Tsao- Ninja Scroll

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Although it can be portrayed as a movie that has explicit violence and no deep meaning to it, Ninja Scroll was a movie that portrayed a deep intake of a lot of sensitive topics in today's society, such as: objectification of females, a just/unjust world, heroic characteristics, power, and the issue of molestation/rape.

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To start out with, Kagero, the female ninja part of the mini clan plays a large role in identifying the issue of molestation/rape and objectification of females. Kagero is molested by both the first antagonist (Tessai), of whom is big, monstrous looking, and has a very ugly temper, and again when she is held hostage by another ninja that is part of the 8 demons of Kimon. During these scenes, she is being tossed around like an inanimate object, and the scenes are filmed in a dark, intense background in comparison to when the Chamberlain was having sex with his woman. While reporting back to the Chamberlain after Tessai wiped out the whole clan on the first mission to the villiage, Kagero was talking to him while he was having sex like it was not a big deal at all. Women are looked at to be only good if they can offer sex, and thus Kagero became a ninja, since she could not love and give up her body. Because she poisons every person she has sexual contact with, she identified herself as an object.

ROBIN HOOD HERE

This story of Jubei in Ninja Scroll is often compared to the one in Robin Hood. Both question the ethical aspects of a just and unjust world, since it is clear that Jubei and Robin Hood have traits of a hero, but the line between what is just and unjust is blurred when both  “heroes” perform actions that are not necessarily approved by the law. Jubei kills and believes that the government is corrupt, and Robin Hood was a thief for the poor and outlawed by his government.

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The issue of power is addressed when Dakuan, Gemma, and the Chamberlain are presented, but each in a different way. Dakuan, an undercover Tokagawa shogunate spy, exhibits a controlling power when he poisons Jubei and in a sense forces him to work under him. The Chamberlain, who has very little power, is in reverse, scared to get involved because he does not want to hurt his clan. Knowing that his whole team of ninjas got killed in a mission he ordered, he did not even investigate into how or who attacked them when Kagero reported it to him. And finally, Gemma, who was killed years ago by Jubei himself, has come back to life with immense power and the eight demons that work for him. With all the power he has gained, he feels immoral and corrupted to do whatever he wants with no hesitations.

All in all, if you can ignore the graphic (almost pornography) and violent scenes in the movie, Ninja Scroll is a movie filled with concepts to explore.

Tsao- Akira

Before watching the film, I assumed from the title of the anime that Akira was going to be a story based on a character affiliated with that name. However, as I watched the film I realized that the character that goes by the name Âkira never once shows up in the story, but has a different significance to the plot. 

GOT THIS PICTURE HERE

AND THIS PICTURE HERE

The setting behind Akira is in neo-Tokyo, where the apocalyptic city is full of chaos, corrupted government and military officials, gangs, motorcycle gangs, and trash all over the place. The women are treated very poorly, and the citizens of this “new” Tokyo are clearly unhappy with the way things are running. This, in my opinion, gives the authority its power more than anything. Because gangs are destroying the city, running through windows of classy restaurants, throwing grenades in police departments, etc., the colonel/general and his authority officials really don’t have much of a choice other than to use force and their power to keep things under control. This, of course, also has to do with the corruption that was initially in place that caused the people to be so unsatisfied as to do damage to show resentment in the first place.

My point is- the general really isn’t the “bad guy” of the film- from where the government stood at the beginning of the film, it is a cycle of “badness” coming from the people of the city, then the government’s reaction, then the people’s reaction, etc.  

PICTURE FROM HERE

Anyways, Tetsuo becoming corrupted by so much power is a very effective way to portray our own society. When people are given power, they will seldom just give up that power to those without it and just be like “Here’s power! Take it!” Take for example, why slavery lasted for so long. With power, the white people saw no reason to stop oppressing the minority. Thus, after so many years of being oppressed, if an enslaved, black man that has felt inferior his whole life were to discover an unlimited source of power within himself, he could very easily become blinded by such power, and want to cause harm to all those who have undermined him before- therefore becoming an “Akira” (In comparison to Kaneda making Tetsuo feel inferior through his protective nature, causing Tetsuo to feel he is always living in the shadows)

Akira, therefore in a sense, is more than just a character’s name in the plot. Akira is the art of abusing raw power; the learned experience of a mistake easily made and prone to repeat; and the result of an imbalance in equality and respect amongst peers.

RAAAAAAAAA

Tsao - Introduction

Hi to everyone in this freshmen seminar, I'm Tracy. I was born in Washington, DC and raised in Australia. I came back to the states when I was six and went to school in Maryland since then. I have an older brother and a younger sister, both of whom I love very much. I play volleyball/beach volleyball, lacrosse, used to lifeguard, and swim. I visited Vietnam and Hong Kong during the summer of 2011 and had an experience of a lifetime. I love to sing and explore new instruments, picking up more and more as I play them. My mum didn't attend college because she couldn't afford to back in the day, so she wants me to be a doctor, like a typical Asian mother would want. I am, however, a psychology major at Loyola University with no intentions of becoming a medical doctor. I have a Siberian husky dog at home and his name is Colynn. Colynn has been a part of my family ever since I was a little baby, and now he’s my little baby. I speak three different dialects of Chinese and I understand some Vietnamese, because my parents are both half. It's super rare to find a Chinese person with my native tongue, since my first language is Cantonese, a dialect that not very many people speak and know of (it is uncommon in Chinese people). I love the snow and everything that comes with the snow, but I also love the beach and everything that the beach has to offer. I have a serious case of asthma, but that never really seems to hold me back from any activities. I am 5’2 and I weigh 105 lbs and regardless of how much I eat I seem to be finished with my growth spurts, because I do eat a lot for my size. If we ever eat together in the OR, just know that I will never be satisfied with just one round of food.  Even though I learned my first English words in Australia, the thick Aussie accent that I used to have has pretty much disappeared, because when I came back to school in the states I was bullied for it, and therefore I worked very hard in my years in ESOL to rid of it. I also have small feet. And that’s pretty much my life in a little shell for now.

This looks nothing like me but I sure do like her
I got this picture from here