Description
Book SynopsisThis study of Japanese political culture from c. 1940 to 2009 challenges standard periodizations of postwar Japan, arguing that the postwar period began, much later than previously argued, when a culture of pacifism developed. We can see evidence of this in feature films from the era and in the activities of groups involved in film promotion and criticism.
Film and Political Culture in Postwar Japan asks us to take Japanese pacifism seriously and not assume that it is merely a passing phenomenon. This study of the political left questions previous assumptions about such marginalization after the Red Purges of 1950 and the sectarian infighting of the 1960s. Michael H. Gibbs provokes the reader to look beyond the standard national parameters of Japanese culture, to examine the role of other states in fomenting war during the 1940s1970s and in keeping the subsequent peace. In addition, he challenges the neglect of mainstream Japanese film criticism in English-language scholarship,
