Blog #4

1. “This achievement-based society and the equal opportunities provided by the educational system created a competitive world and reinforced the gambari spirit of the Japanese people” (p.88). What scene in the movie demonstrated this concept well? Explain the reason.

The scene that best demonstrated this idea was the scene after the girls had finally understood that they needed a jazzy rhythm to play better. In the scene they were finally playing well in front of the super market and people had crowded around them and were enjoying their music. The girls had finally achieved their goal of playing jazz music and had carried on through their failures by embracing the gambari spirit, even though they were booed and disliked before they carried on and were now being praised by the same people who disliked their music months earlier. This gambari spirit would guide them to the final scene where they got to play in the music festival.  

2.Considering gamabari, do you consider Naomi as a Gambari in terms of losing weight using the muscle stimulator? Why? Why not? Explain the reasons through explaining Gambari.

No her actions were not in line with the idea of Gambari. Gambari was described as doing your absolute best +110%, to really give it your all but Naomi was not doing that at all. For example, while she was using the muscle stimulator she was eating a bag of chips, that's not trying your best, its barely even trying. In a later scene we see her eating out of a pail of ice cream while saying that she was on a diet, again no effort at all. Actually its counter productive. 

3. Considering kenkyo, who do you think is the most and least kenkyo? Explain the reasons.

For the most Kenkyo the winner, hands down, is Kaori. Throughout the entire movie she was polite, soft spoken, and extremely modest almost to a fault.  Where as most of the other girls where outspoken and brash Kaori was always quiet and never the center of attention. For the least Kenkyo i would pick Tomoko. She was very outspoken and disruptive. She even argued with her parents and technically stole from them to buy her saxophone, not a very modest action. 

4.Considering Honne to Tatemae, after brass band got food poison, the girls decided to have jazz band. Although the girls practiced hard and were able to play a little, the brass band came back and took their places back. What was Honne and Tatemae of Tomoko? Explain why she acted like that. What kinds of influences contribute to group of jazz band.

Tomoko's Honne was that she was upset that the band had come back and destroyed their chances of playing in front of a group of people. Even though she felt this way her Tatemae was to act happy that the band had come back and abandon the idea of the jazz band. She acted this way because she felt that most of the other girls were happy to leave as well, this way she would not stick out from the group when the band disbanded. 

5. What kinds of feelings/motives are changed from skipping make-up classes to gambaru.

In  the beginning the girls see the jazz band as a way to skip out on make up classes. But as they begin to learn to play instruments they see just how well they can do when they try. This gives them hope that they will be able to play in front of a crowd of people and be praised for their good work. This is when the Gambaru spirit takes over.  

6. In the end, jazz band ended up playing great music. How would you end this movie, if it was not based on ganbari spirit? Explain the reasons.

I would change the ending to include a awards ceremony scene where the bands were given awards based on how they preformed. The jazz band would not be given an award for one simple reason. They had less than a year to all learn how to play and form a band where as the other bands have been together for a long time and their individual members have most likely been in band for several years. From my experience in middle school band i can attest to the fact that it takes more than a year to become truly proficient with an instrument. This added scene would derail the idea of gambari and inject a little more reality into the movie. 

7. Among three concepts, which one is the most difficult to understand. Analyze why you think so comparing with your own experiences and American standard.

The hardest for me to understand was Honne and Tatemai. While it is common in america to say one thing and think another (political correctness) it is often more strait forward than the Japanese concept.  In America we use the concept of Honne and Tatemai to protect ourselves from public scrutiny but in japan it is used to maintain harmony between the people in a conversation. The example or book gave us was that in a Japanese house during suppertime if you were not invited to supper the family might say "wont you stay for dinner" to us Americans this sounds like an invitation but what they are really saying is get lost. So its a hard concept to wrap my head around. 

8. Write whatever you want to share by reflecting own experiences.

I liked this movie a lot. It had lots of goofy humor and centered around a nice feel good story. It was not nearly as depressing as Aoi Tori. I never had anything like this happen in high school but i was driven to do well at work when i got my first part time job. at the time i didn't have a car and i had my heart set on getting an old mustang. So i did my best and worked for 2 summers and eventually got enough money to buy a used 95 mustang Gt which i still own. 

Blog #3

Gambari: The expression Gambari means to work as hard as you can, to be diligent and to persevere. The root word of gambari is gambaru "Gambaru is a frequently used word in Japan, with the meaning of doing one's best and hanging on. For example, students gambaru (study hard) in order to pass entrance examinations." (P 83.) The Japanese people feel that they need to work hard and not waste any time. This feeling traces back to Japans far past where people had to brave the harsh geographical conditions of Japan and the difficulties associated with old rice growing techniques. "Rice growing left a permanent imprint on the Japanese character.....This farming style typically needs periods of particularly intensive labor in certain seasons, especially during rice planting and harvest time."(P 87.) This demanding work left a mark on the Japanese people and instilled the kind of work ethic we see in modern day Japan.

Kenkyo: The concept of Kenkyo would best be described as modesty or humility. "In Japanese society, people are expected to be modest regardless of their social position; this is, they must learn to modulate the personal display of talent, knowledge, or wealth in an appropriate manor." (P.143) The concept of Kenkyo was formed out of Japans vertically structured society, With those of higher power on top and those of lower power on the bottom. For example "although company employees may be similar in terms of ability, they are always ranked according to age, year of entry into the organization, and length of continuous service."(P144.) Therefor Kenkyo is important for maintaining the balance of many equally or unequally skilled individuals in the vertical system.

Honne to Tatemae: This concept is the contrasting of ones own beliefs with the beliefs of society. "For many people, ones words and actual intentions do not always agree; in these situations in Japan, one's superficial words are called tatemae, while one's actual intentions are called honne,"(P115) This concept revolves around the idea of maintaining harmony among people. "The Japanese so not like to express themselves in a straightforward manner for fear that they might hurt others feelings, so they are usually careful about what they say and often use tatemae in order to get along with others."(P116) Our book provides an example of tatemae, it says that, in the case of suppertime people will often say "Won't you dine with us?" this actually means its time for guests to go home. Its easy to see why this concept can be confusing to foreigners.

Blog #2

“ Although the Japanese may not be conscious of aimai, its use is regarded as a virtue in Japan…” (p.9). In the film, find the scene that you think that aimai is regarded as a virtue and explain why you think so.

In the movie when Murauchi addresses the class for the first time all the students are silent until  Murauchi starts to speak. this is an example of virtue, the students know that speaking at that time would have been rude so they did not speak until he was finished. 

Considering Aimai, ambiguity is a big part of bullying in Japan and the film.  Describe the scenes of them 

and explain why you think so.

One scene sticks out in my mind as an example of Aimai as bullying. it is the scene where the teachers are talking about having the students re write the essays. Shimazaki sensei asks why the papers have to be 5 pages long. In response the principal of the school (in a demeaning way) asks her how many pages the report should be. she has no good response to the question so she drops the matter entirely. The whole conversation is rather ambiguous, the principal is assigning the papers in an attempt to make the school look like it is doing something about the attempted suicide. Shimazaki can see that it wont really help anything and she then attempts to rebuke the idea in a roundabout way without coming out and saying that the papers are non sense. The scene had the sense of bullying because the principal singled her out for her question and non of the other teachers said anything in her defense, they just stayed silent.  

What are the differences between bullying in Japan and US?  What kinds of American characteristics would cause the kinds of bullying in the US?

The example of bullying in the film was much more passive than aggressive. the students didn't outwardly threaten Noguchi, but in the act of asking him to steal from his parents and then ignoring his distress had the same outcome as more aggressive bullying tactics. In the U.S. bullying is more direct, the attacker will verbally or physical abuse the victim. Anything that makes someone different from the vast majority is a window for bullying, things like speech impediments and physical characteristics are enough to trigger bullying in the U.S. Also things like social standings can cause bulling like picking on the rich/ poor kids. 

Considering Uchi to Soto, what kinds of concepts of Uchi to Soto are Noguchi’ bullying caused? What kinds of characteristics make the other students bully?

Uchi and Soto "inside and outside" Noguchi and his fellow students all longed to be "inside" the group, they all wanted to somehow belong and be accepted by the group. So when Noguchi was asked to steal from his parents he had to make a decision, he would either refuse and risk being outcast from the group or he would accept and maintain a place in the group, which he did. unfortunately this decision lead him down the path to suicide. The idea of Uchi and Soto also had an effect on Sonobe. Many of the other kids were asking favors from Noguchi and this eventually drove Sonobe to do the same. 

Considering Danjyo Kankei, the textbook mentioned roles of male and female in Japan. What kinds of relationships exist between male and female in the classroom.

The males and females in the movie displayed a certain divided relationship with one another. Within the classroom they tended to stay in separate groups and not talk unless they were friends. Their were no public displays of affection like their are in the U.S. One interesting part i noticed was during the fight scene when the P.E. teacher was telling all the students that they needed to come to the counseling room and one of the girls asked if they needed to go as well. she was trying to distance the girls from the boys and place more blame on them.  

What did reflection papers differ for students from the first paper and the second paper?

The first paper was kind of a joke, the school had them write it as a form of penitence for what they had done. then the teachers went over them and made corrections to make everyone seam like they had actually repented. However this was a move by the school to get everyone to move on from the event and try to get back to a state of normalcy,  But this is the wrong way to go about it and Murachi-sensei tells Sonobe that that is the cowards way out. You cannot simply say you are sorry and then forget about the whole thing, you have to accept what you did was wrong and remember the person you hurt for the rest of your life. Sonobe took this concept and wrote his second paper not as a reflection essay but as a letter to Noguchi explaining exactly how he felt. 

Considering Chinmoku, what affect do you think the stuttering teacher had on the students?

Because Murachi-sensei has a hard time speaking he uses the concept of Chinmoku (non verbal expression) allot throughout the movie and only speaks when it is necessary. This combination of extremely important and direct verbal communication with silence and body language made the students have to channel their anger and dissatisfaction with Murachi somewhere else because Murachi never challenged any of their outburst he just remained silent. this made the students angry at one another and then they eventually became angry at themselves thus forcing them to thing about what they had done to Noguchi,  

MOVIE---Who is the 3rd person that Noguchi wrote in his will? 

He didn't name anyone in particular for the 3rd person he just wrote "everyone else"

MOVIE---What is bullying? What did the stuttering teacher, Murauchi-sensei tell to Sonobe?

His words were "when you trample on someone or hurt them, but you don't realize you're doing it and you refuse to notice their pain, that's bullying"

What did you think about the film? Have you had similar experiences?  Share anything that you thought about this film.

I loved this film so much. Murachi-sensei's character is brilliant they wrote him in such a way that the veiwer has to infer about his past and why he is so passionate about trying to rite the wrongs of bulling. The story itself is easy to follow and really makes you invested in the plot. My interest in the movie might have something to do with my own background and bullying. I have always been overweight and their for a target for some bullies to pick on me so i have some background to relate to the story. Thankfully it never got so bad as for me to conciser suicide but i still feel bad for Noguchi.

Blog #1

Amai Pg. 12 "The most well known examples of aimaina kotoba (ambiguous language) is the expression maa - maa, which is frequently used in Japanese conversation. When people are asked, "How are you?" they will often answer, "Maa - maa." This is generally translated into English as "not so bad," but the expression is ambiguous and actually has a very subtle range of meanings incorporated within a vague answer, which is regarded as good manners in Japan."(Pg. 12)

This concept is somewhat true in American culture as well but for a different reason. In American society it is much more common to express oneself in a less ambiguous manor, If we are asked how we are doing and we happen to be having a great day we will reply "I feel wonderful" or something like that. In our society ambiguity is used for a more selfish purpose like when we just don't feel like expressing ourselves to the fullest, like if we have had a bad day or we just don't want to talk we will reply with "meh" or "ok" we don't act ambiguous to be polite we do it because it is easier and conveys a sense of disinterest in the conversation.

Amai Pg.13 "Japanese people, too, have their own opinions, but they tend to wait their turn and speak out. If they completely disagree with a speaker, they will usually listen with an air of acceptance at first, then disagree in a rather vague and roundabout way." (Pg. 13)

The same is not true for American society, we are very impatient and self confident and if we believe we are right we will not hesitate to voice that opinion as soon as possible. This often brings about conflict but this is common for our society and wont usually destroy a relationship or friendship.

Uchi to Soto Pg. 217 " The Japanese generally call people from other countries gaijin no matter how long they have lived in Japan or how well they speak the Japanese language."

The same is true for many countries around the world, people like to ally themselves with people they are more familiar with such as their own country men. The same can be said about America but the lines begin to blur here. America is a country of immigrants, we are the great melting pot of cultures and we have embraced people from all countries who have chosen to live hear, That's not true for all Americans but the vast majority are tolerant.

Uchi to Soto Pg.217 " The Japanese clearly distinguish insiders from outsiders in daily life, depending on whether the others belong to a uchi or soto group." (Pg. 217)

Americans are familiar with the idea of "inside and outside" groups in our daily lives. We stick together with our families and identify with our groups we want to be apart of, like schools or sports teams. Those ideas are not so different.

Danjyo kankei Pg 66 "In contrast to most women, many single men think of marriage as a social duty, one which they can gain the trust of others, take social responsibility, or meet their parents' expectations." (Pg. 66)

As a single American male i can identify with some the feelings expressed in the quote. The idea that being married gains you a certain amount of trust makes some sense, it establishes a certain level of credibility because they have some experience that comes from being married. And it is easy to understand the idea of wanting to meet your parents expectations (especially if they want grand children).

Danjyo kankei Pg 67 "From the standpoint of emotional expression between husbands and wives, the Japanese rarely show overt affection to each other, nor do they often speak well of their spouses in public." (Pg. 67)

The same is not true in American society, most couples will show their affection by holding hands, hugging and kissing each other in public. This is a very common thing in America. And as far as i have experienced husbands and wives love to brag about how great their partners are to their friends and family, (or how terrible their partners are if that is the case).

Chinmoku Pg. 52 "The Japanese have long treated silence as a kind of virtue similar to "truthfulness."." (Pg. 52)

In America the concept of silence is much different than what it is in Japan. In Japan it may convey a sense of truthfulness but in America we usually interpret silence as a way to buy time to think out a way to counter an argument or when we have been defeated in an argument we turn silent because we have nothing left to say.

Chinmoku Pg 52-53 "Another reason why the Japanese often become silent among other people is group consciousness, which is symbolized by the saying "the nail that sticks out will get hammered down."." (Pg. 52-53)

In America we are less concerned with the idea of the group conscious and more concerned with ourselves we want what is best for us so we will speak out whenever we need to in an attempt to achieve our goals. This is best symbolized by the saying "the squeaky wheel gets the grease".