Will Hollywood Ever Get it Right?

The upcoming movie adaptation of “Memoirs of a Geisha” has re-opened the debate regarding the portrayal of Japan in movies made in Hollywood. The usual criticism of such movies is that they invariably get the culture wrong.

If you want to know what I mean, look at Hollywood’s track record. The last Hollywood movie about Japan was “The Last Samurai” starring Tom Cruise. The movie took a part of Japanese history concerning the transition of Japan as a feudal nation into a more modern nation, and Americanized it to make it palatable for an American audience. Before that, we have “Lost in Translation”. A beautiful film to be sure, but one in which Japan gets lost in caricature behind two American actors (and I think the intention was the reverse). I am sure you can name other films in which Japan is distorted through a Western lens.

It looks like Hollywood is only going to continue on the same track with “Memoirs of a Geisha”. How do we know? First, “Memoirs” is an International effort – it is an adaptation filmed in California, of a book written by an American author, starring Chinese actors in the major roles, about a uniquely Japanese subject. When you have such a mutt-like pedigree, mistakes just have to creep onto the celluloid. What makes things worse, is that the author’s inspiration for his book is reported to be very critical of him – so much so, she is considering legal action (See “A Woman Scorned”).

To be fair, films are not history or cultural lessons – they are entertainment and entertainment has to entertain its target audience (in this case, a Western audience). If we desire bald facts, we should tune into the Discovery Channel. Or, better yet, since the movie is adapted from a book, read some good books on the subject.

Instead of reading “Memoirs of a Geisha”, by Arthur Golden, why not pick up “The Geisha of Gion” (recently re-titled and sold as “Geisha: a Life”), Mineko Iwasaki’s autobiography and response to Golden’s authorial errors.

Instead of watching the Tom Cruise eye candy that is “The Last Samurai”, peruse the biography of Saigo Takamori entitled “The Last Samurai - The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori” by Mark Ravina (Takamori is the real world inspiration for the movie of the same name).

These titles are in print and are widely available in North America.

Am I going to discourage you from attending the movie version of “Memoirs”? No. From what I have seen and the cultural misgivings I may have, it looks like a wonderfully shot film that may even inspire Oscar nods. Judge the film on its merits as a film, not on the cultural and historical lessons it has to offer.

Just remember that the films often get it wrong, but you can be learned enough to tell the difference. Oh, and for those of you reading this who know me, I have these books and will gladly lend them out.