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Michael Kerpan wrote:A lot of Hara's acting contemporaries (and older and younger colleagues) were far less right-wing than she was -- alas.

lubitisch wrote: She played a Japanese icon of purity (no kissing scenes for her)

Michael Kerpan wrote:(What on earth is that shot from, ambrose?)

ambrose wrote:

lubitisch wrote: She played a Japanese icon of purity (no kissing scenes for her)

Michael Kerpan wrote:Hara played a number of post-war roles that do not fit with the image you describe -- most importantly in Typhoon Woman, Idiot and Tokyo Twilight. there may be more -- but I have not seen but a fraction of her films (most of which were potboilers).

I've seen several of Hara's war-time films -- and I don't see too much that was terribly offensive in these (beyond her terrible Chinese diction when playing a Chinese girl) -- but I have not seen her most extreme role (in a film made as Japan's days were clearly numbered). I think you seriously over-state her "culpability".

Catherine Russell wrote:Her star image was thus closely bound to the national imaginary,in which the ideology of the virgin harbored an ideal of cultural purity. Hara Setsuko's screen persona is one of tight control,under which a current of strong emotion can often be detected. [...] However,she also excelled in expressing highly contradictory and conflicted emotions. She can be at once hopeful and doubtful at marriage proposals;she laughs when she is most sad and cries when she is most happy.

Peter B. High wrote:Hara Setsuko plays the elder sister of a young and sickly boy.Through her gentle chiding, and the example of a group of Yokkaren cadets who regularly visit the house, the boy is inspired to overcome his physical weaknesses and to become a cadet himself. As Iijima pointed out in a contemporary review: "The film avoids depictions of the youngsters as supermen, persuasively making the point that anyone can become a fine military man."

ambrose wrote:Kessen no Ozora e (Toward the Decisive Battle in the Sky).

ambrose wrote:原 節子:The name above the title.

In feminist theory, the male gaze expresses an asymmetric (unequal) power relationship, between viewer and viewed, gazer and gazed, i.e. man imposes his unwanted (objectifying) gaze upon woman. Second Wave feminists argue that whether or not women welcome the gaze, they might merely be conforming to the hegemonic norms established to benefit the interests of men — thus underscoring the power of the male gaze to reduce a person (man or woman) to an object (see also exhibitionism).
The existence of an analogous female gaze arises when the male gaze is considered. Mulvey argues that "the male figure cannot bear the burden of sexual objectification. Man is reluctant to gaze…" Describing Wide Sargasso Sea (1966), by Jean Rhys, Nalini Paul indicates that the Antoinette character gazes at Rochester, placing a garland upon him, making him appear heroic: "Rochester does not feel comfortable with having this role enforced upon him; thus, he rejects it by removing the garland, and crushing the flowers".
From the male perspective, man possesses a gaze because he is a man, whereas, a woman has a gaze only when she assumes the male gazer role, when she objectifies others by gazing at them like a man. Eva-Maria Jacobsson supports Paul's description of the "female gaze" as "a mere cross-identification with masculinity", yet evidence of women's objectification of men — the discrete existence of a Female Gaze — is in the "boy toy" adverts published in teen magazines, despite Mulvey's contention that The Gaze is property of one gender. Moreover, in power relationships, the gazer can direct his or her gaze to members of his or her gender, for asexual reasons, such as comparing the gazer's body image and clothing to those of the gazed at man or woman.

Just a normal day in the life of Setsuko Hara: knitting, sweeping, pondering, pointing. From Eiga Fan, February 1951.



More than simple profiles and photos, of course, fan magazines were an integral part of creating and defining a star’s personality. Studios worked hand-in-hand with the magazines to make sure that the pictured “offscreen life of stars” (or the version found in magazines) was tailored to specific onscreen personas. Setsuko Hara, Japan’s “Eternal Virgin” known for her portrayal of becalmed, stoic daughters and mothers and her roles in many Yasujiro Ozu films (including Late Spring and Early Summer), was often depicted accomplishing household chores with a smile (see the spread above).

ambrose wrote:Uruwashiki shuppatsu (1939). Could someone both confirm the source of this image and provide plot details?