Sayonara Movie Essay
Sayonara was directed in 1957. This Hollywood film is another attempt of the foreign directors to depict the Asian identity from a new and unique perspective. In this film, a brave and handsome Marlon Brando performed a role of the Air Force officer, whose main intention was to protect the American national interests in the occupied Japan. He was in love with the Japanese woman. Racial tolerance and romantic representation of Asian women is the main message of this film. Shanghai Express (1932) talks about power separation between Asian men and women. As a rule, Asian males were dominant, but the main character of this film showed that she was able to fight for herself and she represented not only some hints at beautiful appearance, but also at her inner power and strength. Chang is a strong officer and he is not afraid of life challenges, but he does not intend to violate the rights of a woman. A tender woman prevents his attempts of sexual harassment at once.
Joshua Lang, who was the director of Sayonara, showed his social and racial tolerance to the Asian women too. Still, there were some hints at Asian women's subjection to white males, their weakness and helplessness in the face of these courageous officers. During the times of the Korean War, the director shows that everything was romantic and tragic in the relationship between two international lovers. This film provides the audience with some plot ideas of love affairs on the Korean occupied lands. It seems that her nature is dissolving in this white brave man. His physical dominance is metaphorically compared with the national dominance of the Americans on the occupied lands of Japan.
There is no doubt that Asian women have been often depicted in terms of an ideological paradigm, which is comprehensible for the audience from different nations. Interracial romance employs the idea about a subjective nature of the Oriental woman and her readiness to get involved in the intimate relations with white males, especially with the American ones. In some cases, like in Shanghai Express, Oriental women were depicted as mighty creatures, ready to fight for their rights and able to resist to Asian men’s dominance.
