Sorry for the poor video quality!
#4: The Tunnel
This segment is of Kurosawa's vision of a
military officer returning home from war. As he walks along a country
road, he comes to a tunnel, where a dog snarls menacingly at him. When he
reaches the other end, he hears footsteps approaching from behind, those of a
young soldier named Noguchi, who died in his arms during battle. The ghost of
the young man demands to know why he does not feel as if he's really dead, and
within a few moments, the entire Third Platoon has assembled to ask the same
question of him. The platoon commander confesses his despair over sending them
to die in combat, and the guilt that torments his days as the sole survivor of
the battle. Kurosawa exploits anti-war idealisms
by depicting how war can claim the lives of thousands. The scenes were so
dramatic and heavy that you could even feel the horror and atrocities that war
could bring. The scene also showed the commander’s guilt in his role of the
death of his platoon. In a symbolic attempt to turn his back on his own painful
memories and suffering, the officer commands the platoon to march back into the
tunnel to once and for all be at rest.
Binary Opposition Analysis:
-Man vs. Dog : In many myths, a dog represents the
passage to the land of the dead therefore, it this case, the god appears right
before the platoon of dead soldiers and right after. The dog is symbolizing
this passage yet stands in opposition of the commander at the entrance of the
tunnel because he cannot make this journey because he is still alive, but
returning from the "land of the dead" in a way.
-Living Man vs. Dead Man/Life vs. Death : Kind of the
obvious one... the commander is alive, all of his men are dead. The body color
of the dead soldiers is gray in comparison to that of the commander.
-Camaraderie vs. Solidarity : all of the dead soldiers
stand as one while the commander stands there alone. Visually depicts that the
commander is the only survivor while the rest of the platoon is dead but also
illustrates the divide between the tow. The commander may wish he could have
died but he cannot go with his men, while his men wish that they did not perish
and that they could return home with their commander.
Since I can't seem to figure out how to embed more than one video, here
is the link to another of Kurosawa's dreams: Mount Fuji in Red (#6)
The mood turns ominous in Mount Fuji in Red, where a sojourner now finds
himself in the shadow of Mt. Fuji as it explodes in a nuclear firestorm caused
by the meltdown of a power plant. People flee in panic, although they know
there is no escape except by plunging into the sea. The last to go are a woman
with two young children, the sojourner, and a corporate executive who claims
responsibility for the catastrophe. However, before his fatal leap, he explains
the radioactive element present in each different color of storm cloud, and
their resulting physical after effects.
-Guilty vs. Innocent : One of the executives responsible for this
nuclear meltdown seems to be one of the last remaining, standing right next to
a mother and her children, representing pure innocence in this case. The
executive is obviously more guilty than the woman and children, since he was
personally involved with the plant, however, he also mentions the guilt that
can be placed on man itself. That being said, the women and children still
remain as the innocent because a child had no part in this, yet was caught in
the aftermath.
-Natural vs. Supernatural : the nuclear meltdown was man-made or caused
by man, however, it is depicted almost supernaturally with all of the deep red
hues and the explosions in and around the mountain.
Implications:
There is an obvious motif of guilt vs innocent amongst the two dreams
described above (the commander (guilty) is responsible for the death of his
platoon (innocent), the executive (guilty) is responsible for the death of and
entire population (innocent) due to the nuclear fallout from his plant);
amongst others, however, this particular instance of opposition can be extended
to apply to other criticisms. For example, ecocriticism is the analysis of
literature for its connection to the environment or illustration of
environmental concerns. Mount Fuji in Red most certainly can be analyzed from
an ecocritical perspective since it features a nuclear power plant eruption,
namely man-made and a legitimate environmental concern turned disaster. In
addition, both "dreams" have an impact on entire populations...war
kills thousands, nuclear fallout does the same, just on a much grander scale.
There is almost binary opposition between the two dreams; they both depict
similar themes but contrast in severity, perhaps to predict a progression in
the destruction of the human race, our world, etc.
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