Description
This study argues that in Japanese popular cinema the "tragic hero" narrative is an archetypal plot-structure upon which male genres, such as the war-retro and yakuza films are based. Two central questions in relation to these post-war Japanese film genres and historical consciousness are addressed: what is the relationship between history, myth and memory? And how are individual subjectivities defined in relation to the past? The book examines the role of the "tragic hero" narrative as a figurative structure through which the Japanese people could interpret the events of World War II and defeat. This narrative became part of a wider discourse which developed as a backlash against the criminalization of Japan through the conviction of her war-time leaders. The author analyzes the construction of the "tragic heroes" of film and their relationship to the popular interpretation of historical events. Also considered is the fantasy world of the nagare-mono (drifter) or yakuzu film.
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