments in Oregon, an old house subdivided into three residences. While her parents frantically prepare a gardening catalog, Coraline begins to feel neglected and decides to explore the grounds. She then meets Wybie Lovat, the talkative and annoying grandson of the landlady. Wybie gives Coraline a doll that he had found in his grandmother's attic that looks just like her: blue hair, pink hair clip, yellow raincoat with matching yellow boots. Oddly enough, Coraline discovers a small door in her living room, small enough for Coraline to barely crawl through. Long story short, the small door leads to a magical place that looks exactly like Coraline's home, but better. Coraline meets her "Other Mother" and "Other Father" who look just like her real parents, but better. They pay attention to her, prepare delicious dinners and desserts for her to enjoy,  and decorate the garden with all her favorite flowers. She even meets the "Other Wybie" who does not talk at all. He listens and nods, just the way Coraline wants it. The other world is perfect. 

But it is all a trap. The Other Mother invites Coraline to stay in the other world forever, but for the price of her eyes. Coraline must sow buttons into her eyes to stay. Coraline immediately refuses and this angers the Other Mother. The Other Mother then reveals her true identity: an evil human-spider who controls the other world, planning to devour Coraline's life. 

In a Marxist perspective, The Other Mother represents the bourgeoisie as she forces all the creatures, the proletariat, of her world to work for her. For what price? Their lives. She does not grant them a luxurious life nor does she give them the leisure to do as they please. She provides them with just enough to survive. The other creatures, including the Other Father and the Other Wybie, work hard for the Other Mother by entertaining Coraline with magical events. Despite their hard work and labor, it is only the Other Mother who benefits from the labor by devouring the children she had lured in through the small door. Coraline represents the consumer, as she is only lured through the door because of the doll. The doll was created by the Other Mother and sent into Coraline's world on purpose. As Karl Marx writes that the product of labor "must satisfy a social want" (Marx 668), the doll has successfully fulfilled that requirement as it immediately sparked Coraline's interest. If the product were to have been a hammer, or a loaf of bread, the entire plot of the story would have been turned upside down. Why? Because it wouldn't have satisfied the consumer's want. A doll is a universal toy that would spark the interest of any girl of Coraline's age, which is exactly why the Other Mother had created a doll to lure Coraline through the little door. 

I have watched the film over a handful of times, and it wasn't until last week's group presentation on Marxism that I finally saw the correlation with Marx's theory of Capital.