Well it’s week 9 now and I don’t know if I have an exact answer to my overarching question. 9 weeks just wasn’t long enough to study both Japanese and American culture…. but on the positive side I did make many revelations and  learned new things along the way. Here they are:

1.  There are very, very, very, few Asian American actors/actresses cast in zombie themed T.V. shows or films. I mean, I always knew there weren’t that many…but after doing this project I can’t deny that I’m shocked at the reality of the situation. It’s scary to know the only Asian American character I could find in a zombie themed show/movie was Glenn. That’s just sad….Fortunately, the show did a pretty good job at not stereotyping him.

2. Both American and Japanese shows/films usually have romance as part of the plot; however I noticed the relationships portrayed in the Japanese films are much less important to the plotline and are also much less sexual when compared to American films.

3. Like many American films, (from what I’ve seen) Japanese shows/films are typically sexist too, but sometimes in a different way. I also think that Japanese culture is way more open to the idea of a “strong and sexy” woman than American culture is. I feel like in American culture a woman cannot be both, it’s like she has to choose between the two. In addition, I think that maybe Japanese culture has more “fun” when it comes to portraying different types of relationships in films; this can especially be seen in the film Wild Zero where the main character Ace is convinced by Guitar Wolf that it doesn’t matter if his love interest was in actuality born as a boy.

4.  Japanese and American “cult” zombie films gain a cult following in very similar fashion… which includes; the main “heroes” having a “mock-heroic” type attitude and being connected to a different time period other than the one they belong in; having an “evil” force/villain present in the film, and the zombies knowing how to fight and make decisions for themselves.

Because I was left with just as many questions as answers, I have decided to continue my project well into the future.

Similarities:

1. The main “heroes” have a “mock-heroic” type attitude.

Versus: “It took five men to kidnap a girl? Hey, why don’t you let her go and lose the toupee?” (main character; prisoner KSC2-303)

“…Why did you save me?” (“The Girl” to main character)

“I didn’t mean to save you; it just pissed me off.” (main character to “The Girl”)

 ( prisoner KSC2-303; main character)

In Evil Dead: Army of Darkness, the main character Ash also possesses a very dry and sarcastic personality. On multiple occasions he calls his main love interest some sort of derogatory sexist term.

2. Both Ash and prisoner KSC2-303 are connected to a different time period other than the one they belong in/are originally from.

 (Ash Williams holding his “broomstick”)

Ash is from the year 1992 and is sucked through a time portal which takes him all the way back to the year 1300 AD. There, he has the upper hand especially because of his gun.

Sort of similar, prisoner KSC2-303 and the other main characters (from Versus) are reincarnations from 10th century Japan. Not only are both the hero and villain talented with weapons, such as the samurai sword and multiple types of guns, but they are also both extremely skilled in the martial arts.

3. There’s always an “evil” force/villain.

In Versus, “The Man,” is trying to open the “the darkness of death” for power.

“The darkness of death. That’s where the real world will begin. I’m going to open that doorway. Come with me?” (“The Man” talking to prisoner KSC2-303)

 (“The Man” from his first/original life)

Likewise, in Evil Dead: Army of Darkness, there are “Deadites,” magic that can go wrong, unseen forces, and a haunted forest.

 (Ash having an evil clone form due to shattered glass entering his throat)

4. The zombies know how to fight and make decisions for themselves

 (Evil Dead: Army of Darkness; the “Army of Darkness”/”deadites”)

This is something we rarely get to see in any type of zombie film. Almost always, the zombies are slow, cannot make conscious decisions, and do not know how to do anything else besides walk and eat people. So I think the fact that the zombies are pretty much opposite in Evil Dead and Versus easily pushes these films onto the map.

For example, even though the undead in Evil Dead are only united because of Ash’s evil clone they still know how to make calculated attacks. One of the flying deadites even soars down to grab Sheila (Ash’s love interest).

And in Versus, the zombies know how to fight martial arts style, and shoot guns. (Sorry, I couldn’t find a picture of this!)

….Yep. That’s it! So if you ever watch a “cult” zombie movie in the future look back to this blog and you’ll probably see it has one of these four characteristics. It’s almost like a formula… but obviously some end results are better than others.

(1st picture taken from http://reeleyes.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/versus-film.png)

(2nd picture taken from: http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/57/28/78/572878dcef942b4d3c1198b2e7b3a71e.jpg)

(3rd picture taken from: http://www.fantastique-arts.com/photos/819.jpg)

(4th picture taken from: http://www.attackfromplanetb.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/armyD2.jpg)

(5th picture taken from: http://www.dedfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Army_of_Darkness.jpg)

Article Title- “Competing Hawaii minimum wage cross over to House, Senate”

“The Hawaii House has approved a bill that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $10 over the next four years, one of a flurry of bills that crossed over to the Senate this week.

House Bill 2580 would raise the minimum wage to $10 by 2018. Also included in the bill is a measure that provides for annual increases in the tip credit, to $1, if the gross amount an employee earns from wages and tips is at least 250 per cent of the poverty level. This means that restaurant owners can pay their servers $1 less than the minimum wage if they make enough tip money….

The House also passed H.B. 2529, which calls for greater oversight of the Hawaii Health Connector. It reduces the board of directors from 15 to 10 members, creates several advisory groups and a legislative oversight committee to review the financial and operational plans of the Connector, the state’s online health insurance exchange. It also establishes a sustainability fee.” (Article posted March 5, 2014)

(See full story here at: http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2014/03/05/competing-hawaii-minimum-wage-cross.html)

Class Notes:

Cowboy Bebop: Moroccan street scene- is it orientalism?

Inspired question: Is fame harder or easier to achieve than it used to be?

Each year women become more sexualized in anime. Why?

Gary Locke-  American politician who most recently was the United States Ambassador to China from 2011 until 2014. (More information found from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Locke)

All Is by My Side- starring Andre 3,000 as Jimi Hendrix

Next Thursday morning bring all notes

1. Tobio is first seen as a helpless woman. She’s so helpless that Ace the main character, who is also her love interest, starts to cry because he feels to weak to save her. “I can’t even save one girl!” Ace cries out while sitting next to her.

2. Tobio is really a man, completely changing the “helpless woman” dynamic. Ace is so disgusted by this fact he runs away leaving Tobio to fend for herself/himself (Ace nor Tobio never say what pronoun Tobio wants to be called) in a room full of zombies. “Anything but that!” Ace yells while practically gagging.

 (Ace getting a vision of Guitar Wolf telling him to be with Tobio)

3. In the end, Ace realizes he loves Tobio and goes back to save her/him. “Courage and rock ‘n’ roll: That’s what he taught me on that night. Love has no boundaries, nationalities, or genders. That’s what he said. And he was right. And me, from now on, I’ll be with Tobio. The two of us forever” – Ace.

 (Tobio and Ace kissing as the zombie alien ship explodes in the background)

4.  One of the films main women (name never mentioned) is both “sexy and strong.” That rarely happens in American films, no matter what genre!

Ok, so now we’re going to move on to I am Legend. There is only one main female character in the film and that is Anna.

  (Anna talking to Robert right before he sacrifices himself for her and Ethan)

Not much to say about Anna… Yes, she’s not totally weak; she did save Robert, but we never see her actually fighting….not even one zombie. So the film is saying only a ”big strong man” can kill a zombie? One word; lame.

Final Thoughts:

If I were to only judge Japanese and American culture based off of Wild Zero and I am Legend, I would say that Japanese society is more accepting of “strong” women and gay/transgender relationships in films than American society is. I now wonder if other Japanese films are the same way or at least similar. My guess is probably not… but I will still look into it in the future.

(1st picture taken from: http://sinaphile.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/wild-zero1.jpg)

(2nd picture taken from: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JrA8f6NyLRw/TzVYTbv-7HI/AAAAAAAAEBw/6rGrWbqXE8Y/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-02-10+at+11.41.22+AM.png)

(3rd picture taken from: http://www.hotflick.net/flicks/2007_I_Am_Legend/007IAL_Alice_Braga_020.jpg)

Like the tiger, reality is smeared in A Tale for the Time Being. What causes all of the characters reality’s to smear together? Is it because they are all somehow connected through fate, time travel, Ruth/Ruth’s world doesn’t exist, Harry’s Q-Mu, or maybe quantum mechanics? Well, let’s check out the evidence for each theory.

1. Fate:

Ruth finds Nao’s journal.  When Nao’s journal goes blank Ruth is in charge of Nao’s ending.

The Jungle Crow leads Oliver and Ruth to discover Pesto alive. If it weren’t for the Jungle Crow they would have never found Pesto and he would have died.

2. Time Travel:

Ruth travels through a dream to convince Harry not to kill himself and that Nao needs him. Ruth also inserts #1 Haruki’s letters into his box with the intention of Harry and Nao to read. All of this becomes true and really happens; according to Nao’s once again filled in and changed ending.

3. Ruth/ Ruth’s world doesn’t exist:

“I mean if she stops writing to us, then maybe we stop being too” p. 344

“His voice seemed farther away now. Was it her ears or the storm?” p. 344

4.  Harry’s Q-Mu:

“Maybe it’s possible that in one of those worlds, Haruki #2 figured out how to build his Q-Mu and get objects in that world to interact with this one. Maybe he’s figured out how to use quantum entanglement to make parallel worlds talk to one another and exchange information” p. 395 -Oliver to Ruth

5. Quantum mechanics:

Was pesto meant to die? Was there another world created/already existing world where Pesto died?

“(For one crazy moment, I thought that monograph I found online might even be yours, but it vanished before I could discover who wrote it)” p. 402- Ruth to Nao

“Well maybe that’s the wrong way to put it, but I’m thinking that if everything your looking for disappears maybe you should stop looking. Maybe you should focus on what’s tangible in the here and now” p. 232- Oliver to Ruth about Quantum element.

Conclusion:

So that’s a total of five theories as to why all the characters reality’s are smeared together. Do you think one theory is more arguable than another? Or maybe you’re thinking of another theory that is not listed….Wait, what if…. you’re reading this and then it just disappears? What would you say? What would you do or think? Would you think it has to be quantum mechanics? Or maybe there just simply is no answer at all…Oh, but there is always an answer to everything, even the seemingly impossible, some would say.

Article Title: “Easter Island Diet Consisted Of Rats But Not Seafood, New Study Shows”

“To determine the diet of its past inhabitants, researchers analyzed the nitrogen and carbon isotopes, or atoms of an element with different numbers of neutrons, from the teeth (specifically the dentin) of 41 individuals whose skeletons had been previously excavated on the island. To get an idea of what the islanders ate before dying, the researchers then compared the isotope values with those of animal bones excavated from the island. [Photos of Walking Easter Island Statues]

Additionally, the researchers were able to radiocarbon date 26 of the teeth remains, allowing them to plot how the diet on the island changed over time. Radiocarbon dating works by measuring the decay of carbon-14 allowing a date range to be assigned to each individual; it’s a method commonly used in archaeology on organic material. The research was published recently online in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

 (Polynesian Rat)

The researchers found that throughout time, the people on the island consumed a diet that was mainly terrestrial. In fact, in the first few centuries of the island’s history (up to about A.D. 1650) some individuals used Polynesian rats (also known as kiore) as their main source of protein. The rat is somewhat smaller than European rats and, according to ethnographic accounts, tasty to eat.”

(Read full story at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/28/easter-island-diet-rats-seafood_n_3997363.html)

(Picture taken fromhttp://thewebsiteofeverything.com/img/Polynesian_rat.jpg)

Ozeki pages 109-203:

“That life with my family if the dream” he says. He gestures toward the ruined landscape. “This is the reality. Everything is gone. We need to wake up and understand that” p. 112

“From so high up, the whales looked small. They used them for target practice. “It was fun,” the man told Callie over the phone. “What did we know?” p. 117 Similar to kids bullying Nao.

“When he ran out of cigarettes, he would walk back again and sneak into the apartment. I always heard the clank of the bolt on the front door, because I waited for it. The bolt in the latch broke the spell. I couldn’t move until I heard it” p. 128

“In the shadows of the bathhouse, watching her pale crooked body rise from the steam in the dark wooden tub, I thought she looked ghostly- part ghost, part child, part young girl, part sexy woman, and part yamamba, all at once. All the ages and stages, combined into a single female time being” p. 166

“Feeling is the important part. You don’t have to make a big deal out of it” p. 167

p. 178-179: different versions of World War II.

Ozeki pages 204-304:

“The world of the diary was growing increasingly strange and unreal. She didn’t know what to make of the girl’s ghost story. Did Nao really believe what she was writing?” p. 227

“Well, maybe that’s the wrong way to put it, but I’m thinking that if everything your looking for disappears, maybe you should stop looking.  Maybe you should focus on what’s tangible in the here and now” p. 232 -Quantum element

“Missing things upset her. Missing price tags. Missing memories. Missing parts of her life” p. 222

“Jiko says that this is an example of the time being.  Sound and no-sound. Thunder and silence” p. 238 -Drum playing

“Falling Man” a time being p. 268

p. 272- What was waitress afraid of?

“Now, you did you say we are at war with?” p. 273- Ruth’s mother.

“They could break my body but they wouldn’t break my spirit. They were only shadows, and as I listened to them arguing, I felt my face relax into a gentle smile” p. 277

journal causing tension between Ruth and Oliver p. 295

Ozeki pages 305-403 (and appendices):

“know what?” “About why her dad got fired! She doesn’t know that he’s a man of conscience. We have to” p. 314

“My last thoughts, measured out in drops of ink” p. 317- Haruki #1 one letter for show, the other for truth.- Reminds me of how Ruth paces herself when reading Nao’s diary.

“Like her, we must keep our studies even as civilization collapses around us” p. 317- Haruki #1- I totally agree

“At one point in my life, I learned how to think. I used to know how to feel. In war, these are lessons best forgotten” p. 319- Haruki #1- Reminds me of how my grandfather would talk about World War II.

‘When I woke, my body must have hurt, but I couldn’t feel the pain. Instead, I was enveloped in a warm sensation of peace, which comes from the knowledge of inner power” p. 321- Haruki #1 -Similar to Nao’s sexual assault coping.

“I write this in the shadows. I write this in the moonlight, straining my ears to hear beyond the cold mechanical clock to the warm biological noises of the night, but my being us attuned only to one thing, the relentless rhythm of time marching toward my death” p. 322- Haruki #1

I have always believe that this war is wrong. I have always despised the capitalist greed and imperialist hubris that have motivated it. And now, knowing what I do about the depravity with which this war has been waged, I am determined to do my utmost to steer my plane away from my target and into the sea. Better to do battle with the waves, who may yet forgive me. I do not feel like a person who is going to die tomorrow. I feel like a person who is already dead.” p. 328- Haruki #1- waves part is similar to Nao beating up the waves.

Are Ruth and Nao somehow the same person?

“In the superimposed photograph, the tiger would appear to be a blur or smear. In a microscopic quantum universe, governed by the principle of superposition, the tiger is the smear” p. 414. -Like the “Falling Man”.

“The Moon and the Finger” p. 416- seen in Enter the Dragon film.

“Please burn me and Don’t File Me” p. 418- interesting…..

“I mean, if she stops writing to us, then maybe we stop being too” p. 344…”His voice seemed farther away now. Was it her ears or the storm?” p. 344- I don’t think Ruth’s world is real.

Did Ruth travel through time in dream? p. 353. Talked to father and put Haruki #1 letters in Haruki #1 box. Letters ended up there for real. Why did Nao’s ending go blank/her fate? Why was Ruth in charge of changing Nao’s fate?

Harry creates the Mu-Mu obliterator p. 382. Was Harry really in charge of Nao’s fate then, and he used Mu-Mu obliterator? Or maybe both Harry and Ruth were in charge somehow.

Was pesto meant to die as well?

Maybe answer to book is quantum mechanics?

“Maybe it’s possible that in one of these worlds, Haruki #2 figured out how to build his Q-Mu and get objects in that world to interact with this one. Maybe he’s figured out how to use quantum entanglement to make parallel worlds talk to one another and exchange information” p. 395. – Oliver talking to Ruth

“(For one crazy moment, I thought that monograph I found online might even be yours, but it vanished before I could discover who wrote it)” p. 402

Class Notes:

Halving the Bones: Narrator- Ruth Ozeki: “Over the years she had forgotten how to be a daughter”- Sounds like Nao with her father.

“In Japan people think I’m always American, and when I’m in America people always think I’m Japanese” -Ruth Ozeki

Ozeki interview: Doesn’t think of issues in her book as “issues.” “It’s not like you set out to write funny” -Ruth Ozeki-author of A Tale for the Time Being

Uganda News:

Uganda passes Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014. Death penalty proposal dropped in favor of life in prison. Signed by the President of Uganda on February 24, 2014. The bill even makes renting an apartment next to an LGBT person and not informing on them to authorities a crime punishable up to five years in prison.  (Information found from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/20/uganda-anti-homosexuality-law_n_4478602.html)

Significant black population in Nova Scotia and England due to blacks escaping slavery and aftermath of fighting in American Revolutionary War. During War more blacks fought for British side than American side. British lost and many blacks went to Canada and England.

“Something was wrong. I didn’t want to be rude and stare, but I couldn’t help it. He looked like a younger version of my dad, only a couple of years older than me, but he sounded different, and the clothes were all wrong, too.  And that’s when I figured it out: if this ghost who had answered to my father’s  name wasn’t my father, then he must be my father’s uncle, the suicide bomber” p. 213. When Nao first meets Haruki #1 he is the same age as when he died. He also does not talk to Nao very much, kind of similar to how many younger people feel defensive and keep to themselves. But later in this book’s section Haruki #1 opens up to Nao like a mature adult. “Is that you?” I whispered as softly as I could. “Haruki Ojisma…?” They gave us rifles. They showed us how to use our big toe to pull the trigger. How to lodge the tip of the barrel in the V of our jawbone so it wouldn’t slip…” p. 240. Clearly the way in which Haruki #1 is talking about death is on the same level as a very mature adult. So mature, the intensity of the topic and his description of suicide would scare most teenagers.

Maybe Haruki #1 did or didn’t have some sort of coming of age as a ghost, but I still think it’s a pretty cool theory. Wouldn’t you agree?

After realizing Jiko’s powers in getting her to open up, Nao begins to accept and cope with her anger issues. ”Try it. Go to the water and wait for the biggest wave and give it a punch. Give it a good kick. Hit it with a stick. Go on. I will watch” p. 193- Jiko to Nao. “I got to my feet and attacked again and again, and each time the water crashed down on top of me, grinding me against the rocks and covering me with foam and sand. I didn’t mind. The sharp cold felt good, and the violence of the waves felt powerful and real, and the bitterness of salt in my nose tasted harshly delicious. Over and over, I ran at the sea, beating it until I was so tired I could barely stand” p. 193. In regards to this particular technique, Jiko is teaching Nao how to release her anger in a safe, healthy way. And it seems to be having a positive affect on Nao.

Towards the end of this weeks’ reading, Nao expresses her love for Jiko; which shows a massive improvement in Nao. “I was still thinking about what she said about waves, and it made me sad because I knew that her little wave was not going to last and soon she would join the sea again, and even though I know you can’t hold on to water, still I gripped her fingers a little more tightly to keep her from leaking away” p. 195. The only other person Nao has ever truly loved is her father. And when her father’s mental stability went out the door, she felt like what’s the point in loving someone if there just going to go away. But with Jiko in her life, a person who represents all the good things the world has to offer, Nao’s heart is softening and she both unconsciously and consciously comes to care deeply for her (Jiko).

Romantic Comedies:

1. Usually has some sort of conflict or funny barrier keeping the lovers apart, normally solved near the end of film, and thus the characters can then be together.

2. Are known to have lighter content, and audience is rarely ever put in the position of worrying about the characters feelings. These films normally have light happy endings, where everything works out.

Romantic Dramas:

1. The obstacle keeping the main characters apart isn’t always solved, or even if it is, characters may never reunite.

2. Contains emotionally heavier storylines, such as affairs or life threatening illnesses, and are overall darker. Sometimes one of the main characters does not get a happy ending.

Ok, so after going over the differences between romantic comedies and romantic dramas, I would say Mississippi Masala does not fit into either category. And let me tell you why….

1. Yes, the film had some funny moments to it, but the storyline seemed a bit heavy to be considered a romantic comedy… Like Mina’s family along with the rest of the Ugandan Indians/South Asians being kicked out of Uganda (despite the film wanting and not wanting sympathy for them), the problems separating Mina and Demetrius were a mix of racism, gender relationships in communities of color, effects of post-slavery/emancipation experience, and post-colonialism (just to name a few); does that sound funny or like a light issue to you?

2. Similar to a romantic comedy, the main characters solved the conflict near the end of the film, and fortunately no one died or had a tragic ending. But on the other hand, the main characters didn’t exactly have a happy ending. Demetrius’s cleaning business and reputation was ruined, therefore he had to start from scratch, and both Mina and Demetrius felt forced to leave their loving family’s behind.  Yay, they got to be together, but was it really a happy ending?

So what do you think? Do you think Mississippi Masala was a romantic comedy, a romantic drama, or neither?

First, let’s analyze Nao. She makes the conscious decision to wait for Daisuke in the alley, who is another “pathetic” kid that gets picked on at school. The sight of him makes Nao so mad she gains enough energy to easily take him down. “Honestly, it felt great. I felt great. Powerful. Exactly the way I’d hoped I would feel when I fantasized about getting revenge…. I pulled his head up and held the little kitchen knife to his throat.  The knife was sharp, and I could see the vein pulsing in his spindly neck. It would have been no effort at all to cut him. It would have meant nothing” (Ozeki, p. 102). Clearly, Nao is emotionally disturbed. She has been pushed to the point of fantasizing about revenge and not even caring about killing Daisuke. She feels disgusted by him because he is a constant reminder of her own hellish life; especially of why she is treated so horribly by her classmates. By killing Daisuke, she is essentially killing herself, or at least the part she hates. ”No matter what I chose to do, for this one moment I owned Daisuke and I owned his future. It was a strange feeling, creepy and a little too intimate, because if I killed him now we would be joined for life, forever, and so I released him” (Ozeki, p. 105).  Nao doesn’t kill Daisuke because she realizes killing him would connect their misery and also the reasons of why they’re “pathetic;” doing opposite of what she wants. In the end, his murder would merely make the part of herself she hates grow.

Interestingly enough, death even motivates Daisuke’s actions. With the knife to his throat, “Daisuke moaned. His eyes were closed, but his mouth was slack and his face was strangely relaxed. A small drop of saliva dribbled from the corner of his chapped lips. He looked like he was smiling” (Ozeki, p. 105). Daisuke’s smile and overall body relaxation serve as evidence of what’s going through his mind at that moment; he wants to die.

Once again, Nao’s thoughts are driven by death but also a disturbed sense of empathy when Daisuke tells her, “You should have just done it” (Ozeki, p. 105). “I watched him for a while. I felt sorry for him, because I knew what he meant, and I even thought about offering to do it again, but the moment was gone. Oh well” (Ozeki, p. 105). For a second, Nao feels empathy for Daisuke and wants to take his pain away without actually getting anything in return. In Nao’s disturbed mind, and at this exact moment, killing him would be just like giving him a gift. However, for whatever reason, just as fast as her empathy formed, it quickly drains away.