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.