Memoirs+of+a+Geisha

Film Study notes and resources for 13EN

=**Memoirs of a Geisha**= == Memoirs of a Geisha is a 2005 film adaptation of the 1997 novel of the same name (written by Arthur Golden) about the life of a famous geisha, Sayuri (formerly Chiyo), who was sold to a geisha house by her father at a young age to be trained in the profession. One day, she meets a man who becomes her main motivation to pursue a career as a geisha, although she soon starts to realize that he is unobtainable. Meanwhile, Sayuri becomes a pawn in an intrigue between two of the most successful geisha in the district. The plot is set in Japan, mainly in the decades around WWII.

The film stars Zhang Ziyi as the adult Chiyo/Sayuri, with Suzuka Ohgo as her child counterpart, and Michelle Yeoh as Mameha, Gong Li as Hatsumomo, Ken Watanabe as The Chairman, among others.
 * Production Notes**

The film was originally going to be directed by Steven Spielberg but was instead directed by Rob Marshall while the former went on to direct //A.I. Artificial Intelligence//. Production began mid-2004 and ended January 2005. Majority of the filming took place in California, USA, as it was decided that contemporary Japan looked "too modern" and it would be cost-effective to create sets in the United States. Some scenes were shot on-location, such as the //Fushimi Inari Taisha// shrine in Kyoto, where a young Chiyo runs through the gateways.

Contrary to popular Western opinion, Geisha are //not// prostitutes-- those are misconceptions that were popularised by American soldiers occupying post-WWII Japan. As Westerners were not well-versed in Japanese culture, to them, any girl in a kimono and makeup could call herself geisha.
 * What is a Geisha? **

Geisha 芸者 (or //geiko// 芸子, in Kyoto dialect) literally translates as 'artist-doer', and so generally are translated as artisans. They are well-versed in traditional Japanese customs and activities such as dance, instruments, singing, tea ceremony, conversation, calligraphy, literature and poetry.

The world of geisha is known as Karyukai 花柳界 -- (the flower and willow world). The flower refers to the //​oiran//​ 花魁-- the courtesans that were the direct predecessors of geisha, and the willow for the geisha, who were considered to be akin to a willow tree-- strong, supple, and beautiful.

Nowadays, geisha mainly reside in Kyoto (the old capital of Japan), in the five //hanamachi// 花街 (flower streets). They are //​Gion-// //Kōbu, Gion-Higashi, Miyagawa-chō, Ponto-chō,// and //Kamishichiken.//

=Japanese aesthetics and cultural ideas of "beauty"= Traditionally, Japan has had a number of concepts that make up the country's perception of "beauty", including their "ideal woman."

A major one is the idea of //wabi-sabi// (侘寂) which encompasses a general Japanese world-view of beauty coming from things that are temporary or transient. Consider the cherry blossoms, or //sakura//, Japan's unofficial national flower, which are only in bloom for a small fraction of the year. Characteristics of //w//a//bi-sabi// also include simplicity, modesty, imperfection, and intimacy. The //wabi-sabi// aesthetic can be seen in some aspects of //Memoirs of a Geisha//, as in the nature of Sayuri's beauty -- a pretty Japanese girl becomes a beautiful Japanese girl because of her blue eyes, a defect -- and, more importantly, the nature of the geisha themselves, who are part of a "floating world" that exists outside of reality, where the client's time with them is short and intimate.

Another aspect of Japanese aesthetics is the idea of //miyabi// ( 雅), usually translated as "elegance" or "refinement", which refers to an ideal that rejects anything considered vulgar or unrefined, aiming to achieve the "highest grace". //Miyabi// in a way limited how art and poems were created in Japan, as people following //miyabi// strived to reach that point of grace by rejecting emotions that were considered crude or lowly, preventing people from truly expressing themselves in their art. The idea of //miyabi// later fell out of favour, being replaced by ideas like //wabi-sabi//, //iki//, and //shibumi// (or //shibusa//). However, we can apply some of the basic ideas behind //miyabi// to the character of Mameha, who exemplifies elegance and refinement in //Memoirs of a Geisha//. Mameha's beauty derives from her maturity and the grace and experience that comes with it. Though she acts as a mother-figure to Sayuri, Mameha is quite often emotionally distant and guarded. She uses her experience to help Sayuri, even in ways that Sayuri doesn't want, such as setting up the potential buyers for Sayuri's //mizuage//, giving her to Dr Crab, and urging her to take Nobu as her //danna//. As a geisha, Mameha has learnt to reject her emotions (e.g. towards the baron) and encourages Sayuri to do the same, which is an attitude she likely learnt throughout her life that at least in part added to her appeal and beauty.

There is also //iki// and //yabo//. //Iki// is a kind of chic/stylishness. It is different from //miyabi// or //wabi-sabi// in that it is more clear, direct, even blunt (opposed to //miyabi// and //wabi-sabi//'s ethereal ideas towards transcendence). //Iki// can be interpreted in a number of ways, but generally it encompasses traits like sophistication, originality, straightforwardness, unselfconsciousness and romance. We can view Hatsumomo as being //iki//, as she is a passionate, talented and knowledgeable geisha. Her beauty is heightened by her individual "flair" (see costuming) and self-assured attitude from being such an accomplished geisha at a young age, as well as her natural sensual attitude.

On the other hand, //yabo// is generally considered the opposite of //iki// - it is usually something unrefined, coarse, childish, superficial, self-conscious and vulgar. Nowadays that meaning has expanded and tends to describe the city people of Edo, and it was at one point used to just describe samurai and farmers outside of Edo. However, the original meaning can be applied to Pumpkin, who is viewed as less beautiful than Sayuri, Hatsumomo, and Mameha. Pumpkin is much more clumsy, even as an adult, than the others, and her behaviour in the pre-WWII parts of the film are quite childish and naive, which is even acknowledged by Hatumomo, Mother, and Mameha throughout the film - even the nickname "Pumpkin" sounds silly and she continued to be called that even after presumably receiving a new name as a geisha. Her clumsiness and lack of skill as a geisha could be interpreted as // yabo // especially when paired with her obvious feelings of inadequacy when it comes to Hatsumomo and later Sayuri, especially the strong sense of betrayal she felt after Mother adopted Sayuri instead of Pumpkin. Her behaviour after she reunites with Sayuri is also quite superficial, as she chooses to hide her true feelings by pretending to be happy with how her life turned out, so that she could get revenge on Sayuri. Pumpkin's outward appearance perhaps connects more to the contemporary Japanese idea of // kawaii //, cute, or the n oun form kawaisa (可愛さ) which is literally "lovability" or "adorableness", and has since taken on a wider meaning of something that is "cool", "charming", "non-threatening", or "innocent". With the Americans, we can see that Pumpkin has definitely become more out-going and charming: //kawaii//, making her perhaps a more accessible kind of beauty to modern Western viewers, or at least showing the appeal women like Pumpkin would have had for the Americans as she is the beauty without the restraint of the other geisha.

Finally, we have //shibusa// ( 渋さ), also called //shibumi// (渋み) (adj. is //shibushi//), which is a particular aesthetic of simple, subtle, and unobtrusive beauty (compare with //wabi-sabi//, which also involves simplicity and modesty, but also the idea of transcendence and imperfection) - it is important to note that many //wabi-sabi// things are //shibushi//, not all //shibushi// objects are //wabi// or //sabi//, as the latter two can be more severe or exaggerated to the point of appearing artificial, while shibusa is a sort of in-between of //miyabi// and //wabi-sabi,// in that it aims to balance simplicity and complexity by appearing simple but including subtle details. Elements of //shibusa// include naturalness, modesty, simplicity, silence (//ishin-denshin// ). Here, we can see Sayuri's character - while training under Mameha we see she is a quick learner, a "natural" at the art of being a geisha, and her simple and modest tastes can be seen through her costuming, which features much more subdued, lighter tones compared to the daring shades of Matsumomo, the dark, refined kimono of Mameha, and the bright and colourful clothes of Pumpkin. Sayuri can be seen as a y//amato nadeshiko// (大和撫子), meaning the "personification of an idealized Japanese woman", or "the epitome of pure, feminine beauty", which refers to a shy young woman and originally revolved around Confucian concepts of feudal loyalty and filial piety. Sayuri shows y//amato nadeshiko// characteristics through her loyalty towards her family, such as her sister and obeying her orders when they had the chance to escape together, and the humility she displays as an adult. //Yamato nadeshiko// also have a "steeliness" to them, which in Sayuri can be seen in her determination to become a geisha and reunite with the Chairman, as well as her life during and shortly after WWII (which is better explored in the book than the film). In the Second World War the //yamato nadeshiko// idea was used as a type of national propaganda, telling women they should be gentle and delicate but also able to endure the pain and poverty of life for her husband and country.

='Ownwork' Task Prior to Film Study - view BBC documentary 'Becoming a Geisha'= This six-part BBC documentary gives us insight into what is involved for any young girl in Japan wishing to become a geisha. There is no better way to support your understanding of the film Memoirs of a Geisha. http://geishaandmaiko.japanstuff.net/videos/documentaries-and-interviews/becoming-a-geisha-bbc

The next documentary shows how the original memoir on which the film is based, caused a great deal of controversy and heartache: ‘Geisha and Maiko’ – a glimpse of the flower and willow world
Check out this interview with Mineko Iwasaki (//The Secret Life of a Geisha//, NBC) which reveals the controversy of how Arthur Golden’s disclosure of his subject’s identity destroyed her career and put at risk Japan’s proud tradition. The visual quality of this clip is poor, but the information very relevant to the book and film.

One of the major themes of //Memoirs of a Geisha// is the idea that "things aren't always as they seem". The film has a major focus on how the geisha must detach themselves from their emotions to create a kind of beautiful and perfect world for their clients. While the geisha spend their lives training to be outwardly beautiful, we see the true, complex nature of their lives - for example, characters such as Mameha and Hatsumomo are renown geisha but their actions can best be described as manipulative and they are driven by their jealousy of each other and the need to survive as women in Japanese society.
 * Themes in //Memoirs of a// //Geisha//**

WEEBLY- materials about the film and the novel: The Movie: []

What is a Geisha? []

The Lawsuit: []

Something curious: Turning Japanese: the first foreign geisha

She comes from Australia and her real name is Fiona Graham, but to her customers she is Sayuki and her aim is to educate the world in a unique national tradition. David McNeill met her. A documentary film-maker and academic with a doctorate in anthropology from Oxford University, she has just become what she says is the first non-Japanese in 400 years to debut as a geisha. She is now recording her life on film as she trains in a geisha house. Her website [|www.sayuki.net] shows her performing her geisha duties. So is this a life-calling? No, she says. "I haven't worked out what I'm going to do yet, but I don't expect to do this my whole life. "I'm going to try to depict the truth. We're living in a world where reality and fiction is blurred. So please, just don't compare me to 'that' book. That would be like comparing apples and oranges." THURSDAY 24 JANUARY 2008

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=** Critical commentaries on Memoirs of a Geisha **=
 * From EPIC New Zealand, **** Student Resources in Context **
 * Search: Literature and the Arts **
 * (See your teacher for the login and password to access the EPIC database) **

Women’s Studies in Communication, Spring 2009:
 * Academic Journals for Memoirs of a Geisha**
 * “Gucci Geishas” and Post-Feminism

During the early 1990s, "post-feminists" like Camille Paglia argued women's superiority to men, evidenced in the "power" of female (hetero)sexuality. These formulations found their way into popular film, television, and print media, including several texts about Japanese geisha. Translating post-feminist sensibilities to understand an "exotic" phenomenon, journalists Lesley Downer's and Jodi Cobb's representations of geisha expose how post-feminism operates with and through racializing and nationalizing discourses… …Post-Feminism in the Twenty-First Century

…In 2005, eight years after the publication of the novel, Memoirs of a Geisha became a film reality. Even while prominent post-feminist authors like Paglia have grown less visible in the twenty-first century, the manner in which their project has impacted representations of mainstream feminisms in the media is evident in the way the film version of Memoirs has been received by some critics as "leav[ing] you with the impression of having watched Mean Girls in kimonos.”

…That the film version of Memoirs would be described as "Mean Girls in kimonos" universalizes the kind of (girl) subjectivity portrayed in the film Mean Girls….

...The geisha is essentially nothing more than a bought commodity, as Cobb describes, "a man's ultimate luxury item, the symbol of conspicuous consumption."’ ||


 * Critical Essays for Memoirs of a Geisha**

Women and Language, Spring 2009
 * “Bloopers of a ‘Geisha’: male orientalism and colonization of women’s language

A textual analysis of Arthur Golden's 'Memoirs of a Geisha' and its Japanese translation 'Sayuri' is discussed. It shows how male domination of language misrepresented geisha, Japanese women, and Japanese culture around... ||

A second critical commentary (It's worth reading the full thesis - Mrs R): Author: Jin Jin
 * ** Excerpt from academic thesis, **** The Discourse of Geisha: **** In the //Case// of //Memoirs of a Geisha// **

__** The authenticity in the movie **__

Memoirs of a Geisha as a Hollywood movie, its authenticity has been generally questioned by media and professionals. The criticism focuses on three aspects: the geisha image and scenario setting, the plotline, and the Chinese cast. Firstly, for the image design, in the movie of Memoirs of a Geisha, the white makeup is not as exaggerated as the way it should be, and the hair is not the typical style that geisha normally wear. The stylists explained that it would be more scaring and complicated if they designed the geisha image in a correct way, because most audiences would not get used to see the exaggerated makeup and the actresses would not be able to handle their acting when wearing a heavy wig (Ai 2005: 92). There is also a considerably discrepancy between the fictional and the real version of geisha.

"The actresses are way too thin. When you look at any picture of geisha or any geisha in person, you will know the real geisha usually have chubby figures. But in the film the actresses are skinny." Prof. Gaye Rowley (interview, February 1, 2011)

Furthermore, the scenario setting is also highly‐flawed. For instance, the solo dance scene is also unlikely in the prewar period in Kyoto. No young geisha would wear glitter eye‐shadow and dance solo on a stage with artsy blue lighting (Kaori, 2005).

Ironically, the plotline of Memoirs of a Geisha as a novel has been criticized as “unreal and insulting”, the movie of the same name was denounced as betraying the authority of Arthur Golden’s heavily researched novel by making it into a Harlequin romance (Brasor, 2005).

The plotlines that do not conform to the facts in the movie are deliberately enlarged into visual spectacle. The sensuous scene makes a valid example. A much older Japanese businessman and a young geisha would never engage in physical contact in broad daylight during the 1940s (Kaori, 2005).

The geisha expert, Sakai Kanichi, concluded the impression he had towards Memoirs of a Geisha in a simple sentence: "This is just wrong. When you look at the actress, you know that is fake." Sakai Kanichi (interview, February 13, 2011)

The most important and common criticism towards //Memoirs of a Geisha// authenticity is its Chinese cast. As a movie that portrays Japanese women and expresses Japanese traditional culture, its main actresses, Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, and Michelle Yeoh, are Chinese. The controversy it caused will be explicitly explained in the second part of the thesis. Here I will interpret how its authenticity is questioned by its cast.

Komomo, who once lived in China and now is a top geisha in Kyoto, makes her own comment about the movie: "When I lived in China, the impression my Chinese friends gave to me is that they are different people from us. Even though they are actresses, I still have no idea how they can act as Japanese geisha in a movie. We usually are not satisfied when we watch some geisha movies made by Japanese, not mention a geisha movie made and casted by non‐Japanese" (Ai 2005:69).

Besides the professionals’ opinion, media also interprets the non‐Japanese cast is the main reason why the whole movie does not look right (Yomiuri Shimbun, 2005). In addition, media tends to attribute the movie’s success to its fashion design and the fame of its original novel. Financial Times argues that the leading character in the movie is the clothes and the cut is more shapely and much sexier to western eyes (Hunme, 2006). American critics who dislike the movie tended to regard the original novel, which was a huge best seller in the United States, is the only real “star” of the project (Brasor, 2005). All in all, in the case of the movie of Memoirs of a Geisha, its authenticity is questioned by every respect, and the critic tends to consider whether the plotline is authentic or not does not contribute to its popularity and success. As the response to above, the director Marshall explained the reason why he chose Chinese cast is because China has “the best actresses in Asia” (Ai, 2005), their outstanding acting and start power qualified this movie. Above all, it can be seen that the authenticity in the movie of Memoirs of a Geisha is neither the emphasis of the story nor the major concern of its film‐making.

[] ||

Another critical commentary, this time about the novel that was adapted for the film:
 * ‘Orientalism and the Binary of Fact and Fiction  in //Memoirs of a Geisha’// **
 * Kimiko Akita   [|University of Central Florida] **
 * Key words: ** Japanese studies, Orientalism, Intercultural studies


 * ** ABSTRACT **

The fictional Memoirs of a Geisha, published in 1997, and its movie adaptation, released in 2005, were received with greater popularity in the United States than they were in Japan. Western audiences found the story of the fictional geisha, Sayuri, believable while Japanese audiences were not as enthralled. The binary of fact and fiction used by book author Arthur Golden and movie director Rob Marshall made the story appealing to Western audiences. Golden treated Japanese culture and geisha as an object to be sexualized, exoticized, and romanticized. In this article, I apply Edward Said’s (1978) idea of Orientalism to the study of the fictional devices Golden used in telling the geisha story in print and which Marshall used in translating the story to film, with the American/Westerner as preferred reader of these texts. Their success not only signifies the success of these devices with the target audience but also tells us something about American cultural tastes for the Orient.

This article analyzes the binary of fact and fiction in the book and film Memoirs of a Geisha and argues that these texts as cultural phenomena signified the Oriental as a sexualized and exoticized object to be commodified by the West. Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha, published in 1997, sold 4 million copies in America in four years and stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 58 weeks (Tegler, 2001). The book’s movie adaptation, directed by Rob Marshall and produced partially by Steven Spielberg, was released in 2005 and has grossed more than $57 million in the United States. These numbers help demonstrate that the book and movie were a far greater hit in the West, particularly the United States, than they were in Japan, where copies remained on shelves in the back of bookstores and where screenings played to empty seats. Memoirs of a Geisha did not create a “geisha boom” in Japan. Mineko Iwasaki’s autobiography, Geisha, A Life, was published in 22 different countries and sold 500,000 copies (“A Former Geisha,” 2006), not nearly as many as the four million copies of Memoirs of a Geisha (Hanawald, 2000; Shoji, 2005). This article will demonstrate that part of the reason for the geisha phenomenon is that Golden and Marshall used fiction appealing to American audiences but not Japanese audiences. Former real-life geisha Mineko Iwasaki’s story was cannibalized and distorted in the making of the book and the movie. Golden had interviewed her “extensively” at her Kyoto home for two weeks in 1992 (“Geisha Guy Seeks,” 2006) and credited her by name in the book’s acknowledgments, for which she sued, claiming she had agreed to assist him as an anonymous party. Golden defended himself by arguing that his book was fiction and not a retelling of Iwasaki’s factual life story (Morrison, 2002). Golden’s book was indeed fiction, but its publication, and the distribution of the movie, created an intercultural commotion and incited interest because Western audiences found the story of the fictional geisha, Sayuri, believable. Beyond the illogical and unbelievable aspects of Memoirs of a Geisha, which this article will expose and analyze at length, the movie version provoked outcry in Japan because most of the leading Japanese characters were played by Chinese actors and because the characters’ make-up, movements and deportment, as well as the settings and scenes, were culturally inaccurate (“Geisha Guy Seeks,” 2006; Shoji, 2005).

Memoirs of a Geisha, like much popular fiction, required some factual basis to give it credence. After learning about her life as a geisha by interviewing her, Golden discarded an early fictional account of a geisha he had written in the third person, and settled instead on a fictionalized memoir form, borrowing heavily, but altering in unflattering ways, facts from Iwasaki’s true story (“Geisha Guy Seeks,” 2006; Italie, 2001). He never could have created, solely from his imagination or from second-hand information, the story he eventually wrote. Golden did credit Iwasaki as indispensable to his ability to tell the story of geisha. Golden’s fictionalized memoir and the facts of Iwasaki’s life that influenced it were symbiotically related. Just as Golden’s fiction relied on some factual information, the true facts of geisha life (Iwasaki’s life) as surviving cultural truth depended on Golden’s fictionalizing technique. This creates a binary between fiction and fact.

Fiction has the potential to be more entertaining than fact. Golden’s novel sold much better than Iwasaki’s subsequent autobiography. Whereas non-fiction seeks to inform as well as entertain, fiction seeks to stimulate the senses, to excite and to entertain the audience. In Golden’s case, his book’s target audience was Western. Golden treated geisha as an object to be sexualized, exoticized, and romanticized by the West. I will explore the fictional tools, techniques, and devices used to craft a fiction such as Memoirs of a Geisha for an American/Western audience.

This article applies Edward Said’s (1978) idea of Orientalism to the study of the fictional devices Arthur Golden used in telling the geisha story in print and which Rob Marshall used in translating the story to film, with the American/Westerner as preferred reader of these texts. The book and movie were well-received in America but not in Japan, signifying the success of these devices with the target audience, and demonstrating America’s appetite for the Oriental, known as postmodern American Orientalism. Golden and Marshall’s interpretations of Japanese culture and geisha and demonstrate Orientalism: “The Oriental [Japanese culture] is contained and represented by dominating [American] frameworks” (Said, 1978, p. 40).

Read on:
 * ORIENTALISM AND FICTION**
 * GEISHA IN THE WEST**
 * GEISHA IN JAPAN**
 * OBJECTIFICATION: REMOVING THE AUTHOR FROM THE TEXT**
 * SEXUALIZATION OF GEISHA AND CONSUMING  THE BODIES OF THE ORIENT**
 * THE ORIENT: AN ANTITHESIS TO THE WEST**

Another critical commentary:


 * 'Geisha: Living in the American Imagination at the Turn **** of **** the 21 **** st **** Century' **

(Thesis submitted by Naoko Ikenaga for Master of Arts in American Studies 2004 University of Hawaii)

[|**Geisha**] [|: Living in the American Imagination at the] [|**...**] [| - ScholarSpace]

scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/.../uhm_ma_3183_r.pdf?...

by N Ikenaga - ‎2004

Sep 26, 2004 - ** stereotypical ** image of **geisha** previously propagated in the Western world in **...** constructed between the **19th**-**century** and the early 20thcentury, **...**

From Global Media Journal [|http://lass.purduecal.edu/cca/gmj/fa06/gmj_fa06_akita.htm#top]

Another critical commentary:


 * “//Re//-presenting Asian Stereotypes in Hollywood Cinema: an Analysis of Race and Gender Representations in //Memoirs of a Geisha//” **

Iria María Bello Viruega (University of A Coruña)


 * Abstract **

Asian cultures have recently begun to be fashionable in Western society. Films such as // The Joy Luck Club // (USA 1993) // Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon // ( // Wò hu cánglóng // ; China, 2000), // Hero // ( // Ying Xiong // ; China, 2002) // The House of the Flying Daggers // ( // Shí Miàn mái fú // ; China, 2004) or // Red Cliff // ( // Chì bì // ; China, 2008) had set the mood for Asian (better said, Chinese) cinema. Traditionally, Hollywood has not offered very positive images of Asians or Asian-Americans in its movies. Benshoff and Griffin (2004) have cited the stereotype of the // inscrutable Oriental // as the most common image we find about Asians in Hollywood films. Directed by Rob Marshall, // Memoirs of a Geisha // (2005) is a Hollywood movie that aims at portraying the world of Japanese geishas with apparent neutrality. Following Branston and Stafford’s assertion that “however realistic media images may seem [...] they are always a construction, a // re // - presentation, rather than a transparent window onto the real” (2006: 141), the purpose of this paper is to study the representations that lie behind this apparent neutral cover. The focus of this paper will concentrate on the analysis of the representations of race and gender, as well as to the use of symbols in the film.


 * Introduction **

It has been said that one of the consequences of globalization has to do with the reinforcement of local cultures and identities. The spread of the idea of the // global village // has made countries aware of the fact that they have to look for the right position to their cultures in this new plural world. (Ang 1996; Du Gay 1997: 4). A film as // Memoirs of a Geisha // (2005) can thus be read as an attempt to revive the old traditions of a country as Japan, which seems to have in some way lost its most valuable old traditions. This movie does not focus on present-day history but all over the movie there is some degree of nostalgia that constantly evokes a world of mystery and old traditions that remain secret to foreigners. It is this nostalgic remorse for the destruction of old traditions that gives sense to this film. In an attempt to bring this culture somehow back to life, the movie also tries to assimilate these old traditions into the new global culture and make everyone participant of them.

Traditionally, Hollywood has not offered very positive images of Asian or Asian- American people in its movies. According to Benshoff and Griffin (2004) the most common stereotype we find about Asians in Hollywood films is that of the // inscrutable Oriental //. Famous oriental characters such as Charlie Chan and Dr. Fu Manchu spread the idea that Asians were somehow mysterious, exotic and cunning. Films about Vietnam, WWII and The Cold War helped to perpetuate this stereotype. The globalization process can be said to be one of the forces that helped to change this situation. The improvement in global technologies has made it possible to get access to the Asian market with relatively little effort. Asian cultures have recently begun to be fashionable in Western society. Movies such as // The Joy Luck Club // (USA Wang: 1993) // Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon // ( // Wò hu cánglóng. // China; Lee: 2000), // Hero // ( // Ying Xiong. // China; Yimou: 2002) or // The House of the Flying Daggers // ( // Shí Miàn mái fú. // China; Yimou: 2003) had set the mood for Asian (better said, Chinese) cinema. It is important to note, however, that // Memoirs of a Geisha // is not an Asian film. Although most of the actors are Asian or Asian American, the rest of the crew is American –that includes director Rob Marshall and producers. The film has been almost entirely shot in California, with exception of a few scenes of Japanese temples. We may note as well that the film is an adaptation of the best-seller that was written by Arthur Golden in 1997. This evidence shows up to which point this movie was thought by and for Americans.

Both the director and the whole crew had emphasized the fact that they had attempted to represent a period of Japanese history // just as it was //. They did a great job of documentation so as to recreate the world of geishas in the 40’s. They had to create their own kimonos and hair ornaments, build the whole // hanamachi // (the geisha district), and train the actresses for several weeks so that they learned how to behave, walk and dance like true geishas. The result is impressive and at first sight it seems that they succeeded in rendering a verisimilar vision of the life of geishas. There are some features that make us think that although this film aims to be neutral and present reality just as it was, it is actually a representation that has been created according to Western/American patterns based on certain stereotypes.

In this work I will try to analyze those representations that lie behind this apparent neutral cover. This paper is structured in three basic parts, which cover both thematic and technical aspects. Firstly, I will study to what extent the concepts of representation, typing and stereotyping are important in this context (section 2). Section 3 is concerned with the idea of Orientalism and race and gender issues are analyzed in section 4.


 * 2 Representation: typing and stereotyping **

According to Benshoff and Griffin, representation can be defined as a “process of presenting an image of something in order to communicate ideas or tell a story” (2004: 350). Going even further, a representation may be said to have a twofold purpose: it plays the role of themessage in a communication process and it is also a construction that tries to express reality with the help of determined codes of meaning. Media needs to resort constantly to representations to express reality. Branston and Stafford asserted that “however realistic media images may seem, they never simply // present // the world direct. They are always a construction, a // re // -presentation, rather than a transparent window onto the real.” (2006: 141). For Taylor and Willis (1999), representations are combinations of signs that help us make complex abstract concepts significant and understandable. For this reason they can be considered fundamental strategies related to the cognitive processes in our mind (Taylor and Willis 1999: 39). Tied to perception and cognition, we find // types // and // stereotypes //, two of the most recurrent strategies that the media use to represent reality. Types are necessary mental constructs that help us understand the world around us (Taylor and Willis 1999: 42). Cognitive scholars have remarked that our mind is ordered according to categorizations that help analyze and understand reality (Lakoff 1990; Green 1996; Dirven and Verspoor 2000). Stereotypes also contribute to the task of categorizing reality but they usually have other implications as well. Branston and Stanford have listed four characteristics of stereotypes (2006: 142). For them stereotyping is a process of categorization that in most cases implies a negative evaluation of the group that is being analyzed. In // Memoirs of a Geisha // we find both types and stereotypes of the main characters.

This task of encoding and decoding meanings, types and stereotypes so as to create representations of reality has a lot to do with the process of communication. Hall pointed out that the code is fundamental so that the receiver can decode the message in the same way that the sender had created it (1997: 21). These codes of encoding/decoding highly depend on cultural issues. It is highly probable that Japanese people will not perceive the stereotype of the geisha in the film in the same way as European or American people will do. The promotional posters for the movie in America/Europe and Japan reflect this culture-based conflict. The list of differences between the two posters ranges from the name of the movie, the layout colors and the representation of the character, among others, they are the result of a conscious process of representation of the figure of the geisha that has been modified according to the cultural patterns. Both being a close-up of the protagonist, the message they convey is completely opposed. The American/European poster aims at presenting an image of a modern geisha. In it the protagonist geisha is staring directly at the audience; she is an archetype of a modern Western woman. Her racial features have been minimized in order to look more // occidental // : her skin is very pale, her eyes are blue and her lips are typically // Western //. On the other hand, the poster for Japan presents an image of a conservative geisha.

Here, the close-up is not so extreme and there is also room for other complements, such as the umbrella, the kimono and the hair combs. It is striking to notice that whereas one of the most important characteristics of the American poster was Sayuri’s gaze, in the Japanese poster she is looking down in a rather submissive position that does not even let us see that her eyes are blue. Not only her eyes but also her dress, her hair style and the whole position of her body is rather relaxed and docile, which clearly contrasts with the tension created in the // Western // poster.

In the case of the posters it is relatively easy to modify the message according to the audience that is going to read it, but this is not the case with movies. Even though the film was released all over the world, no changes were introduced to adapt the message to different audiences. As a result, the final version of the movie includes features that only fit within the American context. An example of this can be found in Sayuri’s solo dance. Sayuri’s dance is closely related to contemporary dance and it seems as if she was dancing only to please the American/Western audience who could consider the traditional dance of geishas rather anodyne and hardly understandable. Not only her movements and choreography, but also her clothes and hair style are very different from those of a traditional geisha.

The fact that the movie contains obvious typing and stereotyping mechanisms does not exclude the fact that people that made the film were actually aware of their existence. After all, types and stereotypes are necessary cognitive agents. It is reasonable to expect, thus, that directors and producers would have worked on geisha stereotyping with care. Rob Marshall, director of the film, declared in an interview:

People think of the geisha as a prostitute, because prostitutes started wearing white makeup and silk kimonos and called themselves geishas, and the line became blurred. But the actual word means artist. Yes, they entertain men. But, more important, they’re great dancers and musicians and great conversionalists. They were also the fashionistas of their time. They were like supermodels. (Dannenbaum, 2005: min 2)

In this quotation we can see how Marshall tries to change all the negative ideas and prejudices that we (Western people) have about geishas. Throughout the movie there is a latent interest in emphasizing the idea of geishas as moving works of art in a floating world. To do so, Marshall uses an image that is typical of our culture –that of a supermodel. This may be said to be an attempt to // re-categorize // a stereotype to a foreign audience. However, this process is not so easy. Even if this movie is intended to dismantle the common stereotype // Geisha=prostitute //, it is actually creating a new stereotype, that of geishas as slaves. The life of geishas is here portrayed as if they were prisoners that do not have any right to choose how they want their own lives to be. In this representation there is no mention to the fact that geishas enjoyed much more freedom and received better education than most Japanese women in those days. Being a geisha was the only learned profession that Japanese women were allowed to perform.Geishas earned money and could attend dinners in tea houses where they could take part in conversations with men, something impossible for other women.


 * 3 Orientalism **

Orientalism is a key term in the study of representations of Asian people made by Western people. The first one to describe this term was the cultural critic Edward Said (2003). He argued that the term Orientalism was not concerned with Asia but with how Westerners imagined the idea of Asia: “The image of the orient became one of exotic people, seductive and sensual pleasures, and potential lawlessness –everything // civilized // Europe was supposedly not.” (Benshoff and Griffin 2004: 117). The most typical stereotype of the Orient is that of Madame Butterfly, a docile, weak but beautiful and fragile woman. The implications of this stereotype quickly spread, and affect not only to women’s role within society, but also to the role of the whole society. According to the Western stereotype, the East is submissive and domesticated, as its women are. This, of course, constitutes a perfect excuse to justify colonization, as Cheung explains in the following quotation:

The quiet Asians are seen either as devious, timid, shrewd, and, above all, inscrutable –in much the same way that women are thought to be mysterious and unknowable– or as docile, submissive and obedient, worthy of the label model minority, just as silent women traditionally been extolled. And precisely because quietness is associated with the feminine, as is the East in relation to the West (in Orientalist discourse, Asian and Asian American men too have been feminized in American popular culture). (Cheung, quoted. in Simal González 2000: 180)

Obviously, the term // Oriental // soon acquired negative connotations and it has been replaced by the word // Asian //. The Asian-American writer David Henry Hwang declared in the “Afterword” of his play // M. Butterfly // : “In general, by the way, we prefer the term // Asian // to

(The image of the geisha could be compared to that of the // hetairas // in ancient Greece. // Hetairas // were cultivated courtesans that enjoyed a special status of freedom that made them different from the rest of the Greek women, whose position in life was always subjected to their homes and the men in their families. Hetairas administrated their own businesses and were the only women allowed to attend dinners. (Fabregat 2005: 23-36)

// Oriental //, in the same way // Black // is superior to // Negro // ” (Hwang 1998: 95). Benshoff and Griffin (2004: 117) have pointed out at the reductive nature of the term // Asian // since it includes very different cultures and nations as, for instance, Israel, Japan, India and Eastern Russia. For Hollywood movies the differences between Asian cultures and nations does not seem to be relevant. In this sense, concerning // Memoirs of a Geisha //, there has been too much controversy around the fact that the three leading roles in the movie have been played by non-Japanese actresses.Critics have argued that Hollywood’s orientalist view has once more proved to be incapable of perceiving the cultural differences in Asia. Producers and the director of the movie tried to explain their decision of casting three non-Japanese actresses by saying that no Japanese actress attended the auditions and that the actresses received lessons from a professional geisha.The reaction of the audience was heterogeneous: some people minimized the importance given to the ethnicity while others felt offended after watching Chinese actresses playing the role of Japanese geishas.

Another issue in close association with Orientalism and race is how // Western colonization // is portrayed in the film. In the first and second parts of the film the Western presence is not relevant. One of the few allusions to the West is related to the annexation of Austria to the III Reich. It is Mrs. Nitta’s radio that gives us this example of intertextuality between real history and fictional plot. However, this allusion is only anecdotal because it does not anticipate what is going to happen in the future. It is only after WWII that the influence of Americans in Japan is to be considered significant.

Even if the film does not directly echo the real situation, before the war the Western influence in Japan was already very important.

Although Japan was never territorially colonized, its leaders decided to promote a process of // self-Westernization // in order to void the threat of more direct influence. [...] Instead of entering Japan through direct military intervention, the West penetrated Japanese society by becoming part of its cultural imaginary. (Darling-Wolf 2001: 281)

According to this quotation, the film exaggerates the magnitude of the Western cultural colonization after the war. It is true that “the years under U.S. occupation were a period of much more direct Western influence” (Darling-Wolf 2001: 282) but in this film this change is magnified. All the characters and places experience at a higher or lower extent a

(Zhiyi Zhang (Sayuri) and Gong Li (Hatsumomo) are Chinese whereas Michelle Yeoh (Mameha) is originally from Malaysia.

It may be noted that the geisha who lectured the actresses, called Liza Dalby, was a geisha of American origin.)

radical transformation after the war. The impression behind this transformation is that the war had destroyed a traditional world that had remained uncorrupted and pure up to that moment. In this sense, it is true that the war meant a radical change but it is not true that the previous world was uncorrupted. This claim is easily ascertained by contrasting any pre- and post-war scenes. Even if characters try hard to recreate the world of geishas before the war, it is very clear that the // mise-en-scène // chosen for after-war scenes is purposely different -not only the setting and movement but also the lighting, costumes and makeup are opposed.

However, in spite of this lack of verisimilitude, some aspects of Japanese culture in the 40’s have been considered. Before the war, Western influence affected cultural attitudes of Japanese women regarding female attractiveness. By the time the film is set, the female canons of beauty had little to do with geishas but with the American film stars that were popular in the U.S.: “During this period many women had their hair cut and, in spite of the exhortations of proud // samurai // tradition, waved and curled” (Wagatsuma, quoted in Darling- Wholf 2001: 283). Although it is almost unnoticeable, the film actually mirrors this situation. In the blossom-viewing party there are a few seconds in which we can see women dressed with Western clothes. It is the only time that we see women that are not either geishas or women living in the // geisha world //.

In this film the idea of Orientalism is conveyed mainly in two ways. On the one hand, proper names in Japanese not translated into English give an // exotic // flavor to the dialogs. Words such as // sakura // tree, // tatsumora // silk, // shamisen //, // hataki komi // , // ekubo // , // okiya // , // hanamachi // cannot be translated into English because they stand for cultural meanings. Language has indeed been a matter of controversy in this film. Critics have suggested that it would have been better to present the film in Japanese with subtitles in English4 since in some scenes it is quite difficult to understand what characters are saying. Not only the lack of language skills of some of the actors but also the fact that all of them had very different accents contributed to this criticism.

The other strategy used to reinforce that idea of the Orient has to do with the script of the film itself. Behind most of the script we find traces that may suggest that mystery is always present in the film. To illustrate this statement we only have to analyze the first sentences of the film:

Another possibility would be to have the film dubbed by English-speaking actors. The Spanish version was dubbed and, as a result, the issue of the language is irrelevant.

‘’A story like mine should ** never be told **. For my world is as ** forbidden ** as it is fragile. .Without its ** mysteries ** it cannot survive. I certainly wasn’t born to the life of a geisha. Like so much in my strange life, I was carried by the current.’ (Marshall 2005: min. 3; emphasis added)

The words in bold type allude to that idea of Asia being a mysterious place. This very same idea also appears in the very last lines, which are also delivered by Old Sayuri:

You cannot say to the sun, “More sun” or to the rain, “Less rain”. To a man, geisha can only be half a wife. We are the ** wives of nightfall **. And yet, to learn kindness after so much unkindness, to understand that a little girl with more courage than she knew would find her prayers were answered, can that not be called happiness? ** After all these are not the memoirs of an empress, nor of a queen. These are memoirs of another kind **. (Marshall 2005: min. 130; emphasis added)

The implications of this are easy; framing the whole story, Sayuri's discourse is giving us the clue to interpret the whole story as realistic, though mysterious and exotic one. In spite of the explicit interest of deconstructing the myths and stereotypes around geishas, this movie fails in wiping out the oriental stereotype.


 * 4 Gender **

// Memoirs of a Geisha // is mainly a women’s film in the sense that all its protagonists are women and that it takes place in a women’s world. The most common stereotypes used to represent Asian women in the history of American cinema are present in this movie as well. Chiyo/Sayuri, on the one hand, is the protagonist of the film and the most developed character. Camera position emphasizes the fact that she is the hero of the film. She embodies a type of women that can be described as reflexive, silent and elegant. Even before she starts the training to become a geisha it seems that she already has a natural predisposition to elegance and charm. Sayuri fulfills all the // positive // stereotypes of Oriental women; she is submissive, delicate, shy, exotic, mysterious and loyal to her honor. She can be said to be an incarnation of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, one of the most recurrent stereotypes of Oriental/Asian women.

Sayuri’s most direct enemy, Hatsumomo, is one of the most fascinating characters in this film. Her image in the movie fulfills the typical stereotype of what Benshoff and Griffin call the // Dragon Lady //. According to these authors, the Dragon lady is one of the most common stereotypes that Hollywood has used to represent Asian or Asian-American people in films:

“The Dragon lady was likely to be a spy or a criminal mastermind in her own right –but along with violence she used her sexual wiles to entrap unsuspecting white heroes” (Benshoff and Griffin 2004: 123). From her very first appearance in the film we know that Hatsumomo is going to play the bad character. In spite of being very talented, she has some of the defects geishas should avoid: she is proud, greedy, rebel and egocentric. However, Hatsumomo is deeply human and this is perhaps her worst fault. This is the reason why Sayuri identifies herself with her when, after the fire, Hatsumomo has to leave the // okiya. // This extreme baudelerian polarization of women –either angels or demons but tied together by a common bond– shows that this movie is not only race-stereotyped, but it also contains a heavy gendered reading. As Juan Moreno (2010) has pointed out, the traditional patriarchal discourse does not acknowledge a balanced mid-term for women; they are always relegated to the extremes of bipolarity. Gilbert and Gubar (1998, quoted. in Juan Moreno, 2010) also refer to this angel/monster bipolarity and go on to assert that the effects of patriarchal discourse define in some way the discourse of women as well.

After the protagonist and the antagonist, Mameha is the third most important character. Being the donor and the helper according to Propp’s spheres of action, Mameha is at the same time a mother and a big sister to Sayuri. She may be seen as the replacement for Chiyo’s lost sister. Sayuri’s tutor is also a mature experienced woman that combines elegance and know- how. Together with the protagonist, she is the only // good // woman in the film. It is quite revealing that Sayuri’s only true friend is the character that is nearer the Western canon in terms of physical appearance. Michelle Yeoh –the actress who plays Mameha– has a rather // Western // look, in spite of being of Malaysian ascendancy. Her English is also by far the most proficient. Not only Mameha’s appearance but also her style of life is associated with the West. If we compare Mameha’s and Mrs. Nitta’s // okiyas //, it is easy to realize that the association Mameha/Western is not a coincidence. Whereas Nitta’s // okiya // is always dark and has a typical Japanese garden, Mameha’s home is very luminous and the furniture and decorations could be found in any Western home today. All these little details seem to point out at the same direction: looking Western in this film has a subtle positive connotation.

Despite the fact that this movie is mainly concerned with women, the male presence still plays a predominant role. Male characters –The Chairman and Nobu San– are totally plain characters; we know very little about them –in fact, we do not even know the Chairman’s first

(Lieberman (1972) and Baker-Sperri and Gauerholz (2003) also deal with the influence of media discourse in the creation of a gendered identity, but they focus rather on children, and girls in particular. It would be very interesting to analyze the effects of movies like // Memoirs of a Geisha // in the creation of a girl identity but, unfortunately this is out of the scope of this paper.)

name– and their psychological evolution is not even outlined, as is the case of the female characters. In spite of this, they exert a great influence. Scholars in this field have tried to explain this situation in terms of how the patriarchal culture turns the woman into an object subjected to the // male gaze // (Van Zoonen 1994: 88-104; Price 1998: 284-287; Benshoff and Griffin 2004: 229-247). John Berger and Laura Mulvey are two key authors in order to understand this concept. In // Ways of seeing // (1972), Berger asserted:

‘Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves. The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object- and most particularly an object of vision: a sight.’ (Berger, quoted in Van Zoonen 1994: 88)

Mulvey’s theory is mainly contained in an essay entitled “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”. Price summarizes Mulvey’s theory as follows:

Mulvey argued that the male hero in the film acts as the “bearer of the look”. This means that he possesses the controlling power of the male gaze and the film “sees” everything in the narrative through his eyes. The male spectator is therefore put in a privileged position, seeing the female characters through the gaze of the hero, sharing as it were in the power of the hero. (Price 1998: 286)

For Mulvey cinema provokes a kind of voyeuristic pleasure in the spectator: “Although the film is really being shown, is there to be seen, conditions of screening and narrative conventions give the spectator an illusion of looking in on a private world” (Mulvey, quoted in Van Zoonen 1994: 90). It is thus a usual convention in western culture and western cinema to turn active women into passive objects. “The act of looking is reserved to men,” claims Van Zoonen (1994: 88). In this film there is clear evidence that shows that both Berger and Mulvey were right. Male characters in the film, in spite of being plain characters, are the ones who have the power of looking at women. The dancing scenes in the tea houses and in the theater, the scene at the baron’s house, the parties with the Americans, etc., all these scenes are clear examples of how men look at women and they confirm the // male gaze theory //.

Mulvey speaks of // the three gazes // : “the gaze of the camera, the gaze of the characters at each other, and the gaze of the spectator toward the scene” (Benshoff and Griffin 2004: 235). We can find these three gazes in the film but it would be appropriate to add another kind of gaze that goes further than the gaze of the characters at each other. There are scenes in which the fact that women are passive objects of man’s gaze is especially evident, as for instance in the scene in which Sayuri poses under a cherry tree while she is being photographed.

Concerning the // female gaze //, it may be said that here it is completely minimized. However, it cannot be said that it is not mentioned. At one point of Chiyo’s instruction, Mameha asserts the “you cannot call yourself a true geisha until you can stop a man in his track with a single look”. However, instead of talking about women’s power, what Mameha is trying to do here is to test if Chiyo is ready to become a // maiko //. Hence the women’s gaze here is nothing but a funny anecdote.


 * Conclusion **

// Memoirs of a Geisha // is an entertaining movie, although one of its worst defects may be that this is a Hollywood product written according to Western/Hollywood patterns. This does not have to be understood as something negative. The fact that Hollywood films are distributed all over the world does not necessarily imply that they are neutral or better than other minority films because, after all, all media products need to resort to representations to recreate reality. In spite of the efforts of the director and producers, // Memoirs of a Geisha // does contain a great deal of stereotyped representations, ranging from the polarization of the images of women to the perpetuation of stereotypes relating the East with the weak and the West with the strong.


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Blackwell publishers.

=//Consider the possible relevance to the film of the following article about beauty. Take into account as you read it, the vested interests of the writer!//=


 * CHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF BEAUTY: A SURGEON'S PERSPECTIVE **

[]

PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 2006  FACIAL PLASTIC SURGERY  THIEME MEDICAL PUBLISHERS INC., NEW YORK Peter A. Adamson, M.D., F.R.C.S.C., F.A.C.S.,1,2 and Matthew B. Zavod, M.D.1 Abstract Beauty is a mystery that has been with us for ages. Scholars and scientists have investigated its roots and effects, and its presence is ubiquitous. Has the construct of beauty changed over time? Is our sense of beauty learned or innate? What is beauty, and can we quantify it? A substantial amount of work supports a Darwinian theory of selection, which predicts a survival advantage based on physical attractiveness. However, there is evidence that certain perceptions of beauty change with time. Indeed, the recent globalization of modern society has wrought changes in our perceptions of beauty. Are patients electing cosmetic surgery procuring a survival advantage, or are they bypassing genetics and setting a new standard for beauty? As facial plastic surgeons, we must be poised to respond to this metamorphosis and understand its roots. Although there is some equivocation and debate about this elusive subject, it is our duty to stay abreast of the current dynamic to make sound judgments that are in the best interests of our patients. ** KEYWORDS ** : Beauty, facial plastic surgery, evolution, perceptions Beauty is a controversial subject and has been throughout the known history of humankind. Regardless of one’s knowledge or lack of knowledge about the maze of beauty, each person has his or her own opinion and is confirmed in its rectitude. This may be particularly true regarding surgeons, who are sometimes said to be ‘‘wrong but never in doubt.’’ But beauty is a much more ethereal subject, not to mention emotive, and therefore demands a flexibility of thought if one is to imbibe its complexities. PERCEPTIONS OF BEAUTY THROUGH THE AGES Ancient philosophers grappled with the true definition and meaning of beauty. Sappho stated that, ‘‘What is beautiful is good,’’ and Aristotle noted that, ‘‘Beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of introduction.’’ Plato described Beauty, Truth, and Goodness as the three most significant values in his philosophical system. He further stated that the Good and True are always beautiful, but what appears to be beautiful is not always good or true. Would many of us today, even with only a cursory thought, disagree with this reflection? So what is it that creates this ambivalence in us about beauty? Today we know much more about the anthropology, psychology, biology, mathematics, and sociology of beauty, yet even its definition can be confounding. The Oxford dictionary1 defines beauty as ‘‘Excelling in grace or form, charm of coloring, qualities which delight the eye and call forth that admiration of the human face in figure or other objects.’’ Aaron Spelling, the Hollywood producer, was somewhat less erudite, but perhaps just as telling, when he said, ‘‘I can’t define it, but when it walks in the room, I know it.’’ So, has beauty changed, or not? Marquardt2 has studied the mathematics of beauty and created the Golden Decagon Mask (Fig. 1).

Figure 1 Golden Decagon Mask. (Available  at: []. Accessed May 23, 2006.)

This two-dimensional visual perception of the face is based upon the phi ratio, which is 1:1.618. It is also been called the Divine or Golden Ratio because it is found throughout nature and is thought to represent perfect harmony. As Sir Francis Bacon noted, ‘‘Beauty is harmony.’’ This ratio and our innate ability to appreciate its expression in the attractive human form have been with us forever but only more recently explicitly understood.

Symons3 has postulated a biological basis for beauty, utilizing the term koinophilia to describe the human attraction to others of average appearance. This is based partially on Darwinian theory, which explains that evolutionary pressures operate against the extremes of the population.4 Therefore, averageness is attractive to potential mates as we inherently appreciate that such mates have a greater probability of passing along our genes. It is strongly suggested that this is not a cultural construct but rather is innate and hard-wired into our genes.5 Thornhill and Gangestad4 in 1999 stated that the face is really a health certificate indicating an individual’s value as a mate. The value increases with increasing symmetry, koinophilia, and the size of sexually dimorphic traits. Symmetry is important as it is thought to be an indicator of developmental stability.6 Only 15% of human faces are essentially symmetric, and these individuals have a biological advantage over the rest of us. ** CHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF BEAUTY: CONTEMPORARY CAUSES ** In Nancy Etcoff’s book,8 she cites the evolution of changes in plastic surgery in North America from the 1950s to the 1990s. Changes included a gradual narrowing of the eyelid from extremely high lidded in the 1950s to smaller eyelids. The 1950s nose was more upturned, or rotated, with a very sculpted or narrow tip. By the 1990s, noses with a wider tip and fuller bridge were preferred. Plump lips were always preferred, but lips are getting plumper. Presentations at the Ninth International Symposium of Facial Plastic Surgery9 stressed the importance of augmentation of the cheek and minimal elevation of the medial eyebrow. The importance of creating a youthful look by maximally improving the jowls to create a narrow chin was emphasized. It is noted that as a female ages, the squared-off jaw makes her look not only older but also more masculine. Rejuvenation reverses both of these aging characteristics. It is noted by some that facial ‘‘deflation’’ or loss of tissue volume is a significant culprit in aging. This has increased interest in the use of fat transplantation and other fillers to plump the face, making it appear more youthful. Thornhill and Gangestad4 in 1999 stated that the face is really a health certificate indicating an individual’s value as a mate. The value increases with increasing symmetry, koinophilia, and the size of sexually dimorphic traits. Symmetry is important as it is thought to be an indicator of developmental stability.6 Only 15% of human faces are essentially symmetric, and these individuals have a biological advantage over the rest of us. ** CHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF BEAUTY: CONTEMPORARY CAUSES ** In Nancy Etcoff’s book,8 she cites the evolution of changes in plastic surgery in North America from the 1950s to the 1990s. Changes included a gradual narrowing of the eyelid from extremely high lidded in the 1950s to smaller eyelids. The 1950s nose was more upturned, or rotated, with a very sculpted or narrow tip. By the 1990s, noses with a wider tip and fuller bridge were preferred. Plump lips were always preferred, but lips are getting plumper. Presentations at the Ninth International Symposium of Facial Plastic Surgery9 stressed the importance of augmentation of the cheek and minimal elevation of the medial eyebrow. The importance of creating a youthful look by maximally improving the jowls to create a narrow chin was emphasized. It is noted that as a female ages, the squared-off jaw makes her look not only older but also more masculine. Rejuvenation reverses both of these aging characteristics. It is noted by some that facial ‘‘deflation’’ or loss of tissue volume is a significant culprit in aging. This has increased interest in the use of fat transplantation and other fillers to plump the face, making it appear more youthful. Why are our perceptions of beauty changing, as expressed by surveys completed by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery or presentations heard at meetings and our own practice experience? There are obviously multiple factors, some more apparent than others. First, as we learn more about the science of beauty, we learn that symmetry and hyperfeminine features create more attractiveness, even beauty, in our female patients. That is the essence of what our patients seek, as they compare themselves with others in the biological sweepstakes. For men, appearance is also important to attract a mate, although in the vastmajorities of culturesmen place a greater emphasis on their potential mate’s appearance than do women.10–12 Women tend to place a higher value on financial prospects and ambition in a mate. By understanding better what each of the sexes finds attractive in the other, we can better create a new look that strives for these ideals. Another factor is Marshall McLuhan’s13 ‘‘Global Village,’’ which is upon us. Through electronic and print media and the Internet, we live in a ‘‘connected’’ world. We are each bombarded daily with visual images of faces that remind us of the multiracial aspect of our world. The majority of women are exposed to an average of 2000 images in advertisements each week.14 No one lives only in their own neighborhood anymore. Each time we see an ‘‘international’’ face, we alter our inner beauty template to accept a new norm, one different from the neighborhood in which we grew up. For many urban North Americans and Europeans, immigration in the last half century has opened our doors to every race in the world and affected our perceptions. As we constantly scan the multiracial faces all around us, we recognize differences in facial shapes as small as 1 mm and through our ‘‘face-averaging device’’ create composites that become our new standard of attractiveness. Over time it is expected that our internal averaging will ultimately become more homogeneous, creating what Etcoff8 calls the ‘‘universal face, a composite of the futures of all races.’’ These standards are obviously translated to our professional analysis of the face we see and our goals related to the new aesthetic ideal. In addition, for many of us our practices are multiracial. Long gone is the time when Caucasian surgeons were so presumptively ignorant as to believe all Asian, Hispanic, or African American patients wanted a ‘‘white nose.’’ Listening to patients of all races, we hear of their desire to create an appearance that is more normal, that is more average, and that allows them to fit into the average-looking group; or we hear from older patients seeking an appearance that reflects their sense of youthfulness but that they do not want to look ‘‘different.’’ Other influences that are likely to play a role in the facial plastic surgeon’s perception of beauty include the increasing number of international surgeons who educate North Americans about their perceptions of attractiveness and their treatment of their patients. More women than ever are practicing facial plastic surgery, bringing invaluable insight from their perspectives. A variety of specialists now engage in cosmetic surgery, including cosmetic dermatologists, oculoplastic surgeons, cosmetic dentists, oral surgeons, and even tattoo artists. They all affect our thought processes. The results of their work affect our own beauty template, and we all stimulate each other to reassess our ideals and produce better aesthetic results. It may also be that the media influence our perceptions of beauty. However, Buss’ study11 challenged the notion that the pursuit of beauty is essentially the product of modern North American advertising and mass marketing. It is far more innate. Jones and Hill’s15 cultural studies revealed similar concepts of beauty that were unrelated to any media influence. They found three separate Western cultures and two isolated native tribes that generally came up with the same beauty ratings when shown sets of multiracial, multicultural pictures. They were all attracted to features who could be described as ‘‘exaggerated markers of youthfulness.’’ However, most of us believe, if only intuitively, that media play some role in shaping our thoughts. ** CHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF BEAUTY: IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR PATIENTS ** Valéry16 has shown that we have a spiritual longing to have an outer representation that matches our dreams, visions, and moral aspirations. It is also known that our sense of social ease, or self-image, is related to how others judge our beauty. But our sense of self-esteem is more closely linked to how we see our own beauty. Garner’s17 survey revealed a growing dissatisfaction with body image, that is, the internal view of the outer self. It was felt that this could be worsened by outside influences, notably peer criticism and the stereotypes of beauty in the media. Another survey showed that the proportion of women dissatisfied with their bodies rose from 23% to 56% from 1972 to 1996. For men the rise was 15% to 43%.18 Our world today is more comparative and competitive than ever, thus compelling everyone to look their best. And the standards of what is beautiful are ever increasing, abetted even by the results of our own cosmetic surgery work. Are we making the lives of many more stressful just as we resolve bodyconcern issues for others? Berscheid and Walster19 studied the impact of facial attractiveness on individuals. They found that physical attractiveness affected social acceptance and that enhanced social status is conferred on the beautiful.20 Perhaps beauty should not be important, but in reality our society places value and prestige upon it. Our patients all recognize this, implicitly or explicitly, and are faced daily with changing perceptions of beauty and their impact on their lives. It should be no wonder that increasing numbers of women and men are seeking improvement in their appearance. ** CHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF BEAUTY: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FACIAL PLASTIC SURGEON ** Today’s cosmetic surgeon must be learned in the science of beauty and also aware of the multifactorial influences affecting his or her patient’s changing perception. Our patients today are better informed than ever, often employing diagnostic or treatment terms previously only known by physicians. This surge in patients’ autonomy has accompanied the decline of paternalism in medicine. Contemporary patients are on the Internet – a Google search turned up 40,700,000 sites for ‘‘internet plastic surgery.’’ There are millions of patient Web sites related to rhinoplasty alone, not to mention chat rooms. Patients morph their own digital photos, watch reality plastic surgical shows, and learn which celebrities are considered the most attractive in magazines. Many medical and surgical companies market their beauty products and treatments directly to these consumers, our patients, who promptly advise us what is best for them. Much of this is done without the investigative rigor usually associated with the scientific method. We live in a Western age of self-realization or selfactualization for each individual, and for many that includes looking one’s best. Facial plastic surgery procedures increased 34% from 2000 to 2004,21 and cosmetic procedures in North America are said to number almost 10,000,000 annually. Most of us feel our standards must constantly be raised to match our patients’ everincreasing expectations. Although ‘‘improvement, not perfection’’ is our mantra, the subtext is often that perfection must be sought and, with good work, can be achieved. This mandates that patient selection and education be of the highest order to achieve high rates of patient satisfaction. There are more specialties and more physicians and surgeons practicing cosmetic facial surgery. Patients have better access than ever to locating a physician of their choice. They can more easily ‘‘comparison shop’’ and have easy access to lines of credit to have procedures now and pay later. There is a much larger number of surgical and nonsurgical options available, many with so-called lunchtime results. There is literally something for everybody, making cosmetic enhancement a mainstream activity. With advances in surgical techniques, from endoscopy to lasers to fillers to Botox and beyond, a more subtle, natural, refreshed, and youthful appearance can be achieved by almost anyone so motivated. Accessibility to facial rejuvenation has never been easier. ** CONCLUSION ** Where does all of this leave the facial plastic surgeon today? We know that we are all hard-wired to seek beauty as a biological imperative. We also know that our rapidly evolving world is changing our perception of beauty and that this is affecting our patients as well as ourselves. Controversy abounds—some would say that cosmetic surgery objectifies women (and men), feeds on realistic images of beauty, and perpetuates our cultural obsession with youth. Others would say that it is one of the best investments that one can make and that many benefits accrue from it. It is arguable that cosmetic surgery is an extension of nutrition, fitness, makeup, and fashion—all of which enhance one’s attractiveness to the opposite sex. If so, are we creating an unnaturally high standard that cannot be met by those not having cosmetic enhancement? Although cosmetic enhancement may improve our chances of having a more attractive mate, what of the offspring who will not be blessed with the altered phenotype? All cultures throughout history have revered the power of beauty. It is sought after relentlessly, yet we are filled with ambivalence about it. It is said by some to be superficial, yet it is at the core of our survival as a species. No wonder our perceptions of beauty and attitudes about cosmetic surgery are so conflicted. Without doubt, we will continue to seek a greater understanding of beauty and the role it plays in our daily lives. To date, we have as many unanswered questions as answers. Our goal as facial plastic surgeons must always be to enhance the lives of our patients within their best interest. To do so we must seek to better understand the changing perceptions of beauty that surround us. We can all look forward to exciting and challenging years ahead as the myths and realities of beauty unfold. ** ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ** The authors would like to thank Michael Lavoie for his expertise in helping to research the subject matter. ** REFERENCES **
 * 1) 1. Brown L, Stevenson A, eds. Oxford Dictionary. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; 2002
 * 2) 2. Marquardt SR. Dr. Stephen R. Marquardt on the Golden Decagon and human facial beauty. J Clin Orthod 2002;36: 339–347
 * 3) 3. Symons D. The Evolution of Human Sexuality. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; 1979
 * 4) 4. Thornhill R, Gangestad SW. Facial attractiveness. Trends Cogn Sci 1999;3:452–460
 * 5) 5. Penton-Voak IS, Perrett DI. Consistency and individual differences in facial attractiveness judgements: an evolutionary perspective. Soc Res (New York) 2000;67:219–244
 * 6) 6. Perrett DI, Burt DM, Penton-Voak IS, et al. Symmetry and human facial attractiveness: averageness, symmetry and parasite resistance. Evol Hum Behav 1999;20:295–307
 * 7) 7. Langlois JH, Roggman LA. Attractive faces are only average. Psychol Sci 1990;1:115–121
 * 8) 8. Etcoff N. Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty. New York: Doubleday; 1999
 * 9) 9. Little JW. Considerations in periorbital rejuvenation and panel discussion. Presented at the Ninth International Symposium of Facial Plastic Surgery; May 3, 2006; Las Vegas, NV
 * 10) 10. Adamson PA, Doud Galli SK. Modern concepts of beauty. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2003;11:295–300
 * 11) 11. Buss DM. Sex differences in human mate preferences— evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behav Br Sci 1989;12:1–14
 * 12) 12. Grammer K, Fink B, Moller AP, Thornhill R. Darwinian aesthetics: sexual selection and the biology of beauty. Biol Rev 2003;78:385–407
 * 13) 13. McLuhan M. Understanding Media—The Extensions of Man. 1st ed. New American Library; 1964
 * 14) 14. Orbach S. The beauty beast. The Globe and Mail Mar 8, 2006; IWW4
 * 15) 15. Jones D, Hill K. Criteria of facial attractiveness in five populations. Hum Nat 1993;4:271–295
 * 16) 16. Vale´ry P. Some simple reflections on the body. In: Feher M, Naddaff R, Tazi N, eds. Zone 4: Fragments for a History of the Human Body—Part 2. New York: Zone; 1989
 * 17) 17. Garner DM. The 1997 body image survey results. Psychol Today 1997;31:30
 * 18) 18. Alam M, Dover JS. On beauty, evolution, psychosocial considerations and surgical enhancement. Arch Dermatol 2001;137:795–807
 * 19) 19. Berscheid E, Walster E. Physical attractiveness. In: Berkowitz L, eds. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 7. New York: Academic Press; 1974
 * 20) 20. Webster M, Driskell JE. Beauty as status. Am J Sociol 1983; 89:140–165
 * 21) 21. American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 2004 Membership Survey: Trends in Facial Plastic Surgery. March 2005 ||

==**Essay Topics - select one that best suits our studied film, Memoirs of a Geisha, and prepare your essay notes ready for an in-class essay writing session Week 1 Term 3. You will be given 2 periods to complete the essay, and may use all your notes, including any you have copied from this page. You will hand write the essay on refill.**== To what extent do you agree with this statement? Respond to this question with close reference to one or more text(s) you have studied.
 * Visual Text end-of-topic test QUESTIONS** (Choose ONE)
 * 1.** //“A successful visual or oral text is one in which a director seeks to create new realities and// / //or fresh perspectives for old ideas.”//

To what extent do you agree with this statement? Respond to this question with close reference to one or more text(s) you have studied.
 * 2.** //“We learn most about ourselves when the text is informed by events and people in our contemporary world.”//

To what extent do you agree with this statement? Respond to this question with close reference to one or more text(s) you have studied.
 * 3.** //“Forget the big players in the world; it is the people in the margins of our society whose stories are most compelling.”//

To what extent do you agree with this statement? Respond to this question with close reference to one or more text(s) you have studied.
 * 4.** //“In order to motivate or persuade an audience to take action, a text must appeal to the ears as much as to the eyes.”//

To what extent do you agree with this statement? Respond to this question with close reference to one or more text(s) you have studied.
 * 5.** //“Great drama is only at its best when it is calm and restrained.”//

To what extent do you agree with this statement? Respond to this question with close reference to one or more text(s) you have studied.
 * 6.** //“Visual or oral adaptations of traditional written texts often fail to capture the power of the original.”//

To what extent do you agree with this statement? Respond to this question with close reference to one or more text(s) you have studied.
 * 7.** //“Directors of visual or oral texts have their own distinctive styles which set them apart from others in their chosen genre.”//

8**.** //“Exceptional special effects might entertain the audience but they are often at the expense of the deeper message of the text.”// To what extent do you agree with this statement? Respond to this question with close reference to one or more text(s) you have studied. =Web link to the film script - great for quotes:=

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=For topic #1 the following blog from the //William & Mary// Institute provides quality digital essays that have relevance:= From: Memoirs of a Geisha – Story of Another Kind

February 12, 2013 by [|Michaela Francis]

Introduction

// Memoirs of a Geisha // (Rob Marshall, 2005) is a Hollywood production which tells the life story of a //geisha// called Chiyo/Sayuri. An adaptation, the movie was based on the historical novel of the same name written by American author Arthur Golden, whose story was based on interviews with real //geisha// Mineko Iwasaki. The film celebrates //geisha// by clearly distinguishing their work as art and not merely prostitution, but simultaneously discourages female independence under the context of traditional Japanese culture as well as female’s contemporary social positions. //Memoirs of a Geisha// exploits this stereotypical female subordination under classical patriarchy to evoke Asian authenticity.

Set during the time frame of World War II, the film has the potential to address political tensions and historical inaccuracies. To an extent, the film acknowledges the negative effects of American occupation of Japan, but softens the blow by representing Americans in negative but historically accurate portrayal in a modern-day multicultural coexistence mentality. This representation thereby asserts US’s current progressive multicultural climate. Hollywood creates a connection between the Western audience and Asian characters by executing familiar themes such as being unable to openly love who you want, as well as the subjugation of female sexuality. However, these familiar themes cast the Japanese culture as morally inferior to Western standards. The film’s educational and political value is further impaired by the implementation of excessive Asian cultural elements and exaggeration of romance as a cinematic device. The film follows the tradition of classical Asian themed Hollywood movies, in which Asian females are redeemed from oppressive Asian traditions by men who are westernized to a certain extent. Although the film enjoyed financial and cinematic success in the West (with 6 Academy Award nominations and winning three), the casting of Chinese actresses, and the film’s failure to address historical and political tension between China and Japan, caused backlashes from Asian communities within the US and overseas.

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Individual Analysis #1:

Anna: Film adaptations endeavor to faithfully depict the source, but can also improvise through film’s visual and aural aspects. The cinematography and music of //Memoirs of a Geisha//, however, are unfortunately subjected to the Hollywood treatment. As a result, the film’s credibility is greatly subverted.

The camera most frequently alternates between an objective viewpoint and Chiyo’s, both of which belie the film’s apparently authentic depiction of //geisha//. These perspectives highlight the tendencies of Hollywood narrative structure and techniques: the audience’s identification with a “male gaze” and the emphasis on the individual, which respectively objectifies the women and dramatizes the romance. For example, the camera seems to take unnecessary liberties when “demystifying” the training and development of //geisha//. Chiyo’s transformation into Sayuri is depicted the typical uplifting and also features a bathing scene. The justification for female nudity is slim: Chiyo and Mameha’s moment in the communal bath arguably connotes the intimacy of the mentor/mentee relationship, but so do their other numerous interactions.

Thus, the “illuminating” camera simultaneously indulges in the //geisha// “mystery”. The secrecy and intricacy of //geisha// ceremonies, dance, and even clothing produces the pleasure of investigation and unveiling. The enticement to discover is affirmed at the film’s onset, when the narrator (interestingly voiced by Shizuko Hoshi and not Ziyi Zhang) states, “A story like mine should never be told, for my world is as forbidden as it is fragile. Without its mysteries, it cannot survive.” The invitation tantalizes: the hidden, secret //geisha// world is now on display for the film’s audience.

There is a decidedly satisfying component to the act of looking and revealing, which is actualized on screen when the Baron gifts a kimono to Chiyo and then “just takes a look.” His stripping is prolonged by the complexity of the kimono’s several layers of robes and Chiyo’s ineffectual protest (informative regarding //geisha// dress and the //geisha//’s subordinate position in society) but while the sexual assault is highly discomfiting, it’s likely that the audience’s sympathy is surpassed by their furtive enjoyment – the audience shares the Baron’s privilege to look and luxuriate. Although the voyeuristic quality of the stripping scene could (and should) remind the audience of their paralleled voyeurism, the Hollywood cinematography disguises the looking process, and makes immediate critical assessment difficult.

However, the audience should recognize that the depiction of Kyoto and //geisha// is through a Western lens that reduces, if not trivializes, the actual difficulties of the //geisha// life. The artistry and elegance of the cinematography in part captures the essence //geisha// strive for – fragility, delicacy, and beauty, but the film’s beauty also reinforces a Western conception of the Orient as something exotic and foreign. Similarly, the film’s original score composed by John Williams features cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Ithzak Perlman. Even disregarding the fact that the film may have capitalized on “star power” to grab attention (and nab some awards), the selection of a Western composer and instruments, while resulting in a beautiful soundtrack, equates to an inauthentic depiction of WWII Kyoto.

The soundtrack parallels the camera’s focus on Sayuri, as it features multiple variations of Sayuri’s theme. The variations chart her development through the movie, but more importantly, intertwine her progress with the romantic plot. Likewise, the camera’s insistence on detailing the development of Chiyo and the Chairman’s love limits //Memoirs of a Geisha’s// potential to trite Hollywood romance. Chiyo suffers various indignities and tragedies, such as the stripping and her parents’ death, but she is very much a romanticized figure, and the montage format of her transformation attests to her uncommon genius. The film may be the memoirs of a //geisha//, but they are the memoirs of a remarkable one. (Pumpkin, Mameha, and Hatsumomo offer alternative paths, but they are marginalized in comparison.)

The driving impulse behind Chiyo’s actions, and thus the film, is her love for the Chairman. She becomes a //geisha// to become “closer to his world” and she preserves mementos of him: the handkerchief and a newspaper clipping, carefully and secretly. Her actions bespeak of a constant and enduring love, and accordingly, the camera diligently captures and lingers upon their brief interactions. Each scene including Chiyo and the Chairman functions to develop the romantic tension and romantic plot, and are edited to connect shots of the two romantic leads. When advised by Mameha to target Nobu during the sumo match, Chiyo, and thus the camera’s attention, remains affixed to the Chairman, and the concluding scene intimately accents the couple with rack focus. The film creates the Hollywood expectation of romance, and neatly resolves the romance in the end. Chiyo, unremarkably, is the sole //geisha// to realize her love.

The individual perspective of Chiyo and the romance serves to reduce the distance between the West and the unfamiliar and unknown Orient. Love and Hollywood romance is familiar and renders the //geisha// relatable to (Western) audiences who can more readily identify with these women who feel envy, love, ambition, and sorrow. Chiyo and her fellow //geisha// are humanized, and “authentically” revealed to live very dehumanized existences, but the film capitalizes upon the allure of the Orient. Therefore, while decades removed from the exploitative expeditionary films of the 1920’s, //Memoirs of a Geisha// suffers from the Hollywood “magic” that utilizes the exotic to revamp and disguise the familiar – in this case, the trite love story.

Individual Analysis #2:

Michaela

In the film //Memoirs of a Geisha//, the usage of water symbolism and imagery in accordance with the character of Chiyo, or Sayuri as she is known at an older age, follows her for the entire film, and even marks important milestones in her life. In Japanese culture, the element of water is often associated with adaptation and change, especially from a mental and/or emotional standpoint, and can be both a relaxing and a destructive force. Chiyo’s/Sayuri’s growth from a young servant girl to one of the most sought after //geisha// in her district and the factors of such that fell in between definitely marks a transformation that is appropriate for this element.

What is perhaps the most defining feature of Chiyo’s/Sayuri’s are her eyes, which are a clear blue like the prettiest river or stream. This is definitely a rarity for a Japanese person, especially with the strong assumption that neither of her parents, and potentially grandparents, are of European origin (as being such would make this a genetic possibility). She is seen as being so full of the water element that her eyes are blue as a consequence of it. At the beginnings of the film, when Chiyo and her sister Satsu are sold away to become //geisha// a rain storm is occurring, drenching the two girls as they are taken away from their home. Grief and sadness fill not only the hearts of the girls but each and every rain drop that falls from the sky.

In the words of //okaasan//, or the mother of the //okiya// Chiyo/Sayuri grows up in, her eyes indicate that she has “too much water”. In a rebuttal to this statement, the auntie of the //okiya// expresses that “water is a good guard against fire… [and that] you don’t have to worry about the //okiya// burning….” Here, water, or Chiyo/Sayuri, is seen as having potentially being an issue due to the imbalance of this element in her. At the same time, she is also seen as also being a worthy protective for the equally formidable element of fire, which upon further development of the film can be associated with the beautiful but highly dangerous Hatsumomo. Even more so, when Hatsumomo peers into the face of Chiyo/Sayuri for the first time and sees her eyes, her confident and assertive demeanor falters as this “woman of fire” realizes that the “girl of water” is a potential threat to her.

Relevant to her embodiment of the water element is a comment made by the famous //geisha// Mameha, who takes Sayuri under her tutelage in becoming a //geisha// herself. Just as famous as Hatsumomo but much more benevolent, Mameha tells Sayuri that “water is powerful… it can wash away earth, put out fire, and even destroy iron.” While at this point in the film Sayuri hasn’t developed her confidence and strength as a person or aspiring //geisha// yet, she surely has the potential in Mameha’s eyes. The fact that she was seen as once having “too much water”, or being a troubling force to reckon with, and now being someone with the a ability to extinguish a volatile being, which is Hatsumomo, exemplifies the ability of water to shift and change its form accordingly.

In the scene that Hatsumomo and Sayuri have their “showdown” in Sayuri’s room in the //okiya//—which was formerly Hatsumomo’s—a fire breaks during the struggle. Hatsumomo, now clearly mentally unstable, takes more oil lamps and spreads the flames to the hallway. Her destructive and disruptive behavior comes at a cost of her prestige, her residence in the //okiya//, and her reputation. Now shamed and exiled, the scene ends with her leaving the //okiya// completely defeated, with Sayuri looking on from a window in the charred bedroom. Water has successfully extinguished the fire for once and for all. The following scene shows the fight from start to finish. []

The symbolism of water takes an even more literal meaning for Sayuri’s emotions after the scene where Sayuri is seen by the Chairman instead of Nobu-san having sex with an American soldier at the hot springs. Standing atop a cliff overlooking the sea, she releases the handkerchief of the Chairman’s that he gave her in her youth into the windy air, with the choppy waves nearly surrounding her completely. The tumult and anguish she feels in her heart mirrors the waves crashing harshly against the rocks of the cliff below.

There is a peaceful calm in Sayuri’s life after this event, however. She and the Chairman meet and reconcile not long after the cliff scene, and as they confess their love to each other followed by a loving kiss and embrace, the quiet but soothing sound of the pond in which they are situated in the middle of (inside a small shelter with a path) is heard. As the narrator brings the film to a close, the couple is seen walking together reflected in that very same pond, which is clear, calm and beautiful.

From the moment Sayuri is sold out of her old life and is forced into the world of //geisha//, she is seen as, characterized and shaped by the element of water and many of the forms it can take. Chiyo/Sayuri is water, and water is in Chiyo/Sayuri.

Individual Analysis #3:

Morris

// Memoirs of a Geisha // is a Hollywood production directed by Rob Marshall, which tells the life story of a Geisha called Chiyo/Sayuri; the movie was based on the historical novel of the same name written by American author Arthur Golden, whose story was based on interviews with real Geisha Mineko Iwasaki. As Sayuri’s story unfolds, the plot also deals with themes about female agency vs. social/moral structures and restrictions, the duplicity and mysteriousness of (Asian) female sexuality, American occupation over Japan after WWII and, of course, romance—a staple cinematic element without which Hollywood films would not be complete.

Under the proud Anglo-European tradition of Orientalism, which feminizes all of Asian countries and their inhabitants regardless of gender (among other oppressive discourses), Asia is perhaps most familiar to Western imagination when personified as the “veiled woman”. But how should one understand the “veiled-ness” of Asian women? Beside structural patriarchal containment of women from public gaze, women can also be veiled by clothing, makeup, traditions, and transcendence of femininity into ritualistic art forms—as is the case of Japanese Geishas. The secretive world of elegant and masked (literally with make up and figuratively with ritualized mannerisms) Geishas is one operated by women. It promises an elusive vacation from ordinary life into ultimate feminine entertainment, and has long been the fascination of both Japanese and foreign men—in Mameha’s words: “Geisha are not courtesans. And we are not wives. We sell our skills, not our bodies. We create another secret world, a place only of beauty. The very word ‘geisha’ means artist and to be a geisha is to be judged as a moving work of art” (//Memoirs of a Geisha//, 2005). From the film’s depiction, becoming a geisha is anything but easy. And although it rewards geishas a facade of glamorous, carefree life style with agency and independence that most Japanese women do not have, most geisha did not choose this path for themselves. They are forced into the consuming industry by extraordinary circumstances—for example, Sayuri was sold into the Okiya by her own father, probably for money to treat her mother’s illness—and are forever bound and responsible to her “family” in the Okiya. She cannot pursue personal interests and goals and, most tragically from a Western/Hollywood perspective, geisha cannot enjoy love freely. The transcendent geisha art.

The film went to great lengths to portray the extravagant making of a geisha, and Sayuri is obviously empowered and emboldened by the art of geisha, the makeup and clothing. After Sayuri was deemed ready, she and Mameha began their plot to defeat Hatsumomo, and in the process, successfully manipulated men of great social, political, and financial statuses. Sayuri utilizes her own female sexuality, which is intensified with geisha aesthetics, to obtain financial and social stability, and to one day be with the Chairman. However, this manipulative, mysterious, and therefore potentially threatening (to men) female sexuality is punished. Audiences can look at Hatsumomo’s fate and easily predict that of Sayuri’s given their similarity—but the plot took a sharp turn when WWII struck Japan.

Contrasting Sayuri’s mannerism, ensemble before and after the WWII broke out, the audience can tell that the socioeconomic and political climates can no longer support art forms as extravagant as geisha houses.

Symbolically, wartime and military occupation, which are usually characterized as masculine powers, have stripped Sayuri of her independence and female sexuality. The blurred line between geisha and common prostitutes, a distinction that was previously repeatedly reinforced with a sense of pride, further disarms Sayuri by undermining the moral superiority and social status she channels from being a learned female geisha/artist. She is further punished when she seduces the American Lieutenant in attempt to dissuade Nobu from becoming her //danna//. Due to Pumpkin’s betrayal/revenge, Sayuri’s plan fails miserably, causing her to lose Nobu’s financial support and the Chairman’s affection. At this point, Sayuri is completely defeated. Her last stretch for independence—epitomized as Western notions of redemptive love in typical Hollywood fashion—dissolves into resignation as she discards the Chairman’s handkerchief and declares: “no geisha can ever hope for more” (//Memoirs of a Geisha//, 2005) when she prepares to meet with Nobu once again—this time to accept him as her //danna//.


 * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rxcRyvh4Sc – Clip: Sayuri’s resignation. **

However, //Memoirs of a Geisha// is ultimately a Hollywood chick flick and therefore romance must have the last word: Just as Sayuri loses all aspirations in life, the Chairman miraculously appears and declares his love for Sayuri despite Pumpkin’s sabotage, and reveals his secret endeavors that have helped Sayuri become the greatest geisha in Kyoto. The Chairman and Sayuri kiss, and walk off to happy-ever-after. This ending—in which the heroine is saved from her unfortunate circumstances by men through transcendent love—is a common Hollywood resolution to the conflicts developed throughout a film. Compared to Mameha and Hatsumomo, who also possess unchecked and manipulative female sexuality but have less-than-desirable endings, Sayuri was “lucky” to have her transgressive femininity stripped away by uncontrollable circumstances. Her vulnerability and submission to traditional ideals of femininity at the end of the movie have prepared, and allowed, her for the Chairman’s redemptive love.

Ultimately, //Memoirs of a Geisha// maintains traditional gender roles, polices female independence and sexuality, re-presents Asian subjects as exotic Others with multiple contradictions, and evoke other stereotypes of Asia in an exploitative attempt to create Asian authenticity. Other than that, //Memoirs of a Geisha// is truly a magnificent and beautiful piece of cinematography.

Individual Analysis #4:


 * “Hollywood Themes Utilized to Create Sympathy from Western Audiences” **


 * by Jordan Cheresnowsky **

The life of a //geisha// was not one of choice but of necessity for girls who had been sold to different //okiya//, or homes. With their other options being slavery or prostitution, the life of a //geisha//, where a wealthy patron would pull you from poverty, is desirable. However, the lifestyle required strict instruction in everything from simple tasks to conversation. From the way they dressed to the way they behaved, everything was calculated for survival. By pulling the veil off of the “floating world” in Japan around the time of World War II, //Memoirs of a Geisha// (2005) attempts to show this strict lifestyle of //geisha// by following the life story of the young girl sold to an //okiya// who became a famous //geisha//, known as Sayuri. The age-old Western fantasy of a submissive Asian woman whose only purpose is to do a man’s bidding comes to life behind the simple movements and dances within the film. For example, Sayuri learns to flash a bit of skin as a “reward” to the men, allowing them to find pleasure in the bare skin of a woman who is neither their wife nor mistress. Though the life is preferred to prostitution or slavery, the occupation of //geisha// is painfully restricted by their need to please men as means of survival. Hollywood, though indulging in the fantasy of the “floating world,” makes audiences recognize that the Western fantasy of a //geisha// can be considered a living hell that no woman would willingly find herself in. The film pulls on the sympathy of the viewers by using familiar themes from Hollywood to convey the harsh life facing //geisha//.

One theme played over and over in Hollywood films is the injustice of “arranged” love, or the relationship, but not marriage, created between a willing and unwilling participant. A //geisha// had little to no say in the men she had relations with in her life, which creates sympathy from Western audiences on the matter. In the first scene depicted, the //geisha// Hatsumomo is punished for having sexual relations with the man she loves. Auntie slaps her, stating,”What do you think? A geisha is free to love? Never.”

Were she to choose one man over the others Hatsumomo would displease other men and be unable to capture their full attention. A worse fate would be pregnancy, which would ultimately end her days as a geisha. No man would want a woman so obviously claimed by another. The illusion that //geisha// are there for the man they are entertaining at a certain time, and that man only, cannot be broken. After all, the worth of a //geisha// is determined by their desirability, and once that is lost their life ends. Sayuri is an example of how far a //geisha// will go to build the amount of men interested in her, therefore upping her worth and chances of surviving in the profession. The more men she attracts, then the more competition she will have for her //mizuage//, or the selling of her virginity. To create competition, she performs the dance in the video clip ( [] that captivates all the men around her. Though uncharacteristic for a geisha, the dance displays the desperation and confusion that Sayuri feels in her life. She is being pulled in different directions, lost in a strange world where she has no control. The pain she is feeling is only pulled on more when she is teary-eyed after her //mizuage//. Though she had become a famous //geisha//, she had lost her virginity not to the man she loved but to another man whose identity was only revealed to her after she had already been sold. Hollywood’s themes of the injustice of “arranged” love as well as the apparent pain it causes the //geisha// which draws on the sympathy of the viewers, creating a sense of understanding between the Asian characters and Western audiences.

Hollywood also raises the injustice of a woman’s submission to a powerful male. Though submission was traditionally seen as a favorable trait, especially in the Western fantasy, the second screenshot depicts the horrors of the submission. Sayuri finds herself in a situation where she could lose absolutely everything in seconds by the Baron sexually assaulting her. She faces the issue of losing her virginity before her //mizuage//, and therefore her worth and future as a //geisha//. Though the Baron only takes a “look,” he holds ultimate power over her. Sayuri cannot cry out or go for help because she is not only a //geisha// but also a woman. Her life is always in the hands of the men she entertains, and if they were to take her flesh instead of her skills as an artist her life would be ruined. This knowledge plays into the horror of the scene, causing great sympathy from Western audiences who see the sobbing Sayuri clutching desperately at her clothing and her worth. In that moment where Sayuri is stripped from her appearance as a //geisha// she can be viewed as nothing more than a lowly prostitute, a fate she had been trying desperately to avoid.

Though the “floating world” had been the captivation of Western fantasy, //Memoirs of a Geisha// shows the true horrors behind the painted faces. Hollywood creates sympathy from the Western audiences towards the Asian characters by implementing common themes such as “arranged” love and female submission to men. Through this sympathy a sense of connection between the East and West is formed. []

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