Itami's Minbo and Kitano's Sonatine: A Contemporary Perspective on Classical Auteur Theory and Genre Studies

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Itami’s Minbo and Kitano’s Sonatine: A Contemporary

Perspective on Classical Auteur Theory and Genre Studies

Okan Ince 10791639

MA Film Studies: Professional Specialisation Blandine Joret (Supervisor)

Marie – Aude Baronian (Second reader) 28 June 2019

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Abstract

It is often assumed that classical auteur theory and genre studies cannot be combined. Even though this is not true, the introduction of an international perspective opens up the restrictions on these theories, presenting the case that they do not differ from each other. This thesis looks at Juzo Itami’s Minbo (1992) and Takeshi Kitano’s Sonatine (1993) to show how the classical theories can combine, while addressing their strengths and limitations when analysing global auterism and hybrid genres, as these prove to be more flexible in comparison. Both auteurs represent similarities and differences in terms of style and narration, expressing themselves in the framework of the yakuza genre. Rick Altman’s semantic/syntactic approach to genres and Donald E. Staples’ critical look at auteur theory are instances of the classical theories

overlapping one another. However, it is the work on hybridity from post-colonial writers, including Janet Staiger’s take on hybrid genres, together with Seung-hoon Jeong and Jeremi Szaniawski’s book on global auterism that show how contradictions between the two

simultaneously work as arguments to combine them. Understanding this will show how Itami and Kitano are global auteurs because they engage with global politics as well as the process of hybridity in the yakuza genre, which already is inherently international. The convergence between the classical theories gives us insight into relationships between groups in a national context, however it is the utilization of the contemporary perspectives that opens up these theories to better understand the power dynamics that an auteur and genre are subject to, enabling a cultural critique, combined with a larger cultural historical context.

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1. Introduction

In film studies, as in any other disciplines, there are theories that are not compatible. Even though each one of them can give insight into different aspects of cinema, a critic could incorporate other approaches to strengthen its cultural critique, as it tries to see the subject of analysis as wholly as possible (Wood 46). In this thesis, I will focus on auteur theory and genre studies, as these are apparent contrasts, to understand exactly how they complement each other. Auteur theorists look at the relationship between a creator and film, with the filmmaker

representing parts of its personal life in the text. Genre critics focus on the reasoning behind film categorization, focusing on the relationships texts have with one another and what these can teach us about, for example, cultural and industrial contexts. The one individualizes the creator by distinguishing it from others, while the other tries to generalize texts to form categories. As a result, theorists might come to the seeming conclusion that these two are not compatible. Besides the fact that both theories utilize the same methodology to a certain degree, it is the introduction of global auteurism and hybrid genres that enlarge the resemblance

between the two, going as far as undoing any difference they have. I will look at these two theories, together with their contemporary parts, and present cases where they can and should be combined, in an attempt to prove that a convergence will be beneficial to film studies.

Conducting this analysis has two reasons, with the first being how an auteur and genre influence one another. Combining the two studies can help us understand the ways in which a creator interacts with a genre. An auteur has a specific signature that distinguishes itself from other creators (Sarris 562), while a genre is a group of films with similar characteristics that are formed through different textual properties, such as setting (Chandler 13). For example, auteur Quentin Tarentino sets himself apart from other filmmakers and spaghetti westerns through his style and narrative in Django Unchained (2012). Analysing the circulation of information between an auteur and genre, will combine the contexts around the two, while enabling a cultural critique.

However, the theoretical discourse that is created when combing the two, will only grow by taking an approach that incorporates shifting power dynamics in world cinema, which influence the subjects. The global auteur and hybrid genre, which are the second reason for this research, open up the classical theories, suggesting that they are subject to more information, including from each other. A creator encounters different sociohistorical ideologies, cultural voices and technological conditions, which it represents in films (Jeong and Szaniawski 5). Similar factors change genre rules, affecting the purity of a category in order to create a hybrid group (Staiger 6). Auteurs as well as genres are not bound anymore to their own national cinema, as they not just interact with one another, but also are a part of a globalised network.

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4 Studying the framework of a hybrid genre receives more depth, if it is already inherently

international, while still focusing on the lives of minorities within national borders. A global auteur questions their representation, how the group plays a part in its life and their positions in a national as well as international context. Global auteurs Juzo Itami and Takeshi Kitano’s perspectives on the hybrid yakuza genre, which focuses on the lives of crime syndicates in Japan, are exemplary of this interaction.

As a result of the controversial positions yakuza have in Japan, it is intriguing to understand the relationship between a filmmaker and this group. For decades, Japan’s vast, home grown mafia network has exercised powerful control over the inner workings of domestic politics. With antecedents as far back as the early Tokugawa period in the seventeenth century, today’s yakuza came of age after the Second World War, calling themselves ninkyo dantai, or chivalrous organizations (Adelstein 63). They identify themselves as groups that fight for the greater good, while being labelled as international criminal organizations. Despite this, twenty-two groups are legitimized and take important cultural, economic and political positions in Japan (Fisher 7). This often leads to contradicting media representations of the group. Yakuza are, for example, still known for criminal activities like blackmail, extortion, money laundry and human trafficking. On the contrary, they present themselves with a strong moral code, as they support the police with their work, punish each other if one acts not accordingly and help people in moments of crisis. For example, yakuza were one of the first to provide aid for the 1995 Kobe earthquake victims, while governmental organizations proved to be slower and less organized in comparison (Japan Today 2012). They are set up like professional business companies with offices located across the country. From this perspective, they are involved in a variety of sectors in Japan, spanning from real estate to the entertainment industry (Varese 116). A duality emerges, as the yakuza are labelled as thugs, living as outlaws, but also as hard-working communities. The grey area of living inside and outside society is utilized by the Japanese state, resulting in the groups being an integral part of their country (Maruko Siniawer 624). As a result, citizens, including Itami and Kitano, often have connections with yakuza, positively as well as negatively.

Itami’s stories focus on Japanese taboos, while incorporating satire and giving light-hearted twists to dark cultural stories, as this represents his constantly positive minded

character, especially when making films (Kazue 333). His Minbo (1992) tells the story of Hotel Europa and its employees being harassed by yakuza. Portraying the groups as cold-hearted individuals, Itami details the horrific acts the crime syndicates commit. The other auteur

considered here, Kitano, also focuses on dark subjects, but takes a more realistic approach, as he tries to tell stories from contemporary Japan. His film Sonatine (1993), which I will be

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5 analysing for this thesis as it is exemplary for his artistic style, represents yakuza as people that are experiencing relatable problems, such as human dilemmas and identity crises. Both auteurs express their personal lives through distinctive styles, forming individual interpretations in the framework of the yakuza genre, while reflecting on the positions of the groups in Japan. Beyond film analysis, this thesis also has a theoretical objective. For this reason, I will start firmly embedding the work of auteur and genre writers in the theoretical discourse. Auteur theorist Linda Haverty Rugg asks the question to what extent a director presents itself on the screen, as she describes an auteurs self-projection in different art forms, ranging from film to music (vii). Itami and Kitano project their personal lives in their films, literally as well as figuratively, just like Buster Keaton, who she uses as her case study. Haverty Rugg, just like Donald E. Staples, writes about French filmmaker and founder of auteur theory François Truffaut. However, just like other critics of this theory, Staples questions the elitist approach, as it excludes films made by non-auteurs (4). Immediate exclusion of creators that do not fit within the theoretical framework, leads to an overall negative connotation, but also generalization. Andrew Sarris adds to this indifference, by forming a list of qualifications to become an auteur. According to him, these rules need to be constantly re-evaluated, as a creator comes in contact new tools in the rapidly evolving digital age of media (563). Consequently, classical auteur theory, while trying to expand its list of filmmakers from the past and present, tries to keep firm restrictions. However, the global auteur is a perspective that includes the impact of globalism with its different ideological and industrial influences, while still respecting the authenticity of a filmmaker. Even though the mentioned writers try to differentiate the theory from others, as they underline the importance of one creator, global auterism paves a way to combine it with, in this case, genre studies.

When looking at genres, a good starting point will be An Introduction to Genre Theory by Daniel Chandler, as he explains how a genre exactly works, which provides solid ground when analysing different categories (13). The organization of groups is the result of generalizing film structures. Rick Altman’s semantic/syntactic approach, which utilizes generalization as well as individualization from the structural relationships in texts, includes more aspects in the creation of new categories. Semantic definitions outline a large genre of semantically similar texts, while syntactic definitions stress a narrow range of texts that privilege specific syntactic relationships: “we need to recognize that not all genre films relate to their genre in the same way or extent (12).” As a result of combining these approaches, Altman believes that he can add something new to genre studies. While he might not purposely do this, but by introducing the semantic/syntactic approach, an overlap between auteur theory and genre studies becomes visible, as a creator experiments with these syntactic structural relationships to create meaning

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6 in its story. On the contrary, he denies the extent of influence audience have on the creation of new genres. As public opinion plays a part in the emergence of categories, which can tell us more about the cultural context, it is important for this thesis to include writers that question Altman’s double approach. Steve Neale and Mark Jancovich explain the importance of an audience. Neale extensively analyses consumer expectations, trying to understand the role they have in genre creation. He uses the term verisimilitude, meaning probable or likely, to indicate that people have a certain belief on what they expect from a genre (158). This belief can give us an insight into the cultural context around the film as this is important for, to give an example, the entertainment industry, as they produce productions based on these assumptions. Jancovich does not use this term, but continues on how the audience play a role in policing the boundaries of film genres by not just a collective belief, but also how taste and authenticity are valued as pieces of data when organizing genres (25). In addition to this, he mentions individual

consumers who wish to distinguish themselves from mainstream genre films. As a result, people claim a specific category, arguing that this is how the genre should be represented (26). Besides the fact that Jancovich underlines the importance of consumers in genre creation, he does not mention the role of an auteur, even though the claiming of a genre brings the two theories closer to one another. This is important, because if a filmmaker makes a genre its own, it could create an internal hybrid, which is a mix of different cultures to criticize a dominant class or

mainstream media representation (Staiger 17). This new perspective of opening the doors of a genre to be influenced by a variety of cultural information, including that of a filmmaker, creates the possibility to converge with other theories, just like global auterism.

Taking into account that both studies utilize the same methodology when talking about individualization and generalization, there is already common ground to some extent to combine the two. However, to further add to this theoretical framework, theories regarding hybrid genres and global auterism are necessary, as these perspectives acknowledge the resemblance. Janet Staiger’s work on hybrid genres in Hollywood is a good starting point. She questions the purity of genres, as she believes that the roots can be traced elsewhere (6). Even though Staiger denies that Hollywood genres are hybrids, because she defines these as mixing of two or more cultures (17), the claim can be made when analysing the resemblance of the American gangster film and its Japanese yakuza counterpart. As the colonial power of the United States grew in post-war Japan, yakuza films kept borrowing the style and narrative from the Western gangster films (Schilling 32). By analysing the hybridity in the yakuza genre, which is the process of the colonial governing authority translating its identity onto the colonised (Meredith 2), but also the native’s resistance against this dominance (Bhabha 34), one can get an insight on how Itami and Kitano interpret the cultural hegemony that they are experiencing and its shifting power

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7 dynamics. To further analyse this process of hybridity, I will be referencing the work of

different writers in The Post-Colonial Studies Reader edited by Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. Hybridity not only places this thesis in a post-colonial framework, but also brings it closer to the global auteur. Seung-hoon Jeong and Jeremi Szaniawski use this concept, which also undermines the dominance of the United States, in their book The Global Auteur: The Politics of Authorship in 21st_{Century Cinema. An auteur of this age is not defined anymore} by its own national heritage, but he or she comes in contact with different sociohistorical ideologies, cultures and industries, which it expresses in films (6). Besides that, it is the work of Thomas Elsaesser in Jeong and Szaniawski’s book that focuses on individualization and

generalization of auteurs, arguing that a creator in this era is part of a collective, while still having a distinctive style (33). These perspectives not only close the gap between the classical theories, but also introduce a certain flexibility that is necessary.

Global auteurs Itami and Kitano question the yakuza genre in their respective films Minbo and Sonatine. This hybrid genre focuses on the representation of the minorities in Japan, as it discusses their lives and daily struggles. Itami takes his time to extensively explain the strict contradictions between hard-working people and antagonising yakuza by painting them as villains that mistreat civilians and are a threat to the national values and international image. In comparison, Kitano is blurring the lines between groups. As he criticizes the audience

expectations regarding the yakuza, he portrays them as tourists enjoying a vacation in Okinawa, resulting in a less masculine portrayal of the former anti-heroes. Adding to this apparent

misrepresentation, Kitano edits his film in such a way that it purposely omits the action, misguiding his audience. Meanwhile by engaging with the hybridity of the yakuza genre with their global cultural knowledge, as they make cross-cultural references and specific stylistic choices in the narrative, Itami and Kitano’s respective interpretations give a better

understanding of yakuza in and outside a Japanese cultural context. By utilizing the contemporary theories, I will address how these tackle the strengths and weaknesses of the classical theories, while hoping to show that it is theoretically fruitful to combine the two. Before analysing Itami’s Minbo and Kitano’s Sonatine, I will put auteur theory and genre studies against one another, to understand where the contradictions are and how these simultaneously work as arguments to combine the two theories. Next, I will look at Itami and Kitano’s engagement with the yakuza genre, as they individually distinguish themselves within the genre rules, representing the crime syndicates differently. To understand the international perspective of Itami and Kitano’s interaction with the genre, I will engage with the global auteur and hybridity theories. As one will notice, Itami and Kitano do not just underline the issue of yakuza in national politics, but also question them in an international perspective. Following

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8 this, I will analyse how they tackle the process of hybridity, criticizing the cultural hegemony in which the United States and Japan are a part of. To give an example of the shifting power dynamics in this process, which is constantly happening in Japan, I will use the conflict between different crime syndicates at the end of the 1980s. Before concluding this thesis, I will, together with the flexible contemporary theories, take a meta-perspective regarding the yakuza in Japan, trying to understand their part in the cultural identity.

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2. Remarks regarding the convergence of auteur theory and

genre studies

Auteur theory as well as genre studies fulfil their parts in film studies and can provide different perspectives on a single film. Regarding the two discussed theories, Robin Wood, a former auteur theorist himself, writes about the difficulty of combining the two: “each theory has, giving its underlying position, its own validity – the validity being dependent upon, and

restricted by, the position (46).” Despite this, Wood also argues that critics should not be limited by exclusivity (46). Arguments can be arranged that strengthen the contradictions between the two theories, seemingly proving the inability to combine both to perform a research. However, the same arguments can be used to propose a convergence. These motives can be found in the classical auteur theory and genre studies, but also in their contemporary perspectives. It will become clear that the same methodology, individualization and generalization, is used by both theories, while simultaneously working as arguments to oppose one another.

Before going deeper in the utilization of the same themes, other contrasts should be noted. The apparent difference between the two theories can be noticed when they are placed against each other, resulting in a superficial conclusion that they are distinct. Auteur theory looks at the creator and how it expresses personal emotion in film. In 1957, François Truffaut, then a young film critic, soon to be a young filmmaker, wrote a kind of manifesto launching his politique des auteurs. A new era of filmmaking and criticism emerged, as he believes films will function as autobiographical novels, confessions or even diaries (Haverty Rugg vi). An

important point in auteur theory is the question one asks relating to the creator of the text: “what can we know, see, and understand of a filmmaker through his or her films (Haverty Rugg vii)?” Eventually film becomes a personal letter from an auteur to its audience, as it projects itself on the screen. The so-called “film of tomorrow” is a film that brings us closer to the emotions a creator is experiencing (Haverty Rugg vii).

Genre studies tend to focus on the intertext between films, resulting in the emergence of a category. As films consist of repetitions, a certain collective believe emerges on what to expect from a specific text. This is defined with the term verisimilitude: “it entails the notions of propriety, of what is appropriate and therefore probable (or probable and therefore appropriate) (Neale 158).” For example, a space ship is acceptable in a sci-fi film, but rejected in a

melodrama. In addition to this, the structures in texts, as Chandler argues, have distinctive textual properties that include narrative, characterization, basic themes, setting and iconography (13). For example, the setting of a western is mostly the American western landscape. By analysing and comprehending the intertext between a variety of films, a specific genre can be

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10 created. When comparing the two theories and arguing for the assumption that they oppose each other, it can be seen that the auteur theory is looking for the personal expression put into the text by the filmmaker, while genre critics try to undermine this individuality by looking at the generalized components between texts.

2.1 Sharing the same methodology: individualization and generalization

Arguing that auteur theory focuses on the creator and genre studies put more emphasis on the intertext between films, makes it visible that one deals with individualization, while the other engages with generalization. However, this assumption is not completely true, as author theory and genre studies utilize both themes to some extent. To start off, it is necessary to understand how the two utilize their own apparently claimed theme.

Auteur theory advocates for a creator to be distinguishable from one another through a personality it represents in its films. As a result, a director exhibits certain recurrent

characteristics that serve as a personal signature (Sarris 562). Placed on the other side of this individuality, genre studies try to connect different films that are similar to each other. Altman uses the term semantic, meaning the generalizations that the texts share with one another and, as a result, form a specific category (7). Additionally, these can be combined again, creating inbreeds, which mix genres from the same culture, or hybrids, which focus on the merging of two or more cultures (Staiger 17). As this thesis continues, it will be clear that the yakuza genre is an example of the second. To conclude, one tries the underline the importance of the

individual, while the other marks the significance of a generalized category.

Even though this is considered to be one of the main reasons that both theories are not compatible, they still utilize themes they claim to oppose. When auteur theorists try to

particularize creators from one another, they concurrently generalize all the characteristics of the auteur’s signature (Sarris 563). They have one specific style and often stay true to this form. Besides this, they praise something when it is made by a well-established auteur. Even though it might be bad, they believe that an auteur only makes good films, while they undermine the work of a non-auteur for not being made by an individual that is on the list they keep updating: “thus for the auteur theorists analysis of the film begins with the principle

that if the film is by an auteur, it is good, and the framework this imposes on the work is therefore an aesthetic portrait of the director which has been drawn from his previous works (Staples 4).”

As Staples continues, this leads to a negative approach to good films by non-auteurs, while still praising the films from auteurs that do not merit the praise, resulting in wrong presumptions (4). Itami and Kitano are established creators and their work is applauded, but Kitano can be

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11 removed of the list according to the classical auteur theory, because of his changing style in comparison to his early work (Sarris 563), as his films become more action oriented.

Consequently, one will come to the conclusion that the classical theory is not flexible enough, resulting in the introduction of the global auteur.

Logically, this generalized statement regarding auteurs and non-auteurs results to certain assumptions, or rather expectations from the perspective of the audience: “auteur as a quality brand secures a stable horizon of expectation, with the director’s image functioning like a genre (Elsaesser 34).” This means that generalizing the work of an auteur eventually leads to it being labelled as a category, resulting in the increasing similarities between it and a regular genre. Even though auteur theorists try to secure the signature of a creator in order to realise some sort of certainty when its films are being watched, it, just like a genre, is bound to change over time, because of new experiences and changing visions.

On the other side, genre studies emphasize in categorizing films, even though this leads to acknowledging the individual properties in the texts. Contradiction emerges, as these films are generalized in distinguishable groups, which is the result of critics as well as consumers (Neale 158). Altman even emphasizes the fact that a corpus holds specific signs that create an original meaning compared to other structures, which results in the fact that not every film relates to a genre in the same way (12). However, this constant need for generalization, even though the originality of a structure is accepted, leads to the assumption that the core of a film is undermined. This continues, as genre critics keep generalizing films based on their intertext, struggling to fit as much texts as possible into one category. As a result, just like the classical auteur theory, genre studies also loses its flexibility. The hybrid genre adds the possibility to stretch the rules of categorizing films, as genres can be combined with one another, creating new meaning to films individually, while still being generalized. The yakuza genre is an example of this.

Methodologically speaking, both propose individualization and generalization as contrasts, but seem to be utilizing both. As a result, there is reason to believe that they are similar and this assumption is consolidated via the global auteur and hybrid genre, as both increase the common ground between the two. Even though both theories can indeed teach us about the different aspects of cinema, combining the two can strengthen an analysis.

2.2 Establishing common ground between an auteur and genre

Before looking at the resemblance the global auteur and hybrid genre present, links between the classical theories can be made when analysing the individual aspects. As a result, I do believe that new insights can be gained with this convergence, as they can complement one another. Combining the personal story of a filmmaker with a genre created through audience

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12 expectations, can teach us something about the society at that moment, as it will enlarge our cultural knowledge, while trying to analyse the film as wholly as possible (Neale 159; Wood 46).

As mentioned before, Altman’s semantic/syntactic approach introduces a link that can be made with the auteur theory. Even though this approach discusses the generalizations between genres, it is the syntactic aspect that implies original meanings produced by different films. Jancovich, who discusses Altman’s combined approach, mentions that with the semantic perspective one categorizes based on locations, characters, attitudes and shots, while the syntactic approach analyses the structural relationships that carry thematic and social meanings (24). Michael E. Grost, an online film auteur theorist, looks at how creativity can relate to a genre. According to him, a genre has a certain suggestion, a space with possible ideas that an auteur can build on. By creating relationships or experimenting with existing structures, an auteur can establish a meaning in order to create something unique (MikeGrost 2019). As a result, it not only tells us something about the auteur, but also how structures in a genre can work.

For example, the auteur Tarentino, with his spaghetti western Django Unchained (2012), uses a distinctive style that he stays true to, despite utilizing the rules of the genre. The viewer follows Django Freeman through the American western in order to find his wife, who is a slave now. On the road you have the typical horse rides, shootouts, long takes of beautiful landscapes and cowboys. Yet, Tarentino implements his creativity and personal style within this genre by using his trademark close-ups, dialogue, gore, the extensive use of cursing and his trademark soundtrack. He even pays homage to classic films by casting the original actor of Django, Franco Nero, and collaborating with Ennio Morricone, a veteran in composing soundtracks for spaghetti westerns.

Another reason has to do with the growing of contextual meaning, as both theories try to establish this. Genre studies try to portray a cultural historical context based on audience expectations, as this can inform us about the public discourse (Neale 159). An auteur is not just a creator, but also a consumer that actively engages with political issues that could be

concerning. By being a voice within the consensus, even though it might be different, an auteur can add another perspective to the already existing contextual meaning, while also establishing a cultural critique. As a matter of fact, an auteur can form opinions on different subject matters, which can be represented across its work (Staples 4). This will return in the upcoming chapters, as Itami’s Minbo and Kitano’s Sonatine prove to be examples of this. Combining contrasting opinions and relationships between texts, will only lead to a more detailed context around these films, as auteurs and genres have extensive histories that can complement each other.

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13 The common ground between the two theories is growing over the years and this is the result of incorporating global characteristics in auteur theory as well as genre studies. To return to Tarentino, he references world cinema by collaborating with Ennio Morricone and Franco Nero, which are important Italian cultural figures. By doing so, Tarentino is not just a creator, but also a global auteur that utilizes characteristics from international cinema (Jeong and Szaniawski 6). The same perspective can be taken with genres. Spaghetti western is an emergence from the Italian interpretation of the American western, as one can see the neorealist elements in the genre, making it a hybrid genre (Staiger 17). Itami and Kitano’s engagement with the hybridity in the yakuza genre, makes them global auteurs, while simultaneously consolidating that same hybridity by mixing their own culture with the genre. Discussing this global aspect of the contemporary theories only strengthens the argument that they are similar to one another and that combining them would be intriguing.

Creating a larger cultural historical context is an important motive for combining the two theories and having an international perspective with Itami and Kitano’s films and the yakuza genre further expands this contextual range. Concluding this chapter it is important to notice what I will be analysing when I combine both studies. It is necessary to understand how an auteur, with its creativity, utilizes the rules of a genre to create something unique (MikeGrost 2019), as this exposes the interaction that is occurring between the two. In the following

chapters, I will be looking at Itami and Kitano’s engagement with the genre and how different interpretations can be made about yakuza. After this analysis, I will place the auteurs, their films and the genre in a global scope.

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3. Itami’s Minbo: yakuza in cultural binary oppositions

Itami is born in 1933 in Kyoto. His father, Mansaku Itami, was a prominent pre-World War II director and scenario writer famous for his human approach to period dramas and satirical humour (Kazue 330). Accordingly, as his source of inspiration, one can notice the origins of Itami’s stylistic preferences. One of his father’s well-known films is The Life of Matsu the Outlaw (1943). It is about a man who influences a little boy after the death of his father. Matsu teaches the boy to be a strong individual, as the boy is cowardly, weak-willed, indecisive, and slow (Kazue 330). Seeing this film on the television, a young Itami instantly came to the realization that this is a message from his father to him, a final letter, as he passed away, while Itami was still attending seventh grade. Interpreting this message to grow up strong, Itami incorporates this important statement in all of his films (Kazue 332).

When asked, he denies the fact that he resembles his father. However, “Mansaku carved his name in film history with intellectual, sophisticated satires that were masterpieces, and it is obvious his son inherited his predilection (Kazue 332).” As an auteur can be influenced by its predecessors, it still wants to be distinguished from others, as it develops a personal signature that becomes identifiable (Sarris 562). The strong relationship between teacher and student, which reflects the relationship between him and his father, could be important to Itami, as he often incorporates these structures in his films. Besides Minbo, another example of his filmography, which also works for underlining Itami’s role as a global auteur, is Tampopo (1985), where the protagonist struggles to make good ramen, but gets help from random interested travellers that see the potential of the main character. Next to the representation of these structures, Itami implements themes that are taboo in Japan, such as sexualising food in Tampopo, with intellectual comedy, combined with his constant positive delivery.

It is significant to draw a context around Minbo, not only because it is important to understand the reactions Itami received with the release of this film, but also for Kitano’s Sonatine, which is released around the same time period. During the 1980s, the yakuza attracted nationwide attention when the Yamaguchi-gumi, the country’s largest syndicate, split in two following a dispute over the leadership succession after the death of the third generation boss, Taoko Kazuo (Hill 101). The subsequent five year conflict resulted in twenty-five deaths, seventy injuries and over five hundred arrests (Hill 101). While these gangs were fighting, there were other yakuza gangs that were advocating for peace between the two groups, because it was affecting all yakuza. As a result, the pressure on the crime syndicates were getting more

deliberate and not just from the Japanese government: the United States were also enforcing their influence. New anti-criminal laws were being introduced, getting in to effect in 1991 (Hill 102). This new pressure of the United States came right at the end of the Cold War. The far left

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15 proved to be no problem anymore, so the focus, especially for the Americans, was shifted to anti-organized crime. Japan did not want to lose support from the Western country and tried to push these new laws through. However, as these groups still prove to be important economic and cultural assets, the syndicates cannot be abolished directly (Maruko Siniawer 624). Later in the thesis, this issue will prove to be an example of the constant process of hybridity Japan is subject to. Because of their controversial positions, yakuza are trying to control their self-image. Itami’s negative representation of the groups in Minbo came at a bad time for the syndicates. Consequently, the crime syndicates reacted in a harsh manner, as they attacked the auteur after Minbo’s premiere. In May that same year, three knife-wielding men attacked Itami near his residence. This resulted in multiple facial wounds and a stay at the hospital for eight days (Kazue 333). Later, with the release of his film The Last Dance (1993), right-wing nationalists, which have a strong relationship with yakuza, ran into a cinema in Tokyo and began to slash the big screen, while four hundred people were enjoying the film (Kazue 333). Itami, who tells he is the happiest when making a film, commented that the attack could not crush his spirit (Kazue 333). The actions sparked enormous outrage with the Japanese people, as more citizens were questioning yakuza in their modern society. Even though his film is fiction, yakuza reacted like it is based on reality. These were difficult times for the yakuza, as they sought control over their representation, which, as a matter of fact, they did have. Before going further into Minbo, I would like to draw yakuza’s relationship with the entertainment industry.

3.1 Yakuza’s image control through the entertainment industry

Yakuza’s interest in the entertainment industry is extensive, even going as far as controlling important assets in Japan, as they, returning to one of the reasons that they are legitimized, are known for operating like professional businesses (Gragert 161). Itami and Kitano did not experience this directly, as they are independent filmmakers, however other creators, especially the ones that worked at Toei Company, a multimedia company that is now known for popular animations like Dragon Ball (1986) and One Piece (1999), encountered yakuza influencers when they worked on projects. Controlling got out of hand, as they were even getting worried about fictional narratives, resulting in the representation of yakuza as compassionate human beings that fight against a corrupt system for the greater good (Varese 114).

The modern yakuza, post-First World War to be precise, had taken an interest in the entertainment industry in Japan at least since the 1930s when the earlier mentioned Yamaguchi-gumi started promoting singers, storytellers and sumo wrestlers through the organisation’s entertainment department (Varese 116). Syndicates often have interactions with producers, studios and actors, who have similar interests and are open to do business with them (Maruko Siniawer 624). This is not only limited to the production side of the entertainment industry, but

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16 also the creative side, as yakuza sometimes work as payed actors. This gets an interesting turn, because the words for actor and yakuza are similar in their language: “In Japanese, the only difference between yakuza and yakusha (actor) is one hiragana character (Varese 117).” This, in some sense, blends reality with fiction, where a yakuza needs to act accordingly, if it wants to live a normal live within the rules of Japan. The bordering between what is real and what is not accidently represents their true selves as they live half in the criminal underworld, while trying to surface as ordinary citizens, as they try to adjust to society (Tsunenari et al. 205). Eventually, this duality is what follows yakuza as they seek control over their self-image.

Logically, as they border between what is real and what is not, they seek to control their media representation, making film a powerful medium. Even though the yakuza film

representations, before the era of independent filmmaking, focuses on mythical anti-heroes (Schilling 31), the constant control has to do with the formation of genres. As mentioned earlier, the creation of a genre is based on factors such as public opinion, making the cultural

knowledge of consumers on the yakuza in this case an important aspect (Neale 159). A change in the representation of the groups, often has a relationship with the perspective of the audience, resulting in the impression that the fictional representation is close to reality. Even though this is the case with many genres, this notion receives more depth, as the yakuza already have

controversial positions in society. If an individual auteur has negative experiences with yakuza and expresses this in its art, it will get in that sense more meaning compared to other genres. For auteurs like Itami and Kitano, the medium film, consolidated with the genre, becomes a

powerful tool when they criticize yakuza and Japan.

This boundary between reality and fiction makes the search for control over their self-image all the more necessary, resulting in the fact they had control over portions of the entertainment industry in Japan. Having a convoluted studio system made it easier for

syndicates to have a direct control. Toei Company was also the only studio that was allowed to make yakuza films, strengthening the rumours that producers had relations with the criminal organizations (Varese 118). In many ways, this situation seemed to be presenting the best chance for a mafia to promote itself, as it allowed a degree of direct control on the public image that most criminal organizations never would attain. However, they could not control the

reception side of the films. Post-Second World War consumers could enjoy these depictions, but a new audience began to emerge in the 1960s and 1970s, who were more up to date with the deeds of the crime syndicates, resulting in the fact that the interest began to decline (Schilling 41). The constant representation of the heroic outlaws could not continue and the audience began to understand that the yakuza were trying to promote a positive self-image. The cultural knowledge of its audience began to change (Neale 159), resulting in the fact that the yakuza

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17 began to let the control over the entertainment industry loose (Varese 118). For a brief period, they indeed controlled what was going out to the public, but paradoxically, maybe it would have been better to let the work over to the specialists. Independent filmmakers, such as Martin Scorsese, Abel Ferrara and Mike Newell have done more to show the continued relevance of the Italian American mafia as a social phenomenon, than the hired hands at Toei have done for the yakuza (Varese 118).

However, the representation of the yakuza continued, even though not directly

afterwards, because for a long period of time, the yakuza films relegated to direct to television only films (Schilling 41). Outside of this studio system, despite a disinterest in the genre, independent filmmakers like Itami and Kitano use this genre to tell their personal stories, becoming one of the first to express their opinions on these groups. During the beginning of the 1990s, new productions emerged, which deal with yakuza in modern day Japan. These films open up discussions regarding the re-evaluation of the crime syndicates in the Japanese cultural identity.

3.2 Us against them: power struggle in binary oppositions

Minbo details the earlier described criminal imagery that surrounds yakuza. The story is set in the nineties in a large hotel named Hotel Europa that is going to be the location for an

international summit. However, different yakuza occupy the location, as it is a suitable place for the crime syndicates to perform extortion. The hotel employees fall into their traps, giving in to their demands by handing over the requested money. Hotel owner Kobayashi fears yakuza himself and tries to form a team that can fight them. He sends hotel accountant Suzuki and bellboy Wakasugi, who is a former sumo club-member, to control the situation. Yet, they fail rather quickly, as they are not proven to be strong enough. As a result, they receive aid from lawyer Mahiru Inoue, who is portrayed by Itami’s wife Nobuku Miyamoto, making Minbo an example of their frequent collaboration. She is specialized in minbo, which deals with the wrongdoings of yakuza. With her direction, members of the hotel staff come together to face the yakuza ruffians, who are portrayed as craven, outwardly threatening, but inwardly weak

individuals. This description of the organization is directly underlined, as the film starts with a montage of criminal delicts the yakuza commit. The audience witness them bully people, assault hotel employees, smuggle weapons and drugs. After this opening sequence, Itami introduces Hotel Europa, where the conflict unfolds.

Chandler mentions textual properties, such as characterizations, that define a genre (13). A yakuza genre represents the characters of the groups, representing their daily lives and dealings. To be more precise, accompanied with the words of Altman, the representation of yakuza can be put in the semantic category, while the syntactic perspective analyses the way in

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18 which they are represented (11), which is formed by the auteur’s interpretation. The way they are represented is often in relation to other groups in Japanese society, while in some cases they are put in an international context. One can see an example in Akira Kurosawa’s Drunken Angel (1948), where the auteur places a young yakuza against a civilian doctor. As they are put against one another, the relationship between the two becomes a main focus point. In Drunken Angel, set during post-war Japan, Kurosawa lets the two characters develop an uneasy friendship, as they pull one another to their personal conflicts. Analysing these relationships between groups, one can notice that the yakuza genre often works with binary oppositions (Pucci 103). These contradictions are not restricted to civilians and crime syndicates, as individual yakuza are also put against one another. In these cases, their moral code is on the line, with the protagonists using it for good, while antagonists corrupt it.

When looking at Minbo’s narrative, but also that from Sonatine, the central era of comparison will be how both auteurs play with these contrasts, as this is how they individually set themselves apart in the yakuza genre and incorporate their personal experiences. Itami mainly focuses on the contradictions between the two groups. This happens through exposition as well as stylistic choices, such as shots, cutting and framing. With his humoristic, joyful, yet very insightful approach, he tries to spread the message of “do not fear them” and “fight against them, together (Kazue 332).” As Itami tries to paint a clear negative aura around the yakuza characters, he is deliberate with the contrasts between them and normal civilians.

By utilizing the syntactic structural relationships in a genre (Altman 11), Itami creates the assumption that the yakuza are always ought to disrupt the lives of normal hard-working civilians. A method to portray these situations is the shot reverse shot. By using quick shots, followed with reactions from other characters, this sense of disruption is stronger compared to longer and slower takes, making the perception of an ongoing power struggle more explicit. As Sarris describes in his notes, an auteur can even be identified by the rhythm of a sequence (563), which is the case with the ones that Itami creates. The clashing shots repeat with a similar formula, where the main characters are put in narrow, claustrophobic framing, presented as fragile individuals, who constantly get cut off by the antagonists. The fact that these yakuza are often presented in groups, which is an important characteristic of the genre, only strengthens the sense of an apparent unfair power struggle, as the protagonists give up their resistance. For example, Suzuki and Wakasugi are confronted by the yakuza. As they are being pushed back, they eventually give up and give in to their demands (Fig. 1; Fig. 2). Itami often uses these contradicting shots, not just to present the struggle, but also as a tool for the development of his narrative. These forces gradually change as the story continues. Eventually, when the

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19 Fig. 1. Still from Itami, Minbo.

Fig. 2. Still from Itami, Minbo.

One of the textual properties mentioned by Chandler is iconography (13), which is used in the yakuza genre by representing the crime syndicates in large groups to create a sense of

intimidation. Even though the first example I used from Minbo is a good situation of a large yakuza group pressuring individual characters, other stylistic choices, for example in the mise-en-scene, can also work to present a power struggle. Character placement is an effective tool to do this. Ensemble staging, a term that can be traced back to theatre, is used to move characters to different spots on screen, to imply the importance of that specific character (Pramaggiore and Wallis 104). Such framing practices work well with yakuza films. In the case of Minbo,

individuals are cornered by yakuza. For example, some yakuza storm into Hotel Europa’s health department to confront the director about a cockroach in their food, which they placed to

blackmail the hotel employees. As they surround the director, one can notice how small and fragile he becomes, while yakuza confront him with false accusations (Fig. 3).

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20 Fig. 3. Still from Itami, Minbo.

These framing preferences also work well with other themes in the narrative. Earlier I

mentioned yakuza being each other’s obstacles regarding personal interpretations of their moral code. The syntactic structural relationships of the yakuza film (Altman 11), which work as a tool to represent binary oppositions (Pucci 103), can also be utilized when placing groups against one another, while the Japanese cultural values are at stake. As a result, Itami makes cultural references to reinforce his critique on the yakuza. For example, small details, such as exchanging business cards, which must be traded respectfully in the Japanese culture (Real Estate-Tokyo 2018), show conflicting cultural differences between the two groups. In Minbo, Inoue wants to exchange her card with the yakuza leader, but immediately gets rejected in a harsh manner (Fig. 3; Fig. 4). Itami uses elements like these to portray yakuza as groups that do not fit in the respectful framework the Japanese are known for.

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As the power struggle shifts in favour of the main characters, one can notice the changing shot composition. For example, while staying in the respectful Japanese framework, Suzuki politely asks the yakuza to be more explicit with their requests, trying to lure them into his trap. The framing changes, as Suzuki looks down to the yakuza, while they are being as loud as possible, thinking they can retake their dominant positions in the power struggle, even though they are losing the battle since the start of the film (Fig. 5; Fig. 6). Eventually, they lose and get arrested.

Fig. 6. Still from Itami, Minbo.

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With these examples, it is now evident that power dynamics between groups is an important aspect in yakuza films, as Itami experiments with Altman’s syntactic structural relationships to present a desire for control (11). However, as Jancovich argues, these relationship between people change over time, because of new perspectives (24). In contradiction to independent films like Minbo and Sonatine, power dynamics in mainstream genre films are often in favour of yakuza, representing them as anti-heroes that help civilians through hardships (Schilling 31). Itami, living in a time where gang violence is reaching a boiling point, proposes a rethinking of their positions in Japan. He paints a different relationship in which the hard-working civilians are stronger than the crime syndicates and should resist them. For example, Inoue confronts a yakuza group, as they attempt to blackmail the owner of Hotel Europa. Inoue, symbolising the Japanese government with her job as a state attorney, is seen fighting calmly as well as politely, while defending not just her boss, but also the laws of her country (Fig. 8).

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23 Itami not only uses individual characters to symbolise the Japanese, but also large groups to show the togetherness people need to show when resisting yakuza, or in other words, use their methods against them. For example, the Hotel Europa employees, with Suzuki upfront, face the yakuza. The antagonists are now shown as weak individuals against a strong-minded and organized Japanese people (Fig. 9; Fig. 10). As their dominance is not relevant anymore, they walk away and the hotel employees celebrate their victory over the crime syndicates. As Jeong and Szaniawski write about auteurs and their positions as voices of their respective generations (7), Itami represents, through his preferred image compositions, how people should react to the controversial positions of yakuza in their society during the start of the 1990s. However, he is just one voice of this generation, as, for example, Kitano also takes his stance on this issue. As auteurs try to influence the public discourse on yakuza, as Neale would explain it (159), they place themselves in the role of a teacher, becoming educators to their audience.

Fig. 9. Still from Itami, Minbo.

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3.3 Auteur as an agency for social interactions

An auteur is not an individual that tells its personal story through its art, but is now a critical concept that represents social interaction between maker and consumer (Jeong and Szaniawski 4), taking on the role of a teacher. Through its characters, a filmmaker presents a story that communicates with the consumer. It will do this by sharing its personal history and turn them into valuable lessons for in the future (Jeong and Szaniawski 17), which is the case with Itami, as well as Kitano. However, this gets more personal in Itami’s case, as I recall that the

relationship with his father is an important theme for him (Kazue 332). By implementing educating elements, such as exposition, he, as Haverty Rugg explains it (vii), projects himself into his story to educate his audience, who are symbolised by his characters. With Altman’s syntactic structural relationships (11), Itami presents the anti-hero, hard-boiled yakuza

characters as ill-minded and corrupted individuals in comparison to former representations. By painting these new power dynamics, he presents the lessons of fighting against yakuza. Itami often incorporates lessons in his films, with the earlier mentioned Tampopo being a good example. Here he teaches the main characters and audience the importance of a good bowl of ramen, which works as a metaphor for one’s never-ending affection for its own culture. One can go as far as calling his films manuals on socio-cultural issues.

For example, looking back at the explanation of Minbo’s plot, the opening sequence shows the yakuza’s wrongdoings. Functioning as an introduction to the film, it presents the explicit negative imagery of the crime syndicates to its viewers. Inoue, representing Itami’s projection, consolidated by the fact that she is played by his wife, introduces herself and begins to detail the horrific acts yakuza commit, followed by an explanation on how to fight against them. She guides Suzuki and Wakasugi, together with the audience, through the acts that yakuza perform in order to bypass laws. Quotes from Wakasugi, such as “give them a finger and they want your whole hand” at the end of a scene, strengthens the conclusion of that particular sequence, staying constantly in line with the argument that yakuza are a threat and need to be stopped. Examples like these, together with the earlier mentioned usage of binary oppositions in shot compositions, help underline the argument that Itami works as an educator, trying to influence the public discourse in which his audience reside.

The rearrangement of syntactic structural relationships in a genre (Altman 11), while still staying in the confinements of that same category, works well as a tool for an auteur to introduce new power dynamics, teaching its audience a new perspective. An auteur becoming an agency for social interactions is an important aspect of global auterism (Jeong and

Szaniawski 4), which will be discussed later in the thesis. With the yakuza film representing real life groups, it can be relatable to Japanese who are in contact with them. The genre proves to be

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25 an effective tool for cultural critique on the crime syndicates, but can also be used for other groups, such as standard consumers. Even though Itami paints the yakuza as chaotic, morally wrong individuals and places them directly against Japanese civilians, he still does this with their stereotypical hard-boiled personalities. He creates a satirical representation, but there are other ways to perform a cultural critique with this genre by taking on a different tone and perspective. Kitano’s Sonatine is an example of this.

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4. Kitano’s Sonatine: the yakuza anti-genre

Continuing the idea of an auteur as educator, Kitano adds a different perspective to this concept. While Itami’s relationship with yakuza is labelled as conflicting, Kitano’s experience with the groups traces back to his upbringing, as his childhood almost resembles the setting of a stereotypical fifties or sixties yakuza film. Kitano, born and raised in Tokyo, is the son of a house painter, who allegedly was a yakuza, and a hard-working woman, who worked at two factories. Under poor conditions, the family lived in a typical working class area. Trying to live through these hardships, he often received motivation from the people around him, but

especially from yakuza. According to Kitano, they were always nice to him, as they often gave money and candy, while telling him to behave accordingly or else he would end up like them. As he explains, this is indeed a weird, but pleasant feeling to have (The Hollywood Interview 2015). The outlaws played an educating role in Kitano’s eyes, resulting in a contrasting perspective he can represent compared to other auteurs from his generation. Kitano takes, just like Itami, the role of a teacher, but instead of describing how to resist the yakuza, he represents them as relatable Japanese people, while also performing a cultural critique.

In an era where collective authorship has been accepted, as global auterism even acknowledges this, while still crediting the value of a creator, Kitano shows traits that also would fit in the classical auteur theory. As he takes the role of a teacher to the next level, he not only directs Sonatine, but also writes, edits and stars in it, ending the indecisiveness of writers, such as Staples (4), regarding the fact who actually the auteur is when creating films. One of the first things Kitano does with the yakuza genre, is to set it free from its rules. Jancovich notices the distinction between mainstream and art cinema, where the first is defined as genre cinema with the basic rules and the second as anti-genre cinema (26). By doing this, he still

acknowledges the public opinion of the audience (Neale 159), but does not want to answer their desires to experience the regular characteristics of a yakuza film, as he instead delivers his personal twist to the genre. Creating an anti-genre makes it easier to present his perspective, as Kitano is not bound anymore to the genre rules, replacing anti-heroic yakuza with individuals that experience identity crises.

Anti-genre can, to a certain extent, be understood as the creation of an internal hybrid genre (Staiger 17). A reason to assume this, is how Kitano frees the genre of its rules in order to criticize the stereotypical depiction of yakuza, including that of Minbo, as he represents the yakuza that played a part in his troubled childhood, resulting in the representation of a new perspective in the genre. Almost feeling like a fish out of the water, which is a reference to the opening shot of Sonatine, he does not fit in the category of traditional Japanese filmmakers. Even though Itami parodies the yakuza representation, his stylistic choices and narrative fit

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27 better in a Japanese cultural framework. On the contrary, Kitano uses a more European style of filmmaking, with, for example, his editing resembling that of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless (1960), as he also prefers hard cuts. Besides that, Sonatine presents a self-reflexive story that becomes more personal, as he self-projects himself through the main protagonist Murakawa (Haverty Rugg vii). In order to do make the genre his own (Jancovich 26), Kitano reconstructs, even more than Itami, the syntactic structural relationships of the category (Altman 11),

rearranging the power dynamics altogether. While doing so, he fulfils his role as educator that is passed on to him by his anti-heroic teachers from his childhood.

4.1 Anti-heroes in Okinawa: transforming social norms

Kitano plays Murakawa, a Tokyo based yakuza enforcer, who is grown tired of the gangster life. He is sent by his boss to Okinawa to mediate a dispute between the Nakamatsu and Anan clans. Arriving there, their office gets attacked, leaving them without a hideout. Next, while drinking at a bar, they get ambushed, resulting in the death of his men. They decide to move to a disclosed area at the beach, to wait for the trouble to pass by. While passing time the group engage in childish activities like sparring, pranking one another, swimming and so on. Yet, there is always a dark undertone. For example, they play Russian roulette and with fireworks. One day an assassin, disguised as a fisherman, attacks and kills a couple of his men. Murakawa organizes his men to go to the hotel, where Takahashi, a member of the Nakamatsu clan, resides. In the elevator, he encounters him together with the assassin, resulting a shoot-out where both his and Takahashi’s men die. Murakawa interrogates Takahashi, learning that his group is sent to Okinawa on a suicide mission. He kills him after hearing this information. As he learns that his now ex-boss will be meeting with the Anan clan, he gears up and moves to the location of the meeting. With his assault rifle, he walks to the hotel and kills both clans. Devastated with the loss of his friends, Murakawa drives back to the beach and, as he watches the sun rise, picks up a gun and commits suicide.

One thing Kitano criticizes, is the fact that there are typical characteristics in yakuza films, such as hard-boiled anti-heroes that do not fit in his perspective of contemporary Japan (William Davis 56). This partly is the result of audience expectations (Neale 158), as these form to a certain extent the rules of a genre, which, logically, the entertainment industry want to answer. However, Sonatine dismantles the imagery surrounding yakuza in popular media. For example, in the opening scene, the earlier mentioned reconstructed power dynamics come at play. Murakawa wants Kanemoto to pay his debts, but declines. In any other yakuza film, he would attack him, but here Murakawa leaves the office without saying anything. Even though he eventually goes back to kill him, these are the first glimpses in which Kitano questions the portrayal of yakuza.

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28 When Murakawa and his crew arrive in Okinawa, the contrasting imagery surrounding yakuza begins to expand, as the hard-boiled anti-heroes are enjoying soda and ice creams (Fig. 11), while exchanging their suits with Hawaiian shirts (Karatsu 638). Okinawa is an interesting setting in Japan, as it conceptualises a place where the usual social norms are flouted (Karatsu 639), which in that sense symbolises anti-genres and internal hybrids mentioned by Jancovich and Staiger (26; 27). Keeping to their strict devotion to Japanese traditions, such as a strict host-guest relationship, only strengthens the confusion that slowly can be seen on the faces of characters, eventually developing an identity crisis. As the crew stay longer in Okinawa, they begin to question their own roles, like a fish out of the water.

Fig. 11. Still from Kitano, Sonatine.

Disruption, misfiring and misconception continue, as they begin to search for guidance to help them through the crisis. This is where Kitano’s self-projection (Haverty Rugg vii), through his Murakawa character, comes into play. Just like how yakuza guided him when he was young, he wants to teach these yakuza youngsters, but also his audience, about a different kind of genre. For example, he paints a fake yakuza persona by acting tough when he plays Russian roulette with an empty revolver. When he laughs and walks away, the youngsters begin discussing if Murakawa is a fake or not, representing the confusion that they are experiencing. By doing so, Kitano tries to undermine the exceedingly masculine portrayal of yakuza, presenting them as welcoming people.

Besides this, you can see Kitano reconstruct the syntactic structural relationships (Altman 11), metaphorically, through the explanation of an idea for a new game. For example, Murakawa invites the youngsters to play a game, which he made out of paper (Fig. 12). One can see the enjoyment in the main characters’ eyes, as they see the miniature robots fight one another. Murakawa, instead of pushing them away like outlaws, brings them closer to their Japanese cultural roots by constructing this traditional game. This example expands, as

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29 Murakawa invites the youngsters to continue the fun on the beach. Kitano’s reconstruction and explanation of the new genre rules goes on, as the group begin to re-enact the robots on the beach (Fig. 13). Combined with Joe Hisaishi’s soundtrack, which adds to the sense of transforming social norms, the group seem to be forgetting the initial reason why they are staying on the beach, which is waiting to receive orders from the boss. Even though this might be the case, slowly, but steadily, the yakuza characters begin to overcome their identity crisis, as Murakawa lets them feel comfortable in this new yakuza genre.

Fig. 12. Still from Kitano, Sonatine.

Fig. 13. Still from Kitano, Sonatine.

4.2 Reconstructing syntactic structural relationships through editing

The portrayal of yakuza that experience identity crisis is not the only thing new in Kitano’s genre. As mentioned earlier, he edits Sonatine, meaning that he also incorporates the new construction in this aspect of filmmaking. Sonatine’s editing seems purposely to omit what the viewer would like to see, what seems important to the narrative (Karatsu 638). The scenes in

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30 Okinawa are exemplary for the misguidance, as the real action, which is expected from a yakuza film, is taking place elsewhere. For example, the altercations between the two clans, which only glimpses are shown off, take place somewhere else on the island, while the Murakawa group are enjoying their time on the beach. The audience expect to see more of the conflict. While the consumer would expect the narrative to flow forward through action, Kitano extensively pays attention in going away from the action, rather focussing on the identity crises of his yakuza characters. His hard cutaways in the editing causes extra distortion with a Japanese audience, as they witness a story that still deals with gang violence and other criminal acts, but does not match, as Neale explains it (159), their general genre expectations. By telling a self-reflexive story, Kitano not only questions the portrayal of yakuza in popular media, but also, through his misdirecting of action, asks the audience what they actually expect from a yakuza film. One can comprehend this as misrepresentation or as a new perspective Kitano wants to share.

Nevertheless, Sonatine failed at the box office and a reason for this, as Jancovich explains it (25), could be that the film did not match the audience expectations, as it does not fit in the same category of mainstream yakuza films.

By refusing to present what the audience want, Kitano undermines nationalist essentialism and further problematizes the popular notions of Japanese society and, in that sense, also the yakuza genre (Karatsu 639; Neale 159). To return to Altman’s syntactic structural relationships (11), and translate this into Kitano’s editing, one can see the way he rebuilds these structures by composing contrasting shots. Instead of following the, at first sight logical, causal relationship from action to reaction, a viewer will get to see an unexpected response that does not seem to relate accordingly to the first shot. This even is the case with suspense building, as the shots seem to be indicating a build-up to a climactic moment, but do not deliver at the end. For example, two youngsters decide to throw a bomb in a rivalling gang’s office. One of them walks slowly to the door, opens it and throws the bag inside. He runs back and as they both await an explosion, they face disappointment (Fig. 14). Instead of experiencing an eruption, Kitano cuts to another group of yakuza that are waiting for, what seems, no specific reason (Fig. 15).

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31 Fig. 14. Still from Kitano, Sonatine.

The ignoring of causal relationship between shots, or the syntactic structural relationships to stay in line with Altman (11), continues, as the story goes forward. However, it is also necessary to notice what the viewers get to see when the expected action is not delivered. Kitano, just like Itami, symbolises, through specific characters, certain expected reactions, such as

disappointment, from the audience. As I mentioned earlier, the consumer expects to see the typical action of the genre, however, most of the time, sees nothing or just glimpses of it. By instead showing shots of characters waiting for something to happen, Kitano places a mirror in front of the audience, reflecting their apparent experience at that moment. In that sense, Kitano, with his role as an agency for social interactions (Jeong and Szaniawski 4), not just tells a personal story, but also lets the viewer reflect on itself. An example can be seen at the climax of the film. As one sees Murakawa walk in the hotel, where the meeting is being held, they only see light coming from the top of the building (Fig. 16), combined with quick shots of people

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32 getting killed. However, the audience see one of the yakuza youngsters looking into the light, symbolising the desire of the consumer to see the action (Fig. 17). Even though, the soundtrack, which is implying that action is taking place, plays, the climax is cut away. However, this would be the high point of a mainstream yakuza film with the protagonist facing his enemies, but not in Sonatine. When Murakawa returns to the beach and reflects on his wrongdoings in the past, he commits suicide, resulting in the real end of the film. The constant re-evaluation of different subjects, such as yakuza in Japan, makes Okinawa an important setting for Kitano’s

reconstruction of syntactic structural relationships, but also for the international perspective of this thesis, which will be discussed in the next chapter.

During the analysis, Itami and Kitano’s roles as global auteurs are mentioned, like the agency of social interactions, but also the yakuza genre as an internal hybrid, which both creators

Itami's Minbo and Kitano's Sonatine: A Contemporary Perspective on Classical Auteur Theory and Genre Studies