What I'm saying is Westerns were already the Samurai movies of the west
(literally)
Sukiyaki Western Django (dir by Takashi Miike, 2008) is a beautiful meditation on the history of Cowboy/Samurai films and the concept of cultural exchange in general. It's incredible. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
I highly recommend it if you're in the mood for something really surreal and goofy (it's phonetically acted in English!) but also stylish as hell and thematically weighty. Just make sure you watch the original Japanese cut. The international cut is missing 22 minutes of footage!
Sukiyaki Western Django is a must watch for Yusuke Iseya fans. I don't think he (or any other human being) has ever looked better than this. Though it wasn't based on a comic, this movie is some of the best live action manga you'll ever see.
Back to the original joke post, my point is that Western takes on samurai stories (should have said stories in general not just films) tend to be uncritical and romanticized and focused on "honor" while Japanese samurai stories tend to not do all that.
Most well regarded/popular samurai films from Japan tend to be critical of samurai and don't have a fixation on "honor". More thoughts (with brief references to actual films) here:
More food for thought: most Samurai in Japanese media (movies, games, comics, anime) don't wear samurai armor. Armor is for going to war, not for going about your life!
🧵The Western take on Yoshitoshi is that he was a tragic figure waging a lone war against industrialization and modernization. A war that he lost and thus the traditions he championed died with him. It's a romantic notion that also satisfies tons of biases.
🧵But it's so far from the truth. Yes Ukyo-e fell out of favor for more modern methods of reproduction like photography. But it never died out. For instance there was the Shin-hanga (新版画) movement of the early 20th Century, whose purpose was to keep Ukyo-e alive and evolve it.
1. Manga has been more popular than Marvel or DC comics in the west for decades now
2. Marvel & DC =/= All American comics. Dog Man is one of the best selling books (not just comics) in the US. Americans definitely still enjoy reading American comics!
In fact, there have been times where Dog Man has been the #1 best selling book in the US overall!
Dog-Man is the most popular comic in America, outselling any manga. But for some reason it's not really considered a comic by most, i guess cos it's for kids? Where are the articles about how Dav Pilkey is a threat to Superhero comics lol
Listening to this nice piece on the film "Living" and how the author, British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro was inspired by the Akira Kurosawa film "Ikiru," an internationally beloved classic whose title means "To Live." npr.org/2023/03/06/116…
The piece drops the ball at the end tho, when the narrator says that the film "is not just a remake" and they have a Brit critic that goes "'Ikiru,' by Kurosawa, seems to be a film about Japan, 'Living,' by Ishiguro and his colleagues. seems to me a film about humanity"
Like WTF
What does that mean? Ikiru has been widely regarded as one of the "great films" internationally for decades. It's obviously very universal in its appeal. How is it that "Ikiru" being set in Japan makes it "about Japan" but "Living", being set in the UK, makes it "about humanity"?
Sometimes I think about when Hail To The Thief dropped & this one music critic called it pretentious pap saying Thom Yorke simply screams the words "PENETRATION" over and over in 2+2=5. But the actual lyrics are "we are not even PAYING ATTENTION" lol
Oh man this album rules. It brings back so many TERRIBLE MEMORIES lol. But in a good way!
I think There There is one of Radiohead's best singles. Such a rich, downbeat, groovy, anxious sound. And what a perfect message for the times. "Just cos you feel it, doesn't mean it's there." Tough pill to swallow. But sometimes you really need to hear it
I'm overdo for a food post! I hit up some nice places in Chiang Mai recently. #ArtEaterEats
Dirty Mocha from ... Google Maps has them listed as "Cutlater Cafe" but I could swear they had a Japanese sounding name. Probably rebranded without updating google. Anyhow it was a very good cup of coffee and a beautiful cafe! #ArtEaterEats
In addition to great coffee this place specializes in wagashi, traditional Japanese sweets, which go perfectly with a hot drink (really I should have just gotten an Americano or cappuccino instead of a sweet drink to go with these!)
It's WONDERFUL that Crayon Shin Chan is "seinen" (for men) and Fist of the North Star is "shonen" (for boys). And no, we don't need to "fix" that. It's better when the labels don't actually matter cos you can focus more on the content that way
While many in the Anglosphere argue over if it's OK to enjoy Boy's Love comics if you're not gay, My Brother's Husband was published in Monthly Action alongside Dragon Maid.