tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905155363976375938.post4326167950116762809..comments2024-03-21T22:36:54.451-04:00Comments on HISTORIES OF THINGS TO COME: Nuclear Leaks 31: The Good News and the Bad NewsLC Douglasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250961297714038453noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905155363976375938.post-46519055982296760562013-12-13T22:29:07.654-05:002013-12-13T22:29:07.654-05:00Ahem, for those who haven't seen the film: htt...Ahem, for those who haven't seen the film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn9tvnldTKs<br /><br />I haven't seen it in a couple of decades. My impression from Japanese sources was that new music and artistic works (some of which I have posted on this blog) have constituted the cultural response to Fukushima. I don't yet see a retro-cultural response to it, which could explain why your search term didn't point to what we're talking about here. LC Douglasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04250961297714038453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905155363976375938.post-86320597062757703002013-12-12T18:04:58.980-05:002013-12-12T18:04:58.980-05:00Ooops! I may have to modify that last comment: I j...Ooops! I may have to modify that last comment: I just found out that "Akira Fukushima" is the name of one of the abandoned children in the movie "Nobody Knows"(2004). It may take a while for anthropological studies to surface through the entertainment reportage unless I can craft a more precise search term. Maybe after the holidays.pblfsdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07471473189061385119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905155363976375938.post-10085769661056357822013-12-12T17:48:00.723-05:002013-12-12T17:48:00.723-05:00You're welcome, as always. The re-release was ...You're welcome, as always. The re-release was prompted by the film's 25th anniversary rather than either current events or current technology, although it is true that they are preparing a 'restored' print for the Blu-ray. (There was a limited edition "30th Anniversary" Blu-ray last year-- but they were referring to the anniversary of the manga, which started in installments in 1982.) It could be next spring before someone on this side of the Pacific publishes anything beyond speculation or surmise on how, if at all, recent experiences color the Japanese public's perception of the movie. And that's assuming that anyone thinks to investigate it. I'll just occasionally Google the two names every few weeks until something bubbles to the surface.pblfsdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07471473189061385119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905155363976375938.post-17677892521132146082013-12-08T18:01:49.308-05:002013-12-08T18:01:49.308-05:00Very thoughtful, pblfsda. No I haven't checked...Very thoughtful, pblfsda. No I haven't checked this. I wonder if the re-release is due to technology rather than to the subject matter being deemed currently relevant in relation to Fukushima. The reporting on the Japanese reaction to Fukushima is erratic. Sometimes it looks like the whole country is in revolt over it. Sometimes the citizens are depicted as being passive and apathetic. How they would react to 'Akira' is not something I've noted, because I think it would only pop up in untranslated niche sites. But still - very interesting comment, thanks.LC Douglasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04250961297714038453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905155363976375938.post-74062592398873127642013-12-06T18:36:15.331-05:002013-12-06T18:36:15.331-05:00You've given more thorough coverage of the Fuk...You've given more thorough coverage of the Fukushima tragedy than most of the news sources I generally use, so it's possible you may have covered this already, but have you heard anything regarding the Japanese public's reception of the reissue of "Akira" in the context of their current problems with power plant regulation (or apparent lack of it)? When the movie was initially released it had been nearly four decades since the detonations at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Anyone old enough to have first hand memories of the cultural impacts of those events would likely not have been the target demographic for that movie when it was released. Now, however, young people who may be seeing that film for the first time have a context and frame of reference dramatically different from that of the original audiences. Also, that original audience now are parents of the generation seeing that film for the first time. It would be as if, ten years from now, Oliver Stone's "JFK" were reissued just two years after a presidential assassination. It, too, had been released in theaters to audiences largely born after the event in question. Being a docu-drama rather than a futuristic fantasy means the comparison doesn't hold up entirely, but there's bound to be some overlap in the psychological impact.pblfsdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07471473189061385119noreply@blogger.com