Hist 199 Postwar Japan

Response Paper #2 No Regrets for our Youth

Due February 15, 3-4 pages

In the first response paper you had a specific reading by a leading historian (Dower) to help you frame your arguments. In the second paper, there are several options...but you should probably aim for a triangular relationship between you, the film and some of the critical reflections on No Regrets found in the links on the Syllabus.

While your main task is to reflect on the film, you can think of it as a kind of jumping off place for you to ponder what you think Kurosawa has to say and the historical context in which he was making his film.

Here are some questions you might consider:

--Why do you think Kurosawa anchors his film so explicitly in specific historical moments, especially between 1933-1946? Why does he choose some actual historical incidents around which to base his film?

--Why do you think he chooses to make a woman the pivotal character in the film? Do you think some of the women's responses in to the end of the war found in Changing Lives offer us any helpful insights? [NOTE: We wiil probably not have read enough of this material in time for it to be helpful for this paper....But just in case, I throw it out there.]

--Kurosawa has said that he wanted to make a film about individual subjectivity, about the struggles of a character to find his or her way. Does Noge represent someone with genuine subjectivity, someone who tried to challenge and stop what was going on in prewar Japan? How does Kurosawa do that with Yukie? What are some examples of how her character transforms over the course of the narrative?

--It is stated in the film that freedom requires both "sacrifice and responsibility." The individual must be free and autonomous: an historical agent who can act for herself and for her community. But this freedom comes with a price; sacrifices must be made, hardships must be endured and there must be serious struggle in order to achieve true, authentic freedom or democracy. What do you think Kurosawa might be trying to say about freedom, responsibility, and about what an individual can do to situate him or herself in the world in order to take a stand or to make a determined commitment?

--Yoshimoto concludes his analysis of No Regrets for our Youth with this satement:

More than anything else in the film, I believe this image of Yukie's face registers Kurosawa's resistance to the Occupation's attempt to propagate their version of recent Japanese history. (134)

What do you think? Is this possible? Is this why we find considerable ambivalence and conflicted emotions at the very end of the film?

These are just some suggestions of possible avenues of inquiry. They are not meant as a List of Questions that you have to address in your paper. They are just some ideas meant to stimulate your thinking.

Hist 199 Postwar Japan

Response Paper #2 No Regrets for our Youth

Due February 15, 3-4 pages

While your main task is to reflect on the film, you can think of it as a kind of jumping off place for you to ponder what you think Kurosawa has to say and the historical context in which he was making his film.

Here are some questions you might consider:

--Why do you think Kurosawa anchors his film so explicitly in specific historical moments, especially between 1933-1946? Why does he choose some actual historical incidents around which to base his film?

--Yoshimoto concludes his analysis of No Regrets for our Youth with this satement:

More than anything else in the film, I believe this image of Yukie's face registers Kurosawa's resistance to the Occupation's attempt to propagate their version of recent Japanese history. (134)

What do you think? Is this possible? Is this why we find considerable ambivalence and conflicted emotions at the very end of the film?

These are just some suggestions of possible avenues of inquiry. They are not meant as a List of Questions that you have to address in your paper. They are just some ideas meant to stimulate your thinking.