Asian Culture : Screening on Assian - Essay Example

Asian Culture: Screening on Asian The idea of stone letters is a recurrent metonym in the film; Daigo goes to the river and gets a stone that he gives to his wife Mika, he then tells her a story that he was told by his father about stone letters. The stone letters were used before the invention of letters as a way of communicating feelings to each other. Daigo used to exchange stone letters with his father when he was a child and he had promised to send him one every year. After the death of Daigo’s father, Daigo finds the stone letter that he had given to his father when he was a child in his hand; this helps him recognise his father.

Another metonym in the film is the ceremony that Daigo takes up as his new profession; this was a traditional Japanese ritual called nokan in which professional morticians prepared bodies before they were put in coffins. The main contrast offered in Departures film is in the occupation that Daigo starts after his music career comes to an end. The occupation is seen to be very important in the society but it is not a respectable one. Mika walks out on Daigo when she discovers the job that he is doing terming it disgusting and even Yamashita, Diago’s old classmate tells him to quite the profession.

The office assistant encourages Daigo to carry on with the profession terming it very important. We also find Tsuyako, an old woman who runs a bath house and her oldest customer who later appears as a cremation attendant. These characters bring about a sense of nationality in the film as they dearly embrace and understand their culture. On the other hand Yamashita, Mika and Daigo seem to be ‘outsiders in their community as they don’t even know the essence of their culture. Asian films have very special qualities that make them distinct from other films; the movies are often real stories that have been spiced up with twists of cultural practices.

They are more often than not set in a contemporary Asian setting that depicts a society with flourishing art and culture. Even in most action films there is a blend of spiritual and historical concerns. The incorporation of Asian culture in movies not only brings humour but also make the film more creative and interesting. The martial art concept for instance which was an art among the monks in China and other parts of Asia features a lot in most action Asian films. Incorporation of the rich Asian culture in Asian films not only represent well orchestrated artistic statements but also create the much needed touch that would be found in an absorbing and moving story.