In Kurosawa’s film “Dreams” under “The Tunnel” section there is a man who counteracts with a former soldier of his who died in active war, the soldier does not believe his death and has to be reassure that the story that make him think he is alive was all a dream. Once he has realized that he is actually dead he return with the whole army where they are then told that they all died in war and that it is time for them to return back to a place where they could be at peace, the commander feels he sent them out to die and says “I honestly wish I would have died with you”. He realizes that he has dishonored his troops and should be punished for it by losing his life as well he feels as if he does not deserve to live. At the end of the scene a dog awkwardly reappears and frantically bark and hiss at him and it seems as if the commander wants the dog to take his life as he believe he did to his soldiers. I believe this part of the movie Dreams is related to different parts of the Shinto religion one of which is the Shinto creation myth. The myth tells about the separation of heaven and earth and how after separation Kami would flit in and out of existence, this relates to “the tunnel” by way that the soldier has died and has probably went to heaven for his good deed of fighting for his men but has return to earth hoping that the reality is that he never died. The whole scene itself can be related to the belief that everything is spiritual and humanity, nature, and the spirits or gods all interact. There is also a relation to two of the Shinto ethics, those actions that create harmonious relationships in home and society (soldiers fighting for their homeland) and that loyalty to the country is an action that is superior to many. Though the scene was not very long at all it provided many aspects of the Shinto religion and gave you an idea of what it was a about in a simple way.
I saw the movie awhile ago and I remember this scene. I thought it was so sad when the soldier comes up to the commander and thinks he is still alive, and what is even worse is that he has to be the one to tell him he is dead. BUT then on top of that he has to tell ALL his men that they are dead. I think its a good relation to connect it to Shinto's heaven and earth. Its a perfect example of coming in and out of existence.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I did not watch this clip, I think that the way you explained it and related it to Shinto belief was good and made it easy for people who didn't watch it, like myself, to understand.
ReplyDeleteKiara,
ReplyDeleteYour explanation of the scene is truly fantastic. I certainly understand the progression of events, despite not having seen the video. Your analysis was thorough as well. It was interesting how you related the scene to harmonious relationships in society, especially with the relation to the war. When I first read what you wrote, I was first reminded of the ideas of Hari Kari, or ritual suicide as the ideas of dishonor overpowered the general as he believes he does not deserve to die. Nevertheless, the way you viewed the scene put a very interesting twist on it and I found it very intriguing to read.
I think you did a great job with your post. You summarized the clip really well and I feel like I know exactly what happened even though I watched a different clip. What I really liked about your post was how you interpreted the tunnel to resemble the separation between heaven and earth and how the tunnel kind of bridges the gap between the two. I also think you did a good job in bringing up the point that everything is intertwined and is spiritual, whether in heaven or on earth. Great job!
ReplyDelete