Tsunami Documentary Reflection

Emmett Moore

In the documentary we watched concerning the tsunami in Japan, I was really taken back by how people reacted in the aftermath of the storm and how they came together; however, many found it difficult to rebuild their lives and were suffering some trauma from the tsunami. An example of this would be the chef  who was staying at a shelter and heard that they needed a someone of his profession while he was in the gym. He was unsure if he could help all these people, especially without his own kitchen in his restaurant which was lost in the tsunami.  His son then convinced him to give it a try and he ended up being able to serve thousands of people everyday from a  junior science room that they converted into a makeshift kitchen. This example speaks to the efforts of the Japanese people and their ability to come together in this time of need and make do with what they have right in the moment and finding a way to continue on.

I also noticed how many people were traumatized by this experience and how many of them are trying to deal with the loss and destruction that has become part of their lives now. The swim instructor who lost many of her younger co-workers deals with her new found fear of the water and even has trouble when washing her face shows how much psychological damage resulted from this storm to the people of japan. Since the Japanese are such a stoic people, I think it was hard for them to show how much they were affected emotionally by this storm to the international community.  

Furthermore, I didn't realize the amount of damage to homes and the option of either staying in a shelter or finding new housing like the one family did in order for their daughter’s high school career to stay on track. Just how the simple comforts of home were overwhelming for them.  The film also talks about the gaps that appeared in wealth between certain groups and how this storm has really stressed and fractured the social structure  in Japan.

Another thing I learned about through watching this documentary is the struggle that some Japanese are having facing the reality of what they lost in the tsunami and what it is taking place  in order to actually rebuild. The scene in  the car dump was really what drove this home to me. Also, I was affected by the fact that they did not really know what has happened to many of their material positions and how they struggled with dealing with that fact and it made moving on even harder, especially since the Japanese are very sentimental and see the soul in all objects, which makes theses losses even harder for them. This makes it much harder for them to face reality and start the process of rebuilding that has to occur. The dramatic damage done to the high school was really shocking and just the overall level destruction to the infrastructure most buildings; some suffered severe damage while others were completely blown away and it's going to take a large scale work-force to rebuild Japan which it does not have at the moment, only making this process harder.  Also, the process by which they must tear down many of the structures in order to rebuild leaving many painful memories in the process since there are so few reminders of how the are looked before the tsunami.  

It seemed as though the main idea of this movie was to bring to attention the overall lack of preparedness for handling such a large level of disaster and the need to learn from this mistake in order to properly be prepared next time. Improved disaster management reporting on lost family and orphans is the proper direction to head in while facing reality and remembering what it was like before and how this disaster happened and was handled afterwards. They also talk about the difficulty to convey the feelings of loss to others, which is why it is hard to express the loss the country feels as a whole right now.  

Tokyo International Film Festival

        This year the Tokyo film Festival will be turning 25 and will be holding commemorative programs, which will include a three-day showing of six Japanese films from the Showa era (1926-89). It’s a way for Japanese viewers to connect over the conversation they will have from the films since the youth will not remember but those over 40 will and be able to share their memories with the younger viewers. The festival finds its origins in Tokyo following World War 2 people wanted a way to celebrate and let their minds escape in cinema.  The first Osaka expo was held in 1970 and was way to enter Japan on the film festival map since other festivals had been established in other countries by this time but it fell through and they had to wait until 1985 to hold the expo in Tsukuba. The first festival opened with Ran a masterwork by legendary director Akira Kurosawa, who was active and willing participant of the festival.  Many people attended the film festival just for chance to meet Kurosawa on his home turf, the next festival was in 1987 and Kurosawa was in attendance once again. The festival has become part of the world network of films festivals and takes place every October in Japan. This year focuses more documentary based line up films focusing on the environment and current serious issues that are going on in the world.

1. Have you ever hear of any other film festivals or directors who partake in them?

2. Would you think of movie culture is big in Japan, why or why not?

3.  Do you think movies are good way to escape or celebrate an event?  

Jiro dreams of Sushi

        I recently watched a documentary entitled Jiro Dreams of Sushi, which was mad in 2011. It follows a 85 year old man named Jiro Ono he is a sushi master, he runs a ten seat only sushi bar that is located in a Tokyo subway station. It has received a 3-star Michelin review and people around the globe call months in advance in order to obtain a coveted reservation. The menu is sushi only nothing else and is 20 course set menu and starts at $ 300 US dollars a plate. Making it one of the most expensive restaurants in the world. Jiro ono has received many awards for his sushi making and continues to hone his skill. The documentary follows him through the daily ins and outs of how he does business. He says that the only way one can truly become a master of his craft is due the same thing everyday until you obtain perfection and this is the mentality, that he has passed onto his two sons. The younger of the two Takashi was allowed to leave his father restaurant and start his own in Roppongi Hills, which has caused some tension with his older brother Yoshikazu, who is trapped in the shadow of their father and continues to be his second in command at the main restaurant where his father still works. He talks in the documentary how never thought his father would be working this long and although he is glad for his father. He is ready for his own moment of recognition and to take on the challenge of running the restaurant full time. There is also another story going on in this documentary, Jiro was never close to his family and unlike most Japanese, he does not hold the traditional values for ones elders both of his sons have that traditional respect that most Japanese have for the ancestors and elders this some times causes friction with in the family and is also the context for why Yoshikazu does not want to try to leave his father Sushi bar, he would rather just take over when he finally retires. Jiro is obsessed with his craft and no matter what awards he wins or what compliments he receives he strives to find more perfection in his craft and this is truly what drives him, to create sushi the way he does and to have created such a high bar of perfection for himself and his students.

Discussion questions:

1. Do you believe in the United States that the eldest son would have stayed at his father restaurant instead of taking charge of the new one?

2. Why do you think that tradition or doing the same thing over and over again are important to creating sushi?

3. Do you think many people in the have the same amount of passion for their work as Jiro and his sons and are their possibly cultural reasons for this passion?

The movie is available on netflix right now and on other online venues. 

Webchat reflection

I thought that the idea of web-chatting with another class as a form of discussion was a really unique and interesting idea that has a lot of potential to benefit our discussion by allowing for more diverse view points to be shared especially since we are doing this project with a group of student from Denmark. I think this we create more group discussion as well as better discussion because; we all see things differently and through different lenses. I felt that besides the few technical issues that we faced during the chat that it worked very well. The only thing I would change is for our class to have more space so there is not as much mike interference, which was issue during the chat. But besides a few small technical issues it worked very well and the over all discussions we had were very informative and in-depth and it also showed how many of us have different view points of Japanese culture. The small group chats I think provided a great way to discuss and allowed for more discussion, because it was easier to just talk to one another in the smaller groups. I am excited for the next chance to do this online discussion through chat.