Symbolic mushroom clouds, as well as the giant monsters in a Japanese city setting are used frequently in Japanese animation, manga and films, they present a regular annihilation fantasies. And showed aesthetic of destruction. Despite of the “apocalyptic nightmare” after the periodic manmade and natural destructions, there were a “salutary impact” as them as a nation and a city “won” and walked through the disaster together, and welcome an inevitable recovery. Japanese’s appreciation towards the aesthetic of shadow, in a way, shows their ability to celebrate the “harmony and strength” in the society in the dystopian environment. Nostalgia over the spiritual unification of Japanese collectivity under the systematic destruction could be experienced again through the films.
Having the city and the society experiencing regular destruction and reconstruction in both films and movies allow the mechanism in the society to practise the process, and from there develop a stronger mentality and quality standard. As people said,” When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” (The spirit, in my opinion, is well spoken by concrete, which is often used in Japanese architecture; the material is robust, non decorative, yet has the quiet aesthetics within.) The recoveries and “high speed growth” of the nation result all the “enduring optimism, pervading confidence” and work from annihilation all seem so inevitable, which phrases has unrealistic positives is often used in the reading. For example, “darkness vanishes”, “We have won!” and “The end of the world? No big deal.”. Despite of the positive influences to the society, memories of violence is repressed has averted people’s eyes from reality. Therefore, it is fear to say there is a high amount of oppression and stress is built up under the iceberg of annihilation fantasies, it can be implied by the high suicide rate in Tokyo and the rest of the country. In “Elephant Vanishes”, the author Murakami mesh normal daily life of the protagonists with surrealism and well as symbolism to show the oppression they accumulate. It is fair to say that the protagonist is the mimicry of society that is experiencing a lost of identity under the rapid growth and western influences, which can be told be the skyscrapers and architectural construction of both interior and exterior form motorbike chasing scenes in Akira.”
Somia An
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This is an excellent reflection on this week’s readings – articulate, critical and measured. Fantastic effort in bringing literary figures such as Murakami.