April 3, 2008 by Christopher Born.

Here’s a sample of my keynote slides!

I’ll post the presentation after Saturday.

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April 3, 2008 by Christopher Born.

Below is the introduction I delivered for Linda, Linda, Linda at Washington University in St. Louis’ Japanese mini-film festival. I really liked this film and highly recommend it from an entertainment and from a sociological perspective. Someone needs to update Hendry and Sugimoto, because things are changing a bit!

In highly developed economies, it is hard to find a more universal theme than that of school life. Because of the compulsory educational standards found both in the United States and in Japan, nearly everyone has some commonality when it comes to memories of adolescent relationships, classroom happenings, and the general type of self-discovery that comes along with the experience we call “high school.”

Unsurprisingly, the film we are about to see does not revolve around classroom happenings, but on interpersonal relationships and group dynamics found within school clubs. Clubs are an important aspect of Japanese school life. Clubs or circles exist throughout school life, from the earliest grades throughout university life, and are integral for social acclimation. There are all sorts of clubs, from dance to martial arts, music to computers, anime to sports, chess to sewing and fashion. Yet, many times, the clubs exist more for the social interaction than the enjoyment of the activity itself!

Clubrooms are places where students can go after school or during breaks to hang out and enjoy spending time with likeminded people. Clubs provide an “in group” within a society that places a high premium on being part of “the group.” These “In” or “Sub” groups allow for individuality in numbers, thereby not causing someone to be a loner or stick out too greatly. If many people enjoy the same activity, there is safety in those numbers. Clubs at any given school also have long histories. Members of any given club may have more or less social capital depending on the status and reputation of the club. Even after members graduate, there is still a sense of community that endures into college years and beyond.

Part of fitting in with a club, or most of Japanese society for that matter, is maintaining group harmony. Not committing meiwaku or an annoyance against a given group is crucial to preserving wa, or harmony. In Linda, Linda, Linda we see a group where some interpersonal meiwaku has fragmented a rock band made up members of the pop music club. This band must still perform at the school festival, but finds itself without a singer. In an attempt to goad one of the members back into singing with the group, one of the band members rashly recruits Son, a Korean exchange student to sing for the band. Not only is Son an outsider in that she is a Gaijin, or foreigner, but the members of this club have been tight with one another since junior high. The offended member stalks off, and as the plot unfolds, the inexperienced Son gets a crash course in Japanese group behavior. Quickly acclimating to an established group in any cultural context, even your own, can be daunting at best. Perhaps some of you who have lived abroad may identify to an extent with Son; I am sure many of us have been on the other side where we are still figuring out how to best embrace and relate to those who are different from us.

At any rate, more than just being a good snapshot of Japanese school life, the movie we are about to see does a good job examining themes of cross-cultural exchange, group dynamics, perseverance, and friendship. Without further ado, please enjoy the show!

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April 3, 2008 by Christopher Born.

I mentioned a while back that I am giving a presentation on Confucian Cardnial relationships, so I thought I’d give a few more details about the presentation. The event begins at 10:00 AM in the Social Sciences Building at UMSL. The event is University of Missouri - St. Louis’ annual “Japan on Campus” day. I will be presenting how ancient Confucian values are still very much alive as the underpinnings of Japanese society, albeit with a twist. Certain cardinal relationships have greater meaning than others, while values of on, giri, rei, and jin are undeniably persistent. We will be applying this knowledge to contemporary Shonen animation to drive the point home. It will be fun to examine the postmodern animation in the context of Confucian values! Welcome to Mechademia - anime examined from the academic perspective.

I mentioned this book before, but since I recently re-read it, I think you may truly enjoy it. T.R. Reid presents a very positive, engaging, and entertaining take on East Asian societies, particularly Japan, and theorizes how Confucian values help keep society together. This book was published in 1999 and is a bit dated, so many other social issues have come up since then that this book could not have addressed. But, the theory and basics are still correct for most of society. Thought this would be a nice contrast to Zielenziger’s Shutting Out The Sun, which, while having good facts, is also a Western perspective and a bit negative.

I am ordering a bunch of Japanese books from Amazon.co.jp shortly that are about Shakai-Mondai (Societal problems and issues) by Japanese and for Japanese readers. I want to see their take and contrast as well.

Confucius Lives Next Door:

What Living in the East Teaches Us About Living In The West

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March 26, 2008 by Christopher Born.

You may find this interesting:
Did you know that Concordia Seminary lost a valuable piece of art around the time of the Walk-Out, some 34 years ago? Did you know we recently got it back?

Well, we did. “Jacob and the Angel,” a hand-stenciled woodcut print by Japanese artist Sadao Watanabe, disappeared in early 1974. No trace, no clues, no proveable explanation. Watanabe was the first artist to use traditional Japanese styles and techniques on explicitly biblical themes, so he is a significant figure in modern Christian art, as well as a very popular artist in the U.S. But because he did his prints in sets of 50 or so at a time, we have succeeded – after years of trying – in locating and purchasing one of our lost print’s identical “sisters.”

And to celebrate, we have put all twenty of our Watanabe prints into an exhibit in the Library’s art gallery for the Spring Quarter. Our collection of Watanabes hasn’t been on exhibit in many years. The full set of 20 images hasn’t been together in 34 years. So we invite you to come in to see our entire collection – one of the largest Watanabe collections in the U.S. – and join us in celebrating the return of our “prodigal” piece.

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March 20, 2008 by Christopher Born.

Today, I got to remembering a poem we learned in high school Latin:

I’ve always understood Horace to be saying that he really had no use for the fancy, for the complicated, for the trumped up things.  He’d much rather, at least when he was addressing this particular youth, hang out and enjoy the simple things.

I rather like that idea.

We’re too bolluxed up with all the things going on that we rarely stop to “smell the roses” as it were.  In this season of Lent, it really hasn’t felt much like lent to me; too close to Christmas, too cold, too dark, too surreal as we go through one teething session after another on sleepless nights.

Yet, enjoying the simple things, like the truth of Lent makes life have more salt, don’t you think?

Aah, the teether calls….

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March 16, 2008 by Christopher Born.

So I am doing another presentation soon - but this time it’s going in different directions from where I’ve taken it before. See, last summer I used T.R.Reid’s book Confucius Lives Next Door: What Living In The East Teaches Us About Living In The West to walk the class through the idea the Confucian morality and philosophy still has great underpinnings in Japanese society. The thing is, from a postmodern perspective (I know, there I go again) the relationships look a bit different. The husband-wife relationship looks vastly different from that of husband and wife in the West in certain instances. The father-son relationship as well. The friend - friend and elder sibling-younger sibling have a huge impact on today’s younger generation, and the ruler-ruled? Well, the ruler tends to be the group that X-san or Y-san belong to. Not much attention is paid to the political leadership on day-to-day things. I’ll never forget my host family’s mother in 1994 saying that she really didn’t follow what was going on in the government, and that the emperor didn’t matter much to anyone anymore. This was so different from what we were led to believe from our global studies textbooks.

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March 7, 2008 by Christopher Born.

I thought I’d share the introduction I gave at Wash U before we watched Hanging Garden.  This movie is good in that it is a decent social commentary regarding  postmodern Japan, but it is quite jarring and hard to stomach. There are scenes of imagined violence and a lot of conversations about sexual themes.  Fortunately there is no nudity or otherwise R-rated content, but the movie is just over the top.  Most of the audience left pretty shaken; the movie is just a downer.  Some have compared it to American Beauty (which I haven’t seen yet, so I can’t say yet) but it at least has a bit of hope at the end.  Sadly, though, the idea of familial love at the end of the movie was very out of touch with what I believe true, self-sacrificing love to be.  It’s more than just paying the bills and keeping everyone together.  It’s actually caring for the emotional needs of those around you, even if you don’t feel like it, even if you’re empty from pouring yourself out all day.  At any rate, here’s the text:

Japanese society, much like our own, or any for that matter, has changed dramatically over the past 50, 20, even 10 years.  Many of us think of Japan as a fragmented scrapbook of images – geisha here, Mount Fuji there, zen here, samurai there, and sushi everywhere.  Sure, these are some of the cherished images of Japan that have intrigued the West over the past few centuries, only to be followed up with by Nintendo and Sony, anime and manga, fashion and economy.  On the outside, we think we know a lot about Japan because we experience the excellent technical, cultural, scientific, and artistic imports that can be picked up in most of our media outlets, restaurants, and boutique shops.  Japan is quickly becoming the progenitor of much of the cultural landscape in which we live; if I may be so bold, akin to Europe of the previous two centuries.

Yet, there is another side to Japan.  Societally speaking, the rate of marriages and births is declining, the population is aging, deaths outnumber births each year, and the workforce is shrinking.  Only until a few years ago, Japan was in the midst of an economic depression. As the promise of lifelong employment waned with each layoff, many sarariman were demoralized.  After the bubble burst in 1993, productivity went down, and investments showed little promise.  The Bastian of economic power, the Japan as Number One, of the 1980’s languished as they experienced global marginalization in the 1990’s, and the rise of China as the new economic power on the block.

As Japan’s former identity as an emergent world economic super power was stripped away, many began to question their own identity.  No longer were they able to look back on their economic achievements which had sustained them through their post-war demoralization and ignominy.  No longer could everyonel enjoy expensive, high-quality goods; their savings dwindled.  Debt started to accumulate. Working hard no longer equated with success.   Large, formerly unshakable firms, closed their doors for good.  The promise of a better tomorrow was no longer a promise, but an empty lie.

Part of the post-bubble doldrums was the apparent unraveling of the social fabric; fathers still work long hours as is expected of all sarariman, often staying out very late to satisfy the communal code of drinking together with colleagues.  This leaves very little time for the family.  Some just cannot handle the pressure and end it all through suicide or just drop dead from exhaustion.  Mothers languish at home and are left to raise the kids on their own with little or no support from the fathers.  If they do join the workforce, it tends to be for low-wage, manual labor type jobs.

Young adults have also begun to question the demands of society.  Some have abandoned the system of  university-bound exams and cram school.  Some choose to become “freeter,” or “Free-Timers” who take part-time jobs and stay at home, in essence, never growing up.  Others flee Japan to study art, music, dance, makeup, and whatever else they have a passion for.  (Just visit the lower-east side of Manhattan if you doubt it!)

For some adolescent boys, the specter of “not fitting in” at school, and being bullied as a result of any perceived differences, paralyzes them in fear – a fear that causes them to never leave the house again.  According to Michael Zielenziger’s 2007 book, Shutting out the Sun, there are some 133,000 males who shut themselves up as hikikomori, essentially withdrawing from society and living in their bedroom, even into their 30’s and 40’s.  They are often highly intelligent, deep thinkers who strive to be accepted for who they are, not what they are expected to be.  They feel imprisoned in their own homes.

Social pressure also hits women, as they decide to not live a dreary life at home, alone to raise the kids and be under-appreciated by absent husbands.  In the late 1990s, the phenomenon of the “parasite single” (obviously perjorative term due to their choice not to marry and have children) came into existence.  These women actually enjoy themselves as they live with their parents, spending their salaries on luxury goods and high-cost vacations abroad alone or with other girlfriends.

And so, many Japanese families are living a life of quiet desperation.  The movie we are about to see seeks to bring some of these issues to the fore.  In Kuuchuu Teien, or “Hanging Gardens,” implosion of the family unit becomes a metonymy for society that seems to be a “hanging garden” – it has no roots and floats in the air.  It is unnatural, without any firm foundation upon which to build.  Themes of motherhood and pregnancy, sex and childbirth, estranged spouses, repressed anger, and shut-in boys are explored as the subtext to what seems like a perfect family life where there are to be no secrets, no facades, or tatemae.   Everyone acts as if there is abject honesty and frankness, with there being “no taboos” at the dinner table…yet…there are many secrets and lies… It is a tale of subsistence, of doing whatever you can to hang together under the guise, and in the semblance, of what looks like the perfect family. I won’t say more, since you are here to see this film, not hear a critique of it.

Now, just one more thing, as is true of any social commentary, it is entirely unfair to say that “all Japanese” are living in X way or in Y conditions; every family is unique.  While these issues are a growing concern for growing numbers of families, many families do not experience the levels of trauma found in this film…suffice it to say that Japan, just like any other society, is dynamic and is dealing with the vicissitudes of life, which to be honest, we must all experience, understand, and live with.  While it is quite easy for us, sitting in a Western, academic setting to pass judgment on what we will see, it is important for us to remember that this film by no means gives us the full right to do so.  While we can learn much from a culture through its media, seeing the whole societal picture is not possible.

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February 21, 2008 by Christopher Born.

So St. Louis city is about to make “panhandling” in certain places, in certain ways, at certain times, a crime.Read about it here. 

Part of me is glad folks will not be accosted for money in a violent or intimidating situation.  I remember the “squeegee” men in New York as I was growing up, “washing” my dad’s windshield at any given street corner.  They actually would come to your car at a stoplight, lean over your windshield and smear stuff all over it, as if they had some sort of cleaning fluid.  After making it impossible to see, they would lean in your window if you were unfortunate enough to have it open and aggressively ask you for money.  This was indeed annoying, and I remember, before Guiliani enacted laws against such stuff, being afraid.  I also remember suggesting to my dad that we turn on the wipers when stopped to make it harder for these guys. 

Yet, I also remember the poor and think that we must do what we can for those who do not have what we do.  John the Baptizer’s recommendation was, “Anyone who has two coats should give to whoever has none.  And whoever has food must do likewise!”  Jesus tells us that we will always have the poor with us, and that it is hard for a rich person to enter heaven.  Another time he told a rich, young ruler who was good at keeping the 10 commandments that he ought to “sell everything he had, give the money to the poor” and follow after Him.  The rich kid couldn’t do it and went away sad because he had great possessions.  And who could forget Paul, taking offerings all over Asia to get money to give to the poor in Jerusalem?  And never forget the beaten, bloodied, half-dead man on the road that the Samaritan had concern for and put up at a hotel, with hospice-type care, at his own expense?  We must help the poor.

But we get into these types of  arguments: do we help so-and-so with our own money, or direct them somewhere else?  Doesn’t the government have programs for this type of thing?  They will probably spend it all on drugs or alcohol, how do I know if I am helping them or harming them?

Yet, Jesus the Messiah said that we are to give whenever it is asked of us.  Guess that solves it.But how hard is it for us to go through this “eye of the needle?”  We don’t like that there are poor among us, but we don’t like the alternatives of self-sacrifice either.  As C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity, acts of charity must be those of self-sacrifice, that loving our neighbor sometimes is a detriment to us, and this is how the Christ envisioned our society.  That we are all part of the same organism.

Now, I am no great example of this type of charity, but I do think it’s important to give when asked.  I do not agree with the Muslim code that only righteous people, worthy of charity, should receive the charity.  Did not the Christ come for the lost?  Don’t the sick need a doctor, not the well?  I think we could afford to sit down and dine with these folks more than we would like.  If you don’t want to give them money, then offer to buy food!  If they turn it down, then it’s their problem.  But that’s only happened to me probably 1 time in 10.  That person probably did want a “fix” that my McDonald’s offer could not get.  She wanted to be lovin’ somethin’ else. God does INDEED help those WHO CANNOT help themselves, but some will fight the help God wants to give. That is where prayer comes in.  

 So, as I sit in my safe, suburban house, on this cold snowy day, I pray we can find little and great opportunities this day to serve the poor neighbors among us. 

“…For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.”

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February 13, 2008 by Christopher Born.

So I am getting ready to introduce, “KuChuu TeiEn” (Hanging Gardens) and “Linda, Linda, Linda” at a Japanese film festival at Wash U here in St. Louis.  It’s pretty exciting!   These both deal with cultural issues and social commentary.  I think the latter is a movie more my style when compared to the former…

Funny, LindaX3 could just be any other Shojo Anime out there…and I’m not Mr. Shojo…

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January 19, 2008 by Christopher Born.

I tend to say that I hate winter…it’s just so cold and dead.

But I do have SOME good things to say about it - yes, even outside of Christmas. I like the color of the sky as the sun sinks down; midnight blue meets its persimmon complement as the dark hands of the leafless trees reach up in praise to the King of the frozen sky.

Right now, I am listening to Richard Souther’s “Dream Suite” off of his 1985 debut album, “Heirborne.”

Typical of many of the trips we took, I remember listening to this cassette on my Sanyo (Fast-forward only!) walkman in the back of the family 1982 Impala station wagon, staring at the blueish shadows on the purple snow at 11PM as the stars twinkled at us. The broken down corn stalks and golden uncut grass showed an undulating silver wash as we sped on by at 55 MPH. This was on the way to my grandmother’s house for Christmas break. I was eight at the time. Dad was listening to cassettes of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, but at that age, I wanted to drink this music in as much as I can. This was the first time I had ever experienced nine chords, and rich, fat synthesizer pads.

Years later, I would find the Meadowlark collection released on CD’s for about $7 a piece in a Borders near Roosevelt Field mall in Long Island, and would buy everything they had. Meadowlark was Sparrow records’ answer to New Age, godless music. It was “New Age” in its style, but was done by and on Christian themes. Richard had 4 albums in this series, 2 as Richard Souther, 2 solo piano albums, released under his middle names, “Douglas Trowbridge.” How cool is that, I loved all these albums and had no idea they were the same guy. Check him out at http://www.richardsouther.com.

Sometimes, I long to sit in the back of that Impala again, on the way to Warsaw, NY. Through the cold night, warm inside the car with my family, on the way to see more dear people who I still love and miss very much.

My life tends to imitate itself. Years later-it was 1999, when I was done with college-we still were making that same trip over the Christmas break. This time, we stopped in Rochester, at a Borders again, and there I bought Ken Ishii’s “Jellytones” album. There is a piece on that disc called “Endless Season,” which I listened to over and over again, in the back of Dad’s minivan, this time on a Sony Discman. It has a great portamento lead and shiny pads that also signifies winter to me, but this time it’s when the sunset sky is all pink and purple, making the snow seem like a faded blanket of made of fuzzy peach skins. Fat flakes come plopping down on your windshield and everything outside seems so silent and still. Wait a second, I’ll go cue it up in iTunes.

Ken Ishii soon became my subway ride buddy. Still I can close my eyes and see that snowy road…

Yes, I do actually have a few good things to say about winter.

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