Burning Bridges? No, just Yoshiwara
Dec. 30th, 2007 09:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mbarkerI was a bit surprised last night. Mitsuko was flipping through the channels on the TV, and suddenly stopped, and said, "OH! That's Oiran! I want to watch that." Apparently a new version of an old favorite, it was a bit of a historical dramatization about the prostitutes in old Edo (Tokyo). 吉原炎上 yoshiwara enjou - The Holocaust of Yoshiwara?
So after two hours plus of unresolved details, we get a fire. Then we get maybe one minute of her walking into her childhood friend's home out in the country. Flattens herself on the floor, apologizing, saying she didn't know where else to go. And her friend (a man) says it's been a long time, you've worked hard, and walks around to embrace her.
Curtain!
I suppose the implication is that having run everyone out of the district due to fire, they can escape back to the country. But talk about short-cutting an ending! And am I supposed to believe that having gone through this really insane sexual concentration camp life, she can just walk back into normal life?
History, right? So the little quirks of fictional completion and resolution don't hold, eh?
Apparently there were 3,000 prostitutes in Yoshiwara, the district in old Edo.
This dramatization started with the sale of a young teenager by her mother and a broker into one of the houses. And in the first few minutes in the house, one of the women tells her that this is heaven for men, but hell for women. Then when she goes out walking and meets another young girl, they happen on a group of men trying to bring back a woman who ran away. The escapee pulls a razor out, threatens them all, and says she will escape - and cuts her throat.
We do not see her first sex, although we see the man talking to her, then him sleeping while she cries. And there seems to be quite a sufficiency of violence, pain, and such. Some beauty, but often rooted in agony. I skipped most of the show, although Mitsuko seemed to find it engaging.
I did wonder a bit about the target audience. This was a lush spectacle show, with quite a few well-known TV stars on display. But the focus of the story was on the enslavement of the women, on their lives. Something for the wives of Japan to empathize with? But there was a running thread of non-acceptance, even as they were being forced into outward obedience? Subtle revolutionary fare, there, folks?
The finale was interesting. Two hours of developing threads, with the main character, her friend, and many others of the 3,000 prostitutes in Yoshiwara. Frankly, I didn't see how they were going to resolve all the stuff they had going.
The answer? The burning of Yoshiwara! Apparently there was a historic fire, and Tokyo certainly has had its share of fires. So in this case, they have one of the girls set a fire (appropriately crazed, but cunning in her mania) and burn the whole damn place! After two hours, they spent roughly 14 minutes with fire scenes. The best friend donning her outfit and practicing the parade steps in the middle of a burning hallway. People jumping into the surrounding canal. The crowd rushing through the streets. And the main character turning to watch the burning buildings.
This dramatization started with the sale of a young teenager by her mother and a broker into one of the houses. And in the first few minutes in the house, one of the women tells her that this is heaven for men, but hell for women. Then when she goes out walking and meets another young girl, they happen on a group of men trying to bring back a woman who ran away. The escapee pulls a razor out, threatens them all, and says she will escape - and cuts her throat.
We do not see her first sex, although we see the man talking to her, then him sleeping while she cries. And there seems to be quite a sufficiency of violence, pain, and such. Some beauty, but often rooted in agony. I skipped most of the show, although Mitsuko seemed to find it engaging.
I did wonder a bit about the target audience. This was a lush spectacle show, with quite a few well-known TV stars on display. But the focus of the story was on the enslavement of the women, on their lives. Something for the wives of Japan to empathize with? But there was a running thread of non-acceptance, even as they were being forced into outward obedience? Subtle revolutionary fare, there, folks?
The finale was interesting. Two hours of developing threads, with the main character, her friend, and many others of the 3,000 prostitutes in Yoshiwara. Frankly, I didn't see how they were going to resolve all the stuff they had going.
The answer? The burning of Yoshiwara! Apparently there was a historic fire, and Tokyo certainly has had its share of fires. So in this case, they have one of the girls set a fire (appropriately crazed, but cunning in her mania) and burn the whole damn place! After two hours, they spent roughly 14 minutes with fire scenes. The best friend donning her outfit and practicing the parade steps in the middle of a burning hallway. People jumping into the surrounding canal. The crowd rushing through the streets. And the main character turning to watch the burning buildings.
So after two hours plus of unresolved details, we get a fire. Then we get maybe one minute of her walking into her childhood friend's home out in the country. Flattens herself on the floor, apologizing, saying she didn't know where else to go. And her friend (a man) says it's been a long time, you've worked hard, and walks around to embrace her.
Curtain!
I suppose the implication is that having run everyone out of the district due to fire, they can escape back to the country. But talk about short-cutting an ending! And am I supposed to believe that having gone through this really insane sexual concentration camp life, she can just walk back into normal life?
History, right? So the little quirks of fictional completion and resolution don't hold, eh?
