Orgies of Edo (1969)

Orgies of Edo was directed by Teruo Ishii and contains 3 separate stories. It was the second part of a group of violent sex film anthologies of his, preceded by Shogun's Joy of Torture (1968).

These film anthologies of Ishii's grew out of Japan's "Pink" genre, which were essentially low-budget erotic films and an aspect of Japan's rich sexploitation cinema. However, Ishii's anthologies kickstarted a new genre, which has been termed ero-guro or "erotic grotesque".

Ishii was a director who managed to combine eroticism and sleaze with art and technical skill. Orgies of Edo is a notable achievement for its rich colours, cinematography, set design,  costumes, experimental scenes and a deep exploration of striking sexual perversions in a historical setting.

Orgies of Edo is set at the height of the Edo Period (1603-1868). Edo, now known as Tokyo, was Japan's capital city and is renowned as the place where Japanese popular culture developed. Kabuki theatre grew out of Edo. Edo was also known as a place of hedonism and indulgence. It is thus fitting that Ishii would set his ero-guro films here.

Orgies of Edo can be read as a critique on wealth, display and superficiality. At the very opening of the first story we hear a narrator "It is the height of the Edo Period and times are prospoerous. The people contend among themselves to display much pomp, but its all empty pretense. Behind everything lies depravity and sickness of the mind". What follows are 3 tales of sexual perversion in which we find prostitution, sadism, masochism, violent abortions, bestiality, highly unusal fetishes and gore.

The infamous opening scene begins with a close-up of a man's darting eyes as the camera slowly pans backwards. We are already indicated that what follows is a film of voyeurism and a glimpse into a dream/nightmare world of sexual perversion. We see that this man exists in some kind of underworld or "hellscape", arguably reminiscent of Dante or Nobuo Nakagawa's Jigoku (1960). There is a kind of large shelving feature in which various unusual figures are involved in unusual acts. One man seems to suck fluid from a tube conected to a woman above him. A woman with four breasts is seen on a lower compartment and an alsation dog is thrown into the mix.

Orgies of Edo is done with skill and the colour, set designs and costumes are a pleasure to watch. There is a particular scene in the first film, constructed like a dream, where the protagonist Oito is chased by Hanji, a conman who she has fallen for. The set is covered in colourful Kimono fabrics of varying patterns and designs. The backdrop of the scene is red. As Hanji chases Oito, trying to have sex with her, the camera follows them rapidly, with the variously patterned Kimono fabrics flying before our eyes. This scene seems to sum up Orgies of Edo effectively, in that we have a beautiful setting rich in colour juxtaposed by an uneasy sexual game of dominance and essentially rape.

An argument can be made that films like Orgies of Edo are beneficial and admirable in that they externalise taboo desires and urges. Not to say that everyone secretly wants to partake of the events in the film. But films like this arguably throw the unconscious out on display and visualise the unusual potentialities of human experience. I don't think the film is condoning the acts it depicts. I believe Ishii is in fact critiquing such acts, which, as acknowledged earlier, are described as a "depravity and sickness of the mind" by a narrating character. But I think there is something healthy in depicting sordid, forbidden practices. The more we talk about and are aware of such things, the more we understand about the hidden recesses of the human mind.

I think the fact that sexploitation films are low budget and often under the radar is a positive thing. These films are not self-consciously trying to live up to critical and acceptable standards. Sexploitation films are on the obscure fringes of culture and are far more free to explore taboo issues than most other films. They are also refreshingly unpretentious and direct. This, as far as I'm concerned, makes them very enjoyable.

Sansho the Bailiff (1954)

Sansho the Bailiff was directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, who many would describe as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Even Andrei Tarkovsky, who notoriously only admired a handful of directors, approved of Mizoguchi. There is good reason for his approval.

Sansho is one of Mizoguchi's most astounding achievements. 2 other masterpieces of his are Ugetsu (1953) and The Life of Oharu (1952). These 3 films were made late in Mizoguchi's career, shortly before his death in 1956.

Sansho is possibly the most emotional, powerful and beautifully crafted film I have ever seen. I wept a lot after finishing it. It struck me deeply. I have reflected on why this is the case, and although words could not do this film justice, I still want to explain why I think this film is so powerful.

Based on a tale by 20th century writer Ogai Mori, Sansho is an historical film set in the Heian period (794-1184) of Japan. The film is ultimately about the miraculous, unending survival of love and morality in the face of societal oppression and evil. Societal pressures are shown to be mostly unfair and reprehensible in Sansho. But the goodness of a few characters manages to shine through, in spite of insurmountable odds. There is thus a tension created between societal oppression and individual morality. This is a universal theme that will resonate with many people to this day. Another Japanese director who is deeply concerned with the value of individual morality in the face of unfair societal norms is Masaki Kobayashi, who made such films as Harakiri (1962) and Samurai Rebellion (1967).

Sansho the Bailiff is the main villain in the film and is unusually who the film is named after. Sansho is a slave owner who embodies the wider immorality of the feudal society in which the film is set. This, of course, is a theme relevant to this day. Most people throughout history have been governed by immoral power structures and unfair rulers. However, Mizoguchi doesn't portray such a theme simplistically.

At the beginning of the film, we are introduced to a virtuous governor. This governor tells his son Zushio, who becomes one of the protagonists of the film, "Without mercy man is like a beast. Even if you are hard on yourself, be merciful to others". This message endures to the end of the film, even when Zushio falters and temporarily forgets it. The virtue of this governor is also recognised by a Chief Advisor, from Kyoto, later in the film. We thus find that those in power aren't always evil, painting a nuanced picture of societal oppression and humanity. Such nuance is utterly vital to an effective story, for nothing in reality is binary or one-dimensional.

Mizoguchi was renowned for long, gliding takes in deep focus, approximating the effect of classic scroll paintings prevalent in Japanese culture. Sansho and Ugetsu seem to exemplify this form of filmmaking and I would imagine these films had an influence on such directors as Kobayashi, Michelangelo Antonioni and Stanley Kubrick. Ugetsu certainly influenced Tarkovsky.

What I find to be one of the most important elements of Japanese cinema and culture is the way that empty space and silence is valued just as much as action and sound. What is left out of a scene is just as important as what is put in. This approach makes many Japanese films incredibly powerful and, maybe, "anti-sensational". The impact of a scene is rendered more resonant as half of it is left unsaid. The filmgoer therefore has to fill in and engage more with what is hapenning. There is an element of mystery in this approach, as though some phenomena can't be fully described and articulated, but have to be felt and intuited. Mizoguchi is one of the proponents of this approach and this is what helps Sansho attain such an emotional force. The beautiful scene where Anju descends into a lake is perhaps the most fitting example of this.

Though there is a lot of suffering and tribulation throughout Sansho, the final scene manages to be tragically positive and somehow life-affirming. In truth, I don't think the same can be said of Mizoguchi's The Life of Oharu. Sansho thoroughly communicates to us that in some cases, despite all possible odds, love and morality will eternally endure, even if such endurance has a staggeringly painful side to it.

Kwaidan (1964)

Kwaidan is a masterful adaptation of 4 Japanese ghost stories. Directed by Masaki Kobayashi, these films are meticulously crafted on all levels. The set design is elaborate, hand-painted and detailed. The score by Toru Takemitsu is haunting, spare and in perfect accordance with the cinematography. The camera glides slowly, in deep focus, throughout each film. The narratives themselves are also spare, the space in between each action as important and powerful as the action itself. These elements combine to create an overwhelming feeling of artifice and fantasy which can be described as expressionistic. But though we are perfectly aware that we are watching a construction, we at the same time can deeply relate to the emotions and concerns of the human characters. The unreal and the real are thus beautifully connected in this film, as in other great Japanese films like Ugetsu (1953).

In the first story of Kwaidan, a man is taken over by greed and leaves his poor wife to make a better life for himself. He soon regrets this decision and exhibits great remorse. Realising his errors and remembering his love for his wife, he returns to her. But what he finds is not what he expected. The viewer can relate to this mistake of the protagonist and his feelings of regret and remorse.

The way in which space and silence is utilised in these films only heightens their ghostly impact, engendering a cold atmosphere of cosmic, supernatural emptiness. Such space and silence is present in the cinematography, score and story-telling. As a result of this lack of sensationalism, Kwaidan manages to be far more powerful and harrowing than most supernatural, ghost or horror films.

In the second film, we find a powerful female spirit. A pact is formed with a young man, but vows are broken. Another outstanding Japanese film featuring powerful female spirits is Kaneto Shindo's eerie masterpiece Kuroneko (1968). The prominent feature of female spirits in Japanese culture can be seen as an important comment on the position of women in Japanese society. We learn through these spirits that it is harmful and ill advised to betray people and break vows. On a more general note, morally ambiguous females exacting revenge are highly prevalent in Japanese cinema. Lady Snowblood (1973) is perhaps the quintessential example of this. Female representation in Japanese cinema and culture is highly rich and varied and deserved of more study.

In many ways, Kwaidan was an anomalous film. Kobayashi, the director, was mostly known for his social commentary films, such as The Human Condition (1959-61) and Harakiri (1962). But Kwaidan, a hyper-constructed collection of ghost stories, sticks out sharply in his ouevre. However, as noted earlier, we can still find in this film poignant explorations of common human experiences.

We don't get films like this anymore. Completed by an assured, genius director, Kwaidan has a rare artistic potency. Without the special effects we have nowadays, it manages to conjure far more atmosphere than most contemporary films.

The Distortion of British History

Our veneration of Winston Churchill is a stark example of how British history is airbrushed and twisted to serve ongoing, repugnant power structures.

Churchill was an efficient war-time prime minister. He also directly contributed to a genocide in India, where 4 million Indians died in the Bengal Famine of 1943. This has appropriately lead Dr Shashi Tharoor to describe Churchill as one of "the worst genocidal dictators". This comment may inspire shock in some readers, but this is only because it goes against the established, unfounded narrative fed to us about Churchill. Some people, I imagine, will be so indoctrinated that they will try and find any way to counter this comment by Dr Tharoor, even if that means lying or continuing to distort historical truths.

Of the 1943 Bengal Famine, Churchill stated: "I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion. The famine was their own fault for breeding like rabbits".

Boris Johnson's veneration of Churchill tells us a lot. I have rarely seen him express such passion and energy than in some of his recent tweets, where he has vehemently opposed the defacing of Churchill's statue during the Black Lives Matter protests. I personally agree that Churchill's statue shouldn't have been defaced, but I wish Boris would have channelled such passion and energy into preparing for the global pandemic that we are in the midst of. Boris missed 5 Cobra meetings during this crisis and the UK has the second worst death toll in the world. A clear argument could be made that Boris, whose priorities are deeply immoral and skewed, has a lot of blood on his hands. But of course, Boris is just one embodiment of a sick, corporate culture that doesn't value human life.

In praising Churchill, Boris plays into a specific, nationalistic image of Britain as a great, righteous nation whose civilising mission has done the world a lot of good. This image conveniently leaves out the hidesouly violent and murderous practices of British colonial rule and how we are still complicit in global atrocities.

An example of a murderous event carried out by Britain was when Kenyans rose up and demanded their land back from British colonists. This took place between 1952-1960. As punishment for demanding their land back, Kenyans were thrown into torture camps. In some cases, in these camps, mens testicles were crushed with pliers and glass bottles were forced into womens vaginas. An example of complicity in a current global atrocity is the fact that Britain continues supplying weapons to Saudi Arabia, who have been bombing Yemeni civilians for the past 5 years.

I am not by any means saying we should vilify Britain. Please don't misunderstand me. I am saying that we need to have an accurate, multi-faceted view of history and current affairs. We need truth. Only by understanding things truthfully can we begin to make the right choices.

Black Lives Matter Protests

George Floyd's brutal murder was a spark. The Black Lives Matter protests are largely a response to centuries of entrenched racism, colonialism and imperialism. I urge anyone commenting on these protests to maintain perspective.

Unfortunately, I have come across a lot of vicious responses to the UK protests. Personally, I prefer to direct my anger and passion at genuinely harmful movements, such as the global corporate oligarchy that is literally destroying life on Earth. Another thing I am far more angry at than "over the top protesters" is the legacy of racism, colonialism and slavery that US and UK empires represent.

When you see ordinary working people viciously condemning the Black Lives Matter protests, this demonstrates the efficiency of imperialist propaganda. If ordinary people were adequately informed about our colonial and imperialist histories, and the ways in which such imperialism continues to this day, then I'm sure their anger would be far more appropriately placed. But unfortunately, our corporate tyrants don't want a well-informed citizenry. They want a misinformed, angry citizenry that blames the world's problems on each other. A lot of time and money is spent, with the help of mainstream media, fabricating fantasy problems for everyone to get angry about, instead of drawing peoples attention to actual problems.

Divide and conquer is a highly effective method of control, used by oligarchies. Thus, in the UK, you will often find working people aggressively blaming immigrants, protesters or "benefit scroungers" for the world's problems, instead of the corporate rulers who are destroying life on Earth. The genuinely significant problems of the world are therefore deflected and no one ends up even discussing them. Corrupted power is very good at concealing itself.

Even though liberal and social media will show mostly positive views on the protests, I feel there are still far too many people who think negatively about them. A lot of these people, in my generalising view, will be those who voted Conservative in UK's 2019 General Election. There is a huge sector of the UK population who believe that progressive protest movements, such as Extinction Rebellion and Black Lives Matter, are worth viciously condemning. There is also a huge sector of the population who see the Conservatives as a serious political choice.

I despair sometimes. I often hear people say "don't worry the tide is turning" or "more people are waking up to the realities of injustice and oppression". But these sentiments are not remotely reflected in electoral voting. Millions upon millions of British people still see the Conservatives as a viable political party, which I find staggering and, frankly, shameful. I sometimes wonder whether our societies need to get a lot worse before they get better.

The UK, as well as the US and other countries, does not teach history accurately. History is framed by these countries to support ongoing, despicable power structures. What does this mean? The obscenely rich rulers of the world, who make or influence all of the important decisions, do not want people to wake up to the realities of Western imperialism and colonialism. History is twisted to serve the interests of powerful people. This inhibits any honest, critical discussion about our societies and how to improve to them.

The most important thing progressives can do is counter false narratives with truth. Truth and knowledge are our most powerful weapons. But I guess the problem becomes, when most large media outlets are owned by corporate rulers, how do we disseminate truth to the wider population?

Notes on Oppression

Human history is well acquainted with violence, oppression and suffering. Societies across the world have been involved in reprehensible practices at different times. Such practices include colonisation, war, genocide, rape, racism, sexism, ecocide and slavery. These practices have been carried out by Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Mongolians, Portuguese and the British, as well as many other groups of people throughout history. One questions what "civilised" actually means.

In light of such points, it is not intelligent to vilify certain groups of people, Europeans for example, above others. Conversely, it is important not to idealise certain groups, Amazonian tribes for example, above others. To solve our greatest contemporary problems, such as the Climate and Ecological Crisis, we need to have an honest, critical discussion about history and how it relates to contemporary issues. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" (George Santayana). In order to understand an issue, we invariably need to put it into context, and it is only by accurately understanding problems that we can begin to resolve them.

In order to be fully effective and inclusive, it is essential that Extinction Rebellion, as well as other protest movements, understands the connections between different forms of oppression. All forms of oppression, such as racism, sexism, ableism, animal cruelty and environmental devastation, derive from the same toxic mindset.

People are oppressive because they fail to understand that everything in the world is related. In reality, everyone is an expression of the universe. We are flowerings of nature. This isn't only mysticism. It is science. We are all inseparable aspects of a continuous natural process. We cannot, in reality, be divided from the soil, the air, the water, the sun or each other. Whether we are aware of it or not, we depend upon nature for our physical and emotional survival. Unfortunately, many people “other” the outside world and see it as separate from who they are. When we fail to see that nature is an extension of our bodies and that all people are family, we start to feel small and insecure. We may feel insignificant and isolated, and that life has no meaning. Then, to make ourselves feel more important, we start trying to control and oppress the outside world.

All groups fighting injustice, whether such injustice is ecocide, racism, sexism, poverty or war, would benefit from finding common ground and connecting with each other. This isn't to say we should conflate all forms of injustice, as though they were the same. Obviously, racism greatly differs from environmental destruction. But the attitude that the outside world is yours to defile and exploit, as opposed to respect and co-operate with, is the same despicable attitude that leads to both racism and ecocide. It is an attitude prominent in Western history. 

The Scientific Revolution, which developed in Europe during the 16th century, forms the basis of our modern, globalised world. This revolution was pervaded by the outlook that nature is composed of inert matter and is ours to control. One of the founders of modern science, Francis Bacon, enunciates this attitude perfectly "let the human race recover that right over nature which belongs to it by divine bequest". European women, during this period, were deeply marginalised and deligitimised. This imperialist, oppressive mode of thinking also lead to the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which, like the Scientific Revolution, was initiated by Europeans in the 16th century.

The Transatlantic Slave Trade entailed the forced removal of Africans from their homeland over a period of about 400 years. An estimated 17 million Africans were enslaved, excluding the large percentage who died while being transported. This enslavement was carried out by European imperialists and colonisers. It seems colonisers and imperialists are those who feel the outside world is theirs to conquer and exploit, as opposed to co-operate with and respect. This way of thinking also lies at the heart of the Climate and Ecological Crisis, which is based on a profound exploitation of the natural world. In this sense, colonialism and imperialism never ended. It only transformed. We thus need to decolonise nature.

Only when we start thinking about the world contextually and truthfully will appropriate action ensue. "If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything" (Musashi Miyamoto). Unfortunately, we live in a period where truth and evidence have little value. Those in power are perfectly aware that if the majority of people knew what was going on in the world, there would be revolutionary changes in our societies and power would be distributed much more evenly.

The UN and the WHO have concluded that recent pandemics have stemmed from an unhealthy, disrespectful relationship with nature. Specifically, our recent pandemics have stemmed from the industrial exploitation of animals. Thus, Covid19 has forcefully emphasised that we need a healthier, more respectful relationship with nature. Our decision-makers really need to understand and act upon this knowledge. If they don't, activists will have to peacefully teach them to.

It is vital to understand that we, as a species, are able to change course. Everything in the universe is capable of changing and developing. The human race has the potential to evolve beyond binary modes of thought and it has the potential to truly start respecting nature. Even conservative scientists are telling us we face an impending catastrophe, namely the environmental crisis. Now is the time truly learn from history and evolve. This is just as much an inner revolution as it is an outer one.