asian flavor....pt. 2....sukiyaki

i named this post SUKIYAKI...because it was another well known asian 'dish' ....comprised of a MIX of
ingredients.   i actually thought this was a WESTERNIZED version of JAPANESE cuisine...but was surprised to
learn that sukiyaki goes WAY BACK in japanese culture. 

then, while LOOKING UP THE MEANING...(means 'steamboat dish')  i found this WILD piece of TRIVIA!

in the 1960's,  the SONG, became a #1 billboard HIT in america!  (sung in japanese language!)
but the ACTUAL title of the song was "UE O MUITE ARUKO".  loosely translated, it meant "look up while walking..."

kyu sakamoto's original version of the song was released in the united states, with the title: SUKIYAKI. 
here's the WILD part:

the actual title, and lyrics of the song, had no connection or relationship to the meaning of the word, sukiyaki.

the record producers chose THE TITLE,  ONLY because it was a RECOGNIZABLE japanese word, familiar to English speakers, (most of whom could NOT understand the lyrics anyway!)  

A NEWSWEEK COLUMNIST NOTED THAT RE-TITLING THE SONG SUKIYAKI, COULD BE LIKENED TO RELEASING THE SONG, "MOON RIVER" IN JAPAN, AND GIVING IT THE TITLE:  "BEEF STEW".  
(hysterical!)

sadly, kyu sakamoto  had a tragic twist of fate, which would end his life (and many others)  in 1985.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukiyaki_%28song%29   "Ue o muite arukō"     again, thanks to you tube...

it's an odd video, but you can see kyu singing about 30+ seconds into it.  

 

i had originally chosen to title part 2, SUKIYAKI  as a light 'play on words'...chop suey (chinese) and sukiyaki (japanese) for FLAVOR.  i had NO idea that the circumstances surrounding sukiyaki would actually MIRROR the MOVIE that i decided to highlight!
 
the MENTALITY of the rather flippant attitude of the record producers in 1960, and choices they made, to 'market' this song to american audiences,  was the SAME lack of regard, that the director had when making the film that is the subject of this post.

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MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA was embroiled in more  CONTROVERSY AND NEGATIVE FEELINGS than any film that i can recall in recent memory...on several DIFFERENT fronts.   (casting issues, cultural issues, costuming/style issues, and language issues)   it SADLY stirred up the long history of rather venomous relations between the japanese and the chinese cultures.

there is an odd irony (IMO) to this. 

i left my blog almost 2 months ago at CHOP SUEY, and THE FLOWER DRUM SONG...the 1960's film featuring a chinese american family, and ALL ASIAN cast, with most of the leads being portrayed by japanese actors.  

there is one DISTINCTIVE point of difference here, tho....FDS was a CONTEMPORARY story,  with CHINESE AMERICAN  issues, and several  JAPANESE/ASIAN AMERICAN actors.  

the STORYLINE spoke to the UNIVERSAL themes of 'generation gaps, old country ways vs american ways, and integrating into a foreign land'.   (becoming americanized...no matter the country of origin)      the CULTURAL issues essentially focused on ASIAN vs. AMERICAN ways.   OLD vs. YOUNG.  
.
so fast forward 44 years later.....to 2005, and move from a CHINESE storyline to a JAPANESE storyline.
REVERSE the CASTING dynamics....and you have....MOAG.

it's not my intention to defend or negate the film.   while i DO have my opinions about the movie....i think the MORE significant thing to point out is what a STARK difference there was between the issue of ASIANS IN HOLLYWOOD,
THEN, and NOW.    while it often APPEARS that NO PROGESS has been made...i would say that  this film reflected
the evolutions, and the inadequacies that remain,  related to this subject.

in the 60's it was a JOYFUL, EXCITING thing for ASIAN ACTORS to have a HOLLYWOOD BIG BUDGET movie to participate in.   this was before being "P.C.", and although there MAY have been racial issues it was BEFORE the imdb message board, internet, etc. so the CONTROVERSY (if it existed at the time) was not widely known.  (*written before miyoshi umeki news article 9/6)

40+ years later, with the INTERNET, and a movie FORUM (imdb) to discuss ANY specific FILM.... you have a COMPLETELY different experience and public reaction.   for a time, during the pre, subsequent, and post release
of the movie (MOAG) i would browse the MESSAGE BOARD, and it REALLY blew me away, and saddened me, to read the TERRIBLE animosity between many of the members.   

while the biggest CONTROVERSY seemed to be the casting of chinese actresses as GEISHA, (a cherished iconic image of the japanese culture)  it  kicked up the long and  painful history between the 2 countries.  

FINALLY, there would be a BIG BUDGET MOVIE about JAPAN, (there had been movies prior about china) featuring a predominantly ALL ASIAN cast, BUT...the SUBJECT was GEISHA...a DISTINCTLY JAPANESE traditional part of their history, and rob marshall cared less about getting any of the details right.  and the casting of chinese actresses was almost less significant (imo) than the other choices he made.

1.  shot the film in ENGLISH with a cast, most of whom, (unlike flower drum song) were NOT fluent in the language.
2.  took one of the most recognizable 'images' of japan....GEISHA, and used CONTEMPORARY hair-do's, costuming, and choreography. 
3.  a direct quote from one of his costumers was that he said "think geisha on a PARIS RUNWAY".

essentially, the director chose to approach this movie with a FORK AND KNIFE, and serve it to HOLLYWOOD, as a plate of BEEF STEW, with a few chunks of tofu  and a splash of soy sauce!   (i think i just gave you my point of view, heh heh) 

rob marshall, when asked about his choices in the movie, ACTUALLY SAID that he had NO INTEREST OR INTENTION to be authentic!     he wanted to 'give it an EXOTIC FLAVOR..have you enter a mysterious world, disorient (funny pun, eh?) the audience'.  

at first, i thought that any film that allows asian actors to work, or that shows japan, no matter how skewed is a good thing.   but there was something about it that felt 'off'...and did not resonate.  (IMO)

critics HATED this film....and audiences stayed away as well.   this is nothing against the actors, who certainly tried their best....but when the cook doesn't know what he's doing....the FLAVOR is going to be unappetizing.   

i found this review on the movie that was  interesting, in light of the subject i'm exploring of  'asians in hollywood'. 

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Craig Baldwin, Other Cinema

"Memoirs of a Geisha (Rob Marshall, USA). Chinese actresses play Japanese women – offensive to Japanese purists (an insult, really), offensive to Chinese nationalists,   Most of it was shot in California, in Thousand Oaks (an affluent suburb with rich, model-minority Asians) and Golden Gate Park. Director Rob Marshall claims it's an INTERPRETATION of JAPAN,– a Japan where everyone speaks broken English or a strange species of Engrish.

But it's not about Japan at all; it's really about Asians in America (Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees). We don't wear signs anymore saying we're not Japanese. When we're good, we're docile; when we're better, we're superhot chicks.

And so the geisha suffers because of the war. I'm waiting for the Rob Reiner directed Rape of Nanking starring Julia Roberts as the last foot-bound survivor. It'll have a happy ending, and Americans will eat it up.

Lost in Translation made fun of the Japanese; Memoirs slaps all Asians in the face. Even the requisite leering white Americans are present. A gift-wrapped piece of shit for Xmas is exactly what we need – this movie is the truth, and many of us know it. It is Asian America."

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i'll leave you with a video clip that CRACKED ME UP when i first saw it.    with the review above, and the subject
i've been researching, i actually have a slightly different view now.   still, it's MEANT to end this post on a 'light' note...
but i realize that the subject i'm looking at is FAR from 'light.     the plot has thickened..... the 'flavor' has changed and MOAG left a bad taste for almost everyone.    this clip is therefore, a PERFECT piece in this puzzle. 

for MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA....i'd sum it up with a bit  'too much salt' (on the wound)