Often times, filmmakers choose to tailor the plot and visuals of their film to their intended and expected audiences. In doing so, they have to chose to either accurate depictions of the plot’s time period or forego historical accuracy in hopes of pleasing their audience. This was the case for Yoji Yamada’s 2002 Japanese film, The Twilight Samurai, as well as Edward Zwick’s 2003 American film, The Last Samurai. Once each film is examined and analyzed past face value, it is apparent that both Yamada and Zwick different routes when considering the authenticity of their films. The Twilight Samurai is more historically accurate in its depiction of the realities and mindsets of the Bakumatsu period while The Last Samurai falsely presents Japanese
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S.J. Albrow recognizes the Bakumatsu period as being “marked by much anxiety and discontent, and an evident awareness of the breakdown of long-existent social structures.” During this period, the lives of samurai, especially lower-ranking samurai like Seibei, were considerably lacking compared to the Tokugawa regime (1603-1830) when the samurai were a dominant, mighty force in Japan. Dr. Keith Schoppa affirms, “Many [samurai] from lower ranks lived in poverty or at least in straitened circumstances and had little possibility of moving up.” This poverty is shown in the film when bodies of those who died of starvation are seen floating down the river in Seibei’s village. The lack of food in the impoverished village is also conveyed in Seibei’s assigned job of keeping inventory of the village’s food supply. Later in the film, the impact of the lack of class mobility is seen when Seibei initially rejects the suggestion to marry Tomoe. He claims that he wouldn’t want her social status to decrease as the wife of a low-class …show more content…
This shift was a transition from the strict, conforming values of bushido, the samurai code, to those of individualistic freedom that emerge during the Meji Revolution. Perhaps the most blatant depiction of the shift is Zenemon Yogo’s refusal to commit seppuku, i.e. ritual suicide. As a relatively high-ranking samurai, he goes against the orders of the warden, believing that he shouldn’t have to commit suicide for the failures of his superior. Seibei also displays his rejection of samurai practices and values daily. Albrow claims, “The film’s main character places family ahead of work obligations and displays little reverence for an authoritarian system that stands in opposition to more humanistic values.” This is seen in his regular practice of refusing to go out with his fellow samurai for sake after work in order to return home to take care of his family. He also displays his opposition to samurai values when he is commanded to fight and kill Zenemon Yogo. Seibei protests this command from the warden, which is unheard of since bushido requires samurai to be completely obedient to their
S.J. Albrow recognizes the Bakumatsu period as being “marked by much anxiety and discontent, and an evident awareness of the breakdown of long-existent social structures.” During this period, the lives of samurai, especially lower-ranking samurai like Seibei, were considerably lacking compared to the Tokugawa regime (1603-1830) when the samurai were a dominant, mighty force in Japan. Dr. Keith Schoppa affirms, “Many [samurai] from lower ranks lived in poverty or at least in straitened circumstances and had little possibility of moving up.” This poverty is shown in the film when bodies of those who died of starvation are seen floating down the river in Seibei’s village. The lack of food in the impoverished village is also conveyed in Seibei’s assigned job of keeping inventory of the village’s food supply. Later in the film, the impact of the lack of class mobility is seen when Seibei initially rejects the suggestion to marry Tomoe. He claims that he wouldn’t want her social status to decrease as the wife of a low-class …show more content…
This shift was a transition from the strict, conforming values of bushido, the samurai code, to those of individualistic freedom that emerge during the Meji Revolution. Perhaps the most blatant depiction of the shift is Zenemon Yogo’s refusal to commit seppuku, i.e. ritual suicide. As a relatively high-ranking samurai, he goes against the orders of the warden, believing that he shouldn’t have to commit suicide for the failures of his superior. Seibei also displays his rejection of samurai practices and values daily. Albrow claims, “The film’s main character places family ahead of work obligations and displays little reverence for an authoritarian system that stands in opposition to more humanistic values.” This is seen in his regular practice of refusing to go out with his fellow samurai for sake after work in order to return home to take care of his family. He also displays his opposition to samurai values when he is commanded to fight and kill Zenemon Yogo. Seibei protests this command from the warden, which is unheard of since bushido requires samurai to be completely obedient to their