As me being half Japanese, this reading was quite shocking in that this provided thoughts to what I have never thought of before. Knowing regions mentioned and the Japanese words used in the title of films [some of which I knew], I was able to better absorb the examples that Tsutsui provided as he spread his thoughts on the relationship between the Japanese film industry and the country’s historical and characteristic background. I have never realized, but had already known many of the things that were being stated in the reading, such as the film productions being based a lot on mass monster creatures and nuclear energy becoming the reason for everything.
Tsutsui featured in his writing a statement made by Sontag, which mentioned ‘fantasy normalizes fear’. Other references made in the writing mentioned about how the monsters and the bomb and the nuclear power is a good cliche to a film, even with a bad plot. These may be true to an extent. However, I personally would say that: yes, it normalizes fear, and yes, it is a cliche. Nevertheless, by making the very exposure of the ideas, although repetitive, is able to make the idea remain in people, for they never forget. For children, and for adults, the expression of such repetitive ideas and themes that still remain to today’s films and animes of Japan, is to make people alert to the history, and to the possible natural hazard dangers.
Soo Joung Han
UID: 3035659812
An insightful and refreshing personal response to this week’s reading on Tsutsui. Now in the 21st century, do you think there is still relevance of monster genre films to express? If they are, as Tsutsui argues, to confront socio-political issues of destruction and (eventual) national resilience, how do these films continue to add to our understanding of our urban environment?