Hollywood's Orientalism

Raul 2022-03-27 09:01:06

This is probably the worst time a cat slave has ever been hacked.

Americans usually have a superficial understanding of foreign countries. British "celebrity" Quentine Crisp once said (to the effect): "Americans are very interesting and kind, and their understanding of us British people is relatively one-sided, which is the good kind." . If this sentence is applied to Americans' perception of Asians, then East Asia in the eyes of Americans is basically in a chaotic state, and this chaotic state can be used in artworks or film and television works. Orientalism, Orientalism ism to summarize. How bad Western art's perception of Orientalism is, just look at the red carpet at the Met Gala a few years ago. As for the Asian-themed movies made in Hollywood, I hardly like any of them, including "The Last Emperor" and "Memoirs of a Geisha" that many people like. I really don't like the stories of Asians, especially Chinese people, being adapted by Westerners' "colonialism" filters, and I don't like Chinese characters being interpreted by Hollywood's commercial system. Our Chinese approach to storytelling (which doesn't mean I'm in favor of interpreting all Chinese history in terms of "win the king and lose the bandit").

If we regard the "dog" in the film not as an animal, but as a species that has the same right to live as human beings. To put it bluntly, the "dog" in the film, as a narrative carrier, has a "personality". So what exactly is "Isle of Dogs" about? Let's think about a question first, what kind of dog can be called "a good dog"? For Atari, an obedient dog is a good dog. For dogs, this one still holds true, an obedient dog is a good dog. Like "King" and "Duke", they are obedient dogs, and they are kept by their owners to eat and drink well; like "Leader", disobedient dogs can only be stray dogs, picking up garbage every day and eating without a girlfriend. .

Then let's think about another question, what kind of dog does Atari need? What he needs is a guard dog, a "servant dog", not a pet dog, nor a "dog leader" dog.

What is Atari's countermeasure for a disobedient dog like the "leader"? domesticate it.

After figuring out these questions, the theme of "Canis Island" becomes clear. Atari is not the savior of dogs. His care for dogs is based on the "domestication" of dogs. Atari is the new dictator, the leader is the new domesticated dog (human), the generations of dogs are the ones that should be domesticated, and what people have to do is to domesticate the dogs from generation to generation - this is The film's understanding of Japanese and even Asian culture is not as exciting as watching the Korean election. The metaphor for Japanese society in the film is that the opposition parties are tasteless (the Scientist Party members who were initially killed), Japanese women are incompetent (scientist assistants), and ordinary people are voters who follow the trend (hate dogs today, love dogs tomorrow). , Politicians are all strong in the outside world (Mayor Kobayashi can't handle his housekeeper...). The real combatants are the second generation of politicians, the little girl from the American countryside (an outsider), and the young man who beheaded the head of the Xiaolin family in the legend in the title. As for the boy who beheaded, I don't think Atari is the image in the feature film, but the guy lurking in the men's toilet as a hacker. If it weren't for the dog on his trash island, he would really hang... Indeed, Japan was indeed militaristic during World War II, but is it still? Now you and the Japanese youth of the loose generation Heisei useless wood say that they are militaristic and they are more likely to deny it with a cute emoji...

"Isle of Dogs" is one such film, an orientalist film made for Americans with a phony core that cannot be justified. His art is very good, and the Japanese art elements can be seen everywhere, which integrates very well with the style of cartoons (of course, it is much better than Jinghuashuiyue, and to be honest, it is only Guan Xiaotong's designer who is worse than that). But this movie is indeed the type of Hollywood movie that I hate. I really don't like seeing stray dogs in movies. Why do they have to be domesticated as security dogs? ? Why does Japanese society have to come to a white girl who can't speak Ohio dialect well? ?

In short, don't take your children to see such desperate movies... Might as well watch "Frozen", at least there is a practical skill such as coming out of the closet guide to learn...

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Extended Reading
  • Brandi 2022-04-24 07:01:06

    Keep loving Wes Anderson!

  • Cary 2022-03-23 09:01:52

    It's obviously a cute animation sketch, and it looks like a Dunkirk. It's Wes Anderson's affectionate confession to the dog. The big black dog is very much like the lone wolf that flashed by in the fox father, and he contracted me several tears. In addition to Webster's audio-visual language as always, there is no sense of incongruity between the combination of stories and Japanese elements, which means that the military medals are more than half of Desplat. ps As a cat party, I have to say that cats are innocent!

Isle of Dogs quotes

  • Nutmeg: Will you help him, the little pilot?

    Chief: Why should I?

    Nutmeg: Because he's a twelve year old boy, dogs love those.

  • Rex: I used to sleep on a lamb's wool beanbag next to an electric space heater. That's my territory, I'm an *indoor* dog.

    King: I starred in twenty-two consecutive Doggy Chow commercials. Look at me now, I couldn't land an audition.

    Boss: I was the lead mascot for an undefeated high school baseball team.

    [sneezes]

    Boss: I lost all my spirit, I'm depressing.

    Duke: I only ask for what I've always had, a balanced diet, regular grooming, and a general physical once a year.

    Rex: I think I might give up.

    Duke: What, right now?

    Rex: Right now.

    [turns around]

    Rex: There's no future on Trash Island.

    Duke: [sneezes, then turns to Boss and King] You heard the rumor, right? About Buster?

    [All the four dogs murmur]

    Boss: Who's Buster?

    Duke: Uh, my brother from another litter.

    King: What happened to him?

    Duke: Suicide. Hanged himself by his own leash.

    Boss: Aw, boy...

    Rex: I want my master.

    Chief: [scoffs in disgust] You make me sick.

    [vomits off to the side and walks up to the four dogs]

    Chief: I've seen cats with more balls than you dogs.

    [shouts at Duke]

    Chief: STOP LICKING YOUR WOUNDS!

    [Duke looks around awkwardly with his tongue out. Chief walks up to Boss]

    Chief: You hungry? Kill something and eat it.

    [walks up to Duke]

    Chief: You sick? Take a long nap.

    [walks up to King]

    Chief: You cold? Dig a hole in the ground, crawl into it, and bury yourself.

    [walks up to Rex]

    Chief: But nobody's giving up around here, and don't you forget it, ever. You're Rex. You're King. You're Duke! You're Boss! I'm Chief. We're a pack of scary indestructible alpha dogs. You're talking like a bunch of housebroken... pets.

    Rex: You don't understand. Uh, how could you, I mean you're a...

    Chief: Go ahead say it. I'm a stray, yeah.