X-Men III20:18 May 29 2006
Times Read: 619
Oh what a difference a director can make!
The latest X-Men tribute is choppy, unsmooth and introduces a vast range of new characters for no apparent reason. There was absolutely no character development whatsoever, and the movie depends on Hugh Jackman and Haile Barry to carry the entire movie. If the focus of the story line had anything to do with Wolverine or Storm this wouldn't be sooooo bad, however the movie centers around Famke Janssen who plays Jean Grey/ Pheonix. Through out the movie Jean Grey sits around staring at people looking mean, the three scenes where she actually shows off her Awsome power are an interesting breath of fresh air, but not enough to make this a good movie. Characters we have come to know and love like Cyclops, Rogue and Mystique all have bit parts that are more like Cameo's rather than integral roles in the movie, which the director uses clumsily to explain the "whys" of the plot. The President acts like he suffers from schizophrenia and perhaps the director suffers from ADD... it might explain why this movie jumps all around the fucking place!
A sad ending to a year long wait. Hopefully the new spin off movie " Wolverine" will be better. Could I make a suggestion... Beg Bryan Singer to come BACK!
Drinking age limit
21:42 May 08 2006
Times Read: 634
The drinking age limit in the great old USA-
I frankly can not find any reason for the drinking limit to be the age of 21 versus 18. While many opponents to this opinion would argue that 18 year olds are not mature or responsible enough to handle drinking privileges, one has to ask; why then are they old enough to marry, have children, support a family, vote, fight and DIE for their country? They are able to do all these things and considered a legal adult from the day of their 18th birthday and yet they can not legally drink a glass of champagne at their own wedding or have a drink to take the edge of the horrors of war. Why the double standard???????????????????????
Another note- In other countries, such as Germany (only country I have first hand knowledge about.), there is a technical drinking age limit of 18 (VERY loosely observed, similar to the "suggested" speed limit on the autobahn)however people in Germany have a more relaxed view of alchohol. It is not the enemy! Instead it is an everday part of life. A reaction evident in the youth of Germany, on their 18th birthday a German will be taken to the pubs around town, in each he will have a drink. Maybe 5 or 6 the whole night. If he gets drunk he (sorry he/she) is considered weak... not being able to hold ones alchohol is considered a weakness!!!!!!! Being drunk is a weakness!!!!!!!!!
How much different would our country be if we had a different view point on alcohol? If we saw it as something to be enjoyed at a meal or as something we drank in moderation for our health. ( Ok yes, I get drunk on occasion so I really should not be on the soap box on that one... but it is true!) Maybe then kids would not drink in an attempt to be grown up... or in an attempt to "break the rules" and live on the wild side. We wouldn't have people in the emergency room or stories on binge drinking on the television news. There would be no 21 drinks on your 21st b-day ( I didn't make that one by the way, got to I think 18 when my mom, my DD for the night, insisted we go back to our hotel =)~)
Like I said, I think I have been guilty of many of the above transgressions, but then I am a product of my American culture.
Book Report: "Ambassadors from the Island of Immortals"
21:33 May 06 2006
Times Read: 637
I.
In the book, Ambassadors from the Island of Immortals an unbiased viewpoint is presented as the author brings the intricacies of international politics between Japan and China to life. Rather than focus on a one sided view that China sought to control the Asian continent through the vassal system through which they acknowledged their neighboring countries; the author shows the mutual advantages for all countries involved when they chose to play within the perimeters of Chinese diplomacy. " The investiture system was reciprocal in nature. Participating countries joined the system as a result of careful calculation of self interest, and the system benefited them in fairly divergent ways." ( Pg. 31) For all involved it was a game of politics for which the ambassadors embarked on their journey's to or from China. Diplomats and governments in Japan gained prestige and power when backed by the Chinese government and it was for this very reason that many of Japan's leaders sent ambassadors and envoys to China. Once a person in power had solidified the backing of the Chinese government he or she solidified their power at home. There were not many who would seek to go against a leader when the Chinese could run to their rescue… even if the support was typically symbolic rather than a show of real military support. For the Chinese the political advantages were primarily to promote the Chinese Emperor's image in the eyes of his own people and during turbulent times in China the granting of titles on vassal nations could provide legitimacy for the current claimant to the Chinese throne.
Although political machinations have and probably always will be the driving force behind foreign relations there was a secondary reason that grew in importance over the years and that was the exchange of ideas and goods between the two countries. Japan was able to obtain many of the phenomenon's that make up the modern Japanese people through this trade with China in the past. " The fourth group of people on a China mission were the specialists. Their number was small, but they shouldered the important task of introducing recent advancements in their respective fields in China to Japan." ( Pg. 46)Buddhism and Confucianism became the leading religions and so Japan sent citizens to China to learn, artisans were sent to learn, craftsmen and scholars…. The list goes on, all these men sent to China to learn new thoughts and ideas and to improve upon the ideas, developing them in to a cultural that became distinctively Japanese.
It was through the adoption and adaptation of Chinese ideas along with the Japanese people's ability to learn and grow that brought about the centralized state in Japan. As seen throughout Japan's history when they ceased to learn and chose to become stagnant it was at these points along the historical timeline that Japan moved away from the centralized government. Returning once again when the flood of ideas and thought returned to renew the Japanese people and inspire the government and those in power.
II.
In my opinion I received more from this book when reading it at the end of the class then I did when I read it at the beginning, which leads me to believe I received more from the class in regards to understanding the book than the other way around. I was able to apply concepts learned in the class and see them in action in the facts provided in the book. Most obvious of course is the idea of a centralized state which the book includes as one of it's major arguments. Through out the class we studied how the Japanese utilized the knowledge the ambassadors and specialist's collected during their stays in China to create a centralized state… the book shows a more in depth look at what it was like for the men who collected this information. During the lecture on January 23, 2006 we discussed the native Japanese cultural influence upon the peoples of Japan compared to the Chinese cultural influence. It showed that in the year seven hundred and two the Chinese cultural influence was at it's peak; it was also when the warrior class rose and the Shoguns seized control. Buddhism had undermined the emperor's power, the failed attempts to adopt and adapt certain Chinese systems such as the civil service exam helped lead to a weak emperor and the declining centralized state. The book shows how the Chinese influence helped to bring about a centralized state in Japan; but it is the discussions and lecture in class that helped me to see the greater picture. The pendulum effect in action upon the Japanese government… they say what goes up must come down and also that within every culture( or system) are the seeds for it's own destruction…the Chinese influence led to the centralized state but also contained within the seeds for the decline of the centralized state in Japan as well.
III.
When the west came to Japan, the Japanese people were able to adapt and learn quickly in order to usher in a new era of modernization to the country " Japan completed the technology distance in 30 years that took the British 150 years because the British had to invent while the Japanese had only to learn and follow" ( Lecture notes February 24, 2006). After reading the book Ambassadors from the Island of Immortals what struck me the most were the similarities between the relationship between China and Japan in the past and the relationship between America and Japan in more recent times. My dad once told me," we go to college to learn how to learn" the relationship between the Chinese and the Japanese was almost a College-like experience which taught the Japanese how to learn quickly and adapt outside cultural influences for use within their own country. Therefore it is reasonable to suggest that the reason the Japanese as a people were able to adapt so quickly to western thought and influence is because they had previous experience. The previous experience being the interactions with Chinese court in the past. The relationship was not as long lasting between Japan and the west and Japan however because the West did not always play by the same rules… The foreign relations conducted between the Chinese and the Japanese was based on mutual reciprocation and the idea that China was superior to and ruled over Japan was mainly symbolic and for show much as the position of Emperor was in later day Japan. The west did not know how to observe the niceties or how to interact with in the confines of the façade' of Japanese diplomacy. The West considered themselves superior, not only as a nation but as a culture… as a race and the Japanese would always be inferior. No matter that they sent scholars and specialists to study at western universities or adopted western music or art, they would never be equals. The defining difference between the Chinese-Japanese inter- relations and the Western-Japanese inter-relations of the past is that fundamentally the Chinese considered the Japanese as "their people", Chinese legends according to the book account the Japanese people to be the descendants of Xu Fu and three thousand each of Chinese boys and maidens. "Under the wide heavens, all is the King's land. Within the sea boundaries of the land, all are the King's servants." ( pg. 33), as the ruler over all the land the Chinese considered the Japanese people to be a part of the Chinese empire, Foreign visitors to China from Japan sometimes married Chinese women, had Chinese children, and may or may not have lived their lives out in China. They were all essentially Asian… It is therefore, a fault on the part of the West who came to Japan, that can take credit for the substantially shorter time span of friendly inter relations between the West and Japan. Racism and a superiority complex brought the friendly relations between the East and the West to a grinding halt.
I feel there are many lessons to be learned here, especially in the area of foreign relations, but first and foremost is the lesson of respect. Respect for another's culture, their ideas, and finally respect for the person.
The Modernization of Japan21:29 May 06 2006
Times Read: 638
The theory of Modernization and Japan
Historical scholars have yet to solve the lingering questions over the modernization of Japan; did Japan come around to the throughly modern nation she is today by following the West's example as supporters of the modernization theory hypothesize? Or was it through blazing their own path in an experience unique to the Japanese people that the modern state we know today as Japan emerged? In class we discussed a new theory put forth by the Chilean President Allende which stated, " That the world develops as an interdependant system and that once a society has taken a path no other society can take the same path. That instead they must find their own way towards modernization." To describe these two theories Professor Yi used the example of a race track... the modernization theory states that if a runner is behind the leader he/she should just "run faster and catch up" while the theory proposed by President Allende also known as the Dependancy theory states that one should " run across" the field towards the finish line. In essence according to President Allende any country that attempts to "catch up" to the west will forever be behind. The Japanese have historically adopted cultural ideas and technology and then adapted them to suit the needs of the Japanese people; I see modernization no differently. When the west first arrived in Japan, the Japanese may have chased after the west in the race for modernization, but soon tired of seeing nothing but the backs of those they hoped to be on equal footing with. Therefore once again the Japanese adapted and forged ahead to create a new modern culture distinctively Japanese.
Matthew Perry arrived in a Japan ripe for change... the political structure of the country was in decay and the people were looking for a new and improved system. Historicaly Japan had looked to China for the latest in politics, technology and art; now with the arrival of the West to their shores their eyes looked in a new direction. In a span of 30 years the Japanese adopted and adapted at a frenzied pace; western fashion, art, transportation were all soaked up by the cultural sponge that was Japan. Interactions with China throughout the previous millenia had provided the Japanese with the necessary skills to learn and absorb their knowlege into a growing culture. It was during these years that the Japanese looked towards the americans with awe and sprinted in an attempt to catch up to the West, as all know however a sprint can not be kept up indefinately and when the West remained forever out of reach in the race towards modernization the Japanese became fed up. It was at this time they chose to take a page out of Allende's Dependancy theory... it was obvious they would not catch up by running after the West, it was imperitive that they find their own way. In order to do this they took the knowlege they had learned from their western teachers. As is true with most students the Japanese learned not only from listening to the lessons taught them from their Western teachers but also from watching the actions of those same teachers. Even the Japanese recognized this relationship as evidenced by a cartoon published in 1894 (attached) The first showing a young Japanese child at the foot of a western parent, the second a repectful Japan standing in front of a disrespectful West who is ignoring him, and finally a strog Japan in his prime standing over and old, crippled and frightened west cowering in front of Japan. Unfortunately for the West the lessons the Japanese learned from watching the West were lessons the Japanese were able to take and shove in the West's face. Japan had become a full fledged teenager in the quest for modernization and like most teenagers Japan rebelled!
The Japanese chose to rebel by turning away from the western way of thinking and returning to a more conservative approach. During he height of the western influence in Japan the Japanese automatically assumed that anything from the west was superior but later revised this belief when some of the western ideas came to an unsuccessful fruitation. A prime example of this was the idea of marrying for love rather than arranging marraiges. In the 1870's the first Japanese couple married for love but later divorced, the best man Fukuzawa a strong supporter of this form of marraige later arranged his own daughter's marraige. A reflection of the changing beliefs in Japan. The idea of individuality did not work so well for Japan as a nation either, although by the time the government made this decision the "Urban youth" had been corrupted by the influence of the West. Therefore the government implemented the Rural reconstruction plan, which lasted from the 1890's-1930's. It was during this movement that the focus was shifted away from Urban youth and on to those in the rural area. Aproximately 76,000 small natural villages were merged together to create aproximately 15,000 villages with a signifigately larger population. Among these villages the Shinto religion was exploited as students were taught to worship the Emperor. The youth in these rural villages were also taught that the people were all part of one large family and that fighting and dieing in the name of the Emperor was the same as fighting and dieing for your family. This set the foundatin for the kamikaze pilots willing to die for their nation in Worl War Two during the height of Japanese nationalism.
Some of the Western ideas Japan learned a little too well for the West, for example the West's conquer and colonize policies in Asia. When Japan decided to turn away from the West they also turned in to the West by setting out to dominate their neighbors, " Using methods that were sometimes military and territorial, sometimes economic, a new generation of leaders began to build for their country a position in East Asia that would, they hoped, provide lasting defense against the West. In the broadest sense the process had public support. On the one hand it led to an empire, both formal and informal. On the other hand it brought fifty years of intermittent war: Against China (1894-5) and Russia (1904-5).... as well as much of the Pacific ( 1941-1945) Between 1894 and 1945 there was not a single decade when Japanese troops were not in action oversees.
Through an amazing ability to adapt the Japanese were able to aquire western technology cultural ideas and filter them in order to aquire a Modern state that is distinctively Japan. Although Japan may have started out as the best example ever of the modernization theory in practice it just doesn't pan out over the years. Japan as well as all of Asia is very family driven and more concerned with the welfare of the whole, whether it be family or nation, than they are with the idividual needs of each person. A distinctly unwestern way of thinking. Also according to a new classifcation of modern created by to Political scientists in Berkley, California Japan ranks as more modern than the USA. The criteria for classification being self expression verses survival and secular versus religion. If Japan had continued along the path of the modernization theory they would still trail the west, instead they chose to take what the west had to offer and improve upon it to make a distinctly Japanese modern state.
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