Early Summer depicts a Japan in transition. Defeated and occupied by the Americans, the Japanese both cling to their traditional ways and embrace new ideas from their occupiers. How does the movie show this transition? Does this movie make a judgment about the new American influence? Is there a political slant, however subtle, in this film? What does this movie think about baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie?
The film’s view of the transition from a traditional Japan to a Westernized country is tied closely with Mono No Aware. While the commentary in the film is subtle, it ultimately takes the side of the older generation in the film, who must sadly accept the American influence on their children. They accept Japan’s beauty as they know it is only temporary, as is their family’s unity, or Noriko’s youth. Noriko fully adopts Western culture. She dresses in clothes fashionable in America at the time, eats shortcake, and more importantly strays away from the role traditionally expected of Japanese women. This is clear from the beginning when she has lunch with her older brother and his wife. She and her sister in law criticize Koichi’s lack of etiquette, to which he responds, "It's deplorable, what's happened since the war. Women have become so forward, taking advantage of ‘etiquette’.” He is skeptical of the American influence on women as a result of Japan’s occupation. Noriko however, embraces the idea of the independent woman, as she is economically self-sufficient and later makes her own choice in marriage. In the post-war U.S., women were fighting to break societal boundaries, stemming from the Rosie the Riveter’s war effort era. Her parents, as an older generation, hold on to the Japanese culture they grew up with. Their frustration with her is therefore an unacceptance of Western influence. This divide among generations is especially evident through clothing. All the younger children in the film are dressed as typical American kids, while the grandparents and great uncle wear Kimonos or Samue*. In the family portrait, Isamu and Minoru insist on wearing baseball caps to their grandparent’s annoyance, representing the younger generation’s gravitation towards American trends. Despite the tensions in the family caused by the rapidly changing Japan, Noriko’s parents accept this change at the end of the film. They acknowledge the happy life they have lived, appreciate the fluctuating nature of culture. And if not with some sadness for the seemingly ephemeral Japan, they accept Noriko’s marriage.
ReplyDelete*I apologize if these are not the correct names for their clothing, I looked it up and they looked similar to the wraps worn in Early Summer
Early Summer idolizes the lifestyle of American culture through the actions of the youth. With the events of World War 2 being over, the United States has gained control over Japan, and there is a lingering desire for citizens to assimilate to American culture. This means enjoying things like baseball, America’s pastime, hotdogs, and Coke-A-Cola. We can see the results of assimilation in the younger characters of the film such as the two little kids, and Noriko. When the family is capturing a picture, the kids have a decision to wear or disregard the baseball caps they have been wearing throughout the film. The older parents hinted that they liked the photo without the caps better, but right as the photo is shot, the kids both put their caps back on, hinting that the appreciation of American culture is still in their lives. As well as their baseball caps, the children are fascinated with their toy train set, which is an American-made toy. The presence of American culture has assimilated the children of the film, most likely because they lived a very brief portion of their lives without it, and were introduced to it directly following WW2. The ideas of American culture also pique the interest of somewhat younger adults such as Noriko. The scene of her and her friend talking about potential mates for Noriko explains this as they jokingly adore the idea of Noriko marrying a Western man, and play with the idea of Western culture stereotypes. These stereotypes include talking with a strong Western accent, having a fridge lined with rows of bottled Coke, and carrying a lapdog in Noriko’s purse. Despite joking with these stereotypes, there is a slight hint that this would be categorized as the “ideal life” and one should aspire towards embracing Western ideals.
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