https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_U1Gupe6iY
Shogun, of course. There are two basic ways to watch it:
1)Red Pill story: Blackthorne is a young man in the need of education, Toranaga is a tutor.
2)Japanese worldview versus European worldview. There is the Japanese theme of Fate/submission to social order (see, for example, such masterpieces as Harakiri (1962), Gonza the Spearman) against Western theme “We shall overcome” (Blackthorne, who tries to escape, to save Mariko, to fight the Portuguese/Jesuits etc). This clash finds its perverse end when Toranaga, unknown to Blackthorne, at the end had his rebuilt ship burnt.
On the sideline there is a nice friendship storyline between Blackthorne and Rodrigues.
It is interesting that the Japanese social order is perceived by Blackthorne in an European, i.e.reformist way, as something that can and must be changed ...since barbarians need to be civilized. A sidenote to non-Europeans especially: the need of reforming is a general trait of European civilization, not restricted to overseas countries at all, but indulged relentlessly through different "better life" campaigns against different kinds of "internal barbarians", too. Coming from Poland, I will only notice that the rhetoric of “civilizing” was used quite often by Germans towards Poles, and, actually this paternalistic attitude can still be found quite often today, especially in the context of EU-Poland relationship.
Well, it would be interesting to see a Japanese view of European order, especially of the current one.
Shogun, of course. There are two basic ways to watch it:
1)Red Pill story: Blackthorne is a young man in the need of education, Toranaga is a tutor.
2)Japanese worldview versus European worldview. There is the Japanese theme of Fate/submission to social order (see, for example, such masterpieces as Harakiri (1962), Gonza the Spearman) against Western theme “We shall overcome” (Blackthorne, who tries to escape, to save Mariko, to fight the Portuguese/Jesuits etc). This clash finds its perverse end when Toranaga, unknown to Blackthorne, at the end had his rebuilt ship burnt.
On the sideline there is a nice friendship storyline between Blackthorne and Rodrigues.
It is interesting that the Japanese social order is perceived by Blackthorne in an European, i.e.reformist way, as something that can and must be changed ...since barbarians need to be civilized. A sidenote to non-Europeans especially: the need of reforming is a general trait of European civilization, not restricted to overseas countries at all, but indulged relentlessly through different "better life" campaigns against different kinds of "internal barbarians", too. Coming from Poland, I will only notice that the rhetoric of “civilizing” was used quite often by Germans towards Poles, and, actually this paternalistic attitude can still be found quite often today, especially in the context of EU-Poland relationship.
Well, it would be interesting to see a Japanese view of European order, especially of the current one.