Early Summer is the story of a society in which women are expected to marry before the age of 29, often in arranged marriages negotiated by their family, especially fathers and brothers. Yet at the same time, Noriko rejects the candidate chosen for her by her boss and family and -- on the spur of the moment -- agrees to marry a family friend. What is this movie saying about patriarchal structure, marriage, and women's liberation in the modern Japan of the 1950's?
I would say that Early Summer is helping to show the changes that are coming to Japanese society in the fifties. A big focus of the movie is the changes that women are seeing in society. One of most prominent ways that this can seen is through the lens of marriage. Noriko plays a huge role in helping to show the audience that change that is taking place. It was once expected of women to get married before the age of 29 (crazy right). Noriko is approaching this age (according to google she is 28). Noriko has no set marriage and because of this she is breaking the societal norms of Japan. A marriage typically in this time would also be arranged, but again this is not the case for Noriko. She marries a man of her choosing, Kenkichi Yabe, who is a friend of the family. Her family does accept her choice to marry him, but it does take them some time to agree upon it because this was something that was almost unheard of during this time. I think that this is saying that during this time that women were becoming more and more free in their choices in Japan at this time. With this, it also means that the patriarchal structure that Japan had was coming to more of a close, liberating women and giving them more choice in big life decisions such as marriage.
ReplyDeleteEarly Summer comments on the progression of women's autonomy in Japanese society in the 1950's. Throughout the film, Noriko faces pressure from both family and friends to fulfill the cultural standard of marriage. As a 28 year old woman in Japanese culture, it is already uncommon for Noriko to be single at this point in her life. This fact in itself is already a subversion of the traditional expectations of the women in Japan at the time this film was made. Additionally, Noriko refuses to marry the man recommended to her by her family and boss. Going against the wishes of her family and the wishes of her workplace also directly goes against the standard for Japanese women at the time. Although the lack of an arranged marriage and having the autonomy to choose your own husband may not seem particularly progressive to us watching this movie in 2021, this film is indicative of change happening at the time it was made. Japanese women in the 1950's were starting to experience newfound freedoms - such as making these decisions for themselves - and breaking away from the expectations of society. In this way, Noriko acts as a subversive force to the patriarchal structure and an advocate for women's autonomy.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would say “Early Summer” is challenging the patriarchal structure by having Noriko reject the men who her family and boss bring up to her. What this movie is attempting to argue is that women should have complete control over who they should marry. It is not a business decision where everyone can have a say, marriage is something that should be celebrated and should be done individually and not done by others for someone. I believe that Noriko agreed to marry her friend just to show that she is her own person. Although I agree that Noriko does feel some sort of way towards her husband, I struggle to see that feeling being love. Noriko decides to embrace her rebel side and challenge what her family is trying to push onto her. Another thing I noticed throughout the movie is the importance of stability and classic structure to Noriko’s family. Noriko seems to have a solid job living with her family and is able to fend for herself however her family is always trying to push this narrative that she needs to get married, and that she cannot be happy until she is married. Marriage should be considered a blessing to find that special person while in Japan in the 1950s is just seems to be a business transaction where both families are happy with the other half of the marriage. Also, Noriko was being forced to marry a forty year old which she clearly was not happy about however the family liked his job and that was their only focus.
ReplyDeleteNoriko's brave and unconventional martial decision in "Early Summer" depicts the rise of the independent woman in Japan. I don't necessarily believe that the movie is attempting to comment on any sort of patriarchal society present in Japan, but rather choosing to focus on Noriko as an example for the modern woman. In Japan, family is an extremely important value for many people and even more so, the traditions that their family holds. Noriko demonstrates that she is able to put her own desires first and even though her decision might negatively affect the family, she precedes with it anyways. Now while I do find it a bit strange that she wouldn't even talk to her family before accepting another marriage proposal, I think the movie wanted this decision to be instantaneous. In other words, they wanted there to be a defined moment in the film where Noriko puts herself first and becomes her own person outside of the family.
ReplyDeleteIn Early Summer, Noriko displays an example of advancements in womens’ liberation throughout the 1950s. Living in a society where she must marry by 26, Noriko is already behind at age 28 to not have someone that interests this requirement. She is under the pressure of society, family, and friends to meet this need by age 29. However, after rejecting an offer from a family friend to marry someone from work, Noriko is pressured by her family to make a decision soon. A standard at the time was for Japanese women to fulfil this duty of marriage; being that Noriko rejected an offer to do this and has not found someone on her own is looked down upon by society. Noriko's decision to not marry the offered man reflects her determination to have a future controlled by herself - something uncommon at the time. Being that she doesn’t see a need to follow the rules of society, she understands the consequences and continues to follow through with the decision. The more she rejects the standard set by society, the more advancements she makes in women’s liberation. During this time, more Japanese women began to verge away from the standards set by their societies, and Noriko’s actions in this movie display an example of the beginnings of women’s liberation.
ReplyDeleteIn Early Summer, Noriko's rebellious act of ignoring her family and boss's wishes of their preferred spouse for her and choosing to marry a family friend is a positive change for independent women in 1950s Japan. Noriko knows that it's standard for parents to choose their husbands and dismisses their wishes to marry the man of her choice. She is prepared to take on any consequences for her impulsive decision. In the film, Noriko is 28 and rushes to make a decision about her spouse before she turns 29. I acknowledge that the bolt judgement in the film contradicts the independence argument because it shows that Noriko did not have much time to think about her decision and made her choice in fear of disappointing her parents. Furthermore, I do not know much about Japanese or Asian culture, Mulan is what I have been basing my opinions and knowledge from. In Mulan the protagonist (Mulan) will bring honor to her family by being elegant and acting like a perfect wife. It is not Mulan's choice of who she marries; in Early Summer, Noriko gets the final decision of who she wants to marry which helps further the shift from obeying parents' orders to independence and equality in the patriarchal system.
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ReplyDeleteEarly Summer demonstrates the progressiveness of Japan during the 1950’s because of Noriko’s “unusual” opinions about marriage. In Japan, it was not socially acceptable for women to be single after the age of 29. Though marriages were usually arranged by fathers and brothers, Noriko shows us how she managed to make her choice without much help. She exhibits how women’s liberation was slowly becoming more prominent. Over the course of the movie, Noriko never shows much interest in marriage. Whenever the topic is introduced, she will giggle and then not say much else. Her family has made sure that she knows what is expected of her, but her parents do not seem to put an extreme amount of pressure on her to find a husband. While her parents are more relaxed, her brother is very anxious to find her a husband. Though he believes that the man who her boss suggested for her was great, she decided to pick someone else. Her family saw this as a spur of the moment decision and they were not very pleased. The man that she decided to marry had a child from a previous marriage. In the past, it was looked down upon to marry someone that already had children. However, Noriko does not care and marries him anyways because she is in love. This is an example of the progress that women’s liberation had because ultimately, many things were Noriko’s choice. She was able to marry whom she wanted and when she wanted. Moreover, she was still able to have a relationship with her family, though they were skeptical.
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