Blandin- Harp of Burma

Image taken from houseofanime.org

The main short film of the week was Harp of Burma, though there is also a live-action film, the one in this blog is the animated version. Regardless both are based off the same children’s novel.  Some scenes from Letters from Iwo Jima were also shown this week. The topics discussed are death and other bad stuff in anime and Japanese culture in general.

The Japanese are more realistic about the universe when it comes to their views and what they depict in anime. They will touch on the bad side of things that Americans try to avoid showing or speaking of. For instance the Japanese will say the universe is not always fair, in anime a hero or any supporting characters may die from an unexpected source. The viewers may mourn the character and wonder why such a thing happened to them of all characters. Especially American viewers (although today we are more open with this after having been exposed to anime for so long already) because we usually see the evil characters suffering such a fate, not one of the good guys.

Image taken from Amazon.com

Suicide is also controversial. Some are honorable while others are pathetic.  It all depends on the reason for doing so. Killing yourself over lost love or failing an exam is the wrong kind. Suicide to help a mission or a nation or anything of a heroic sort is considered an honorable suicide. In Letters from Iwo Jima, the suicides were honorable because they were done in order to help their fellow soldiers and the country of Japan.  In Harp of Burma, it was a metaphorical “suicide” though more so a personal goal. Private Mizushima was a hero for many of his actions: Raising the moral of his troops or bringing together diverse people by simply playing his harp, as well as establishing a goal for himself to bury all his fallen Japanese “brothers” whose bodies were left to rot on the battlefield. His goal is mainly to burning peace to the dead soldiers due to the Shinto believe of what happens after one dies.

Both films demonstrate how respectful the Japanese are in the way they treat the dead or even a deceased enemy who received a note from his mother.  In general the Japanese are respectful toward each other to prevent chaos from erupting in Japan. It is a small place accommodating a large amount of people after all. I personally think America would be a better place if we all were as respectful as the Japanese are. I would probably feel safer whenever I need to go places alone compared to here where you always gotta be careful of your surroundings.

Image taken from usd.edu

I will say Japanese culture teaches us a lot about how people should be in “social morality”. They do not base their morals from religion, just upon interactions with each other. We base morals on religion which mean it does not apply to all of use considering some Americans do not believe in religion altogether. At least this way it would be linked to everyone whether they believe or not. And I am aware there are moral people just because that is the way they are, not based on religion or anything of the sort.  Which pushes the case that morality is within the person and not entire based on beliefs. 

Overall I respect the way the Japanese see life. They have an interesting culture at that, so I’m pretty sure by the end of the semester I will have learned a lot more from the Japanese lifestyle and anime.