《談談情跳跳舞》Dance by my side

ENGL 107
2012.11.2
(原創 未經允許不得轉載）

                                                            Dance by my side

Does love stand for a men’s ownership of another man? People living in modern society would say definitely no. Love is gorgeous and ineffable feelings you have that arises spontaneously from the bottom of your heart and it grants you the power to protect the person you have feeling with. While sometimes when love is overstated and justified, it brings harm to the person you love, because love turns out to be occupancy just like what happened exactly during the modern society. The society derived people of their physical and mental freedom. In Shall we dance, Both English and Japanese director Peter Chelsom and Masayuki Suo uses mainly symbolism, Actors』 expression and metaphor to express the fact exists a struggle in society as old as time itself. This struggle has created villains and heroes throughout the centuries. It is a struggle that every human must face amongst society or within themselves on a daily basis. In the films, this theme of Human freedom vs. constraint is portrayed in several different ways and is a unifying theme of the story. In the Japanese movie, the tension between freedom and constraint is from social value towards life. In contrast, the American remake portrays the tension that the characters in the movie are trying their best to break the constraints in their life.

Comparing the social constraints on individuals in each culture for each character, I realize some difference between each film.

Comparing the women in the films

Duplicate the most distinct change is to American film is mean character’s wife become aggravated. This effective change indicates a struggle for feminists. Peter Chelsom uses the turning of this character to evoke women’s potential willingness to fight against men’s even society’s domination on them when we consider women do not have authority to protect their rights and can not get rid of men’s control in the Asian culture. Actually, both films show the limits on women. However, Shall we dance strongly expressed that American people can fight for it more directly. As we notice, in the Japanese film, Sugiyama’s wife as the function of a mirror to Sugiyama. She is polite and kind to her husband and she is satisfied with his exactitude life status. Even in the whole film, she is not an important role as she is a housewife in the society. When she is encounter the problem, she has no choice but to take it in such a men domination society. On the other hand, in American film, John Clark’s wife Beverly Clark affects the story more strangely. She takes on the responsibility of raising family with John. She had her own thinking and the unique feeling to marriage of a mature female. The reason that she decided to stop for her husband’s investigation is owing to the understanding and respecting for her husband. Finally, she wins the back of her husband and the happiness in marriage. It is a quiet struggle in society without quarrel. Women could have their own thinking and get rid of the control of men in order to form an egalitarian with harmonious society.

The comparison of the dance teacher of two films can easily see the American dancer Paulina is a symbol of pursuit of American dream which make American people break the constraints in their life more independently than Japanese. The difference between families back grounds leads the film explained the meaning of chasing dreams in American dream. More specific, both societies would have constraint when we are choosing our future. American dream advocates chasing dream which means it can easier to break these constraints than Japanese. The reason that why Japanese can hardly break these constraints is owing to filial piety, family honor or the loyalty still playing an important role in the society. In Shall we ダンス, the dance teacher Mai is born in a tony dance family. Her parents established a dance studio. The success of dance studio leads the dance carrier become the glory of the family. Especially, her father in the film is an image of very typical upper-class parent and he strictly maintains the family honor at the first place. Mai under the influence of parents since her childhood and she is eager for win the Blackpool deace Festival prize as her life goal. Her defeat in the competition let her lose confidence. By the father’s requirement, Mai teaches dance in the family dance studio. Consequently, when Sugiyamas first saw Mai, Mai shows highly lonely expression of a lost noble lady. On another hand, the film shall we dance, the dance teacher Paulina is born in a civilian family. The owner or the dancer school employs her. In the film, Paulina has a memory of her childhood experiences which leads her to the road of dance. She had a job at her family’s laundry shop with her family. One day, a beautiful woman took her dance suit from the laundry shop and invite Paulina』a mother and Paulina to a dance show. After the show, Paulina seems receive some call of dance and from that day, dance become a part of her life. Furthermore, she sets sail to chasing dreams of dance. The changes of actresses』 family background reflect the different values in each country. More specifically, what the audience believes is that the director of Shall we dance makes this adjustment in order make the dance teacher more vivid with more complicated background. However, I consider that the justification of Peter Chelsom’s adjustment is owing to he wants to show the chasing her dream without the influence by other people to American audience. In other words, pursuit of dream individuality and make a better living condition and over come any limits is a part of American dream. The Japanese version reflected even in the modern society, father’s edification still adheres to the traditions. This is the emphasis on filial piety and the maintenance of family honor. Comparing with Shall we ダンス, we can see, American is a young nation. Therefore, American people advocate achieve goals through the individual struggle. Paulina fights her way from a civilian family children to a dancer which represent a high social class and a better life goal. As Ruth Benedict translating the Japanese novel The chrysanthemum and the sword, she realize Western people can hardly understand the Asian culture owing to Asian people pay more attention on the conflict between filial piety, family honor or the loyalty. Therefore, if we want Western people have a taste of the Asian culture; translators should do some adjustment by means of domestication and emphasis the Western Core values Human freedom vs. constraint. (A film review of the American remake, Sun, 2004)

Comparing the reason leads characters learning dance in the films

What does the fear means? Why do people bear very much reality? Why can’t stress stop in our live? So many questions have only one answer: you have not spoken out. It’s hard to imagine how many people are under stress. Most people would think about the person who is carrying on a special hobby is a strange or abnormal man. However, I would say, no. They are just eager for finding the happiness in their life and finding their own presence. More specific, we could make a comparison between different men in different society.

Shortly after the fateful events in the dancing school, the reader is given an even more eerily powerful perspective of the desire of happiness beside marriage that exists in the character Sugiyama and John. However, after the story background transform into the American style, the change of different social environment leads to lack of realistic significance. In both of films, mean characters John Clark and Sugiyama are middle class and middle age man. At the second thought, Sugiyama’s life with heavy pressure of work and life especially after he loaned to buy a new house. Thus, when the Japanese audience saw Sugiyama relax in the bar and learning dance in order to get rid of this trouble temporary, they will cause grate resonance (Japanese men's attitudes towards work, 231-246, 1995). This is the realistic meaning and depth of the Japanese version. Like the man Aoki. He is a social outcast in his own societies. This is the common repression of this age. On the other hand, in the film shall we dance, the detective assist analyzed, John just want to explore the different adventure in his life and find the happiness in it. It is a pursuit of happiness in human freedom other than social problem.

Comparing the visual effect in each film

The American version increased smooth and passionate dance scene. Therefore, it makes the film shall we dance become more suitable to the American audience. Moreover, I think this adjustment is a symbol of a life style full of smooth and passionate. Paulina’s perceptual description to dance in the American version is an important part as she said dance is a kind of hope to the vertical horizon. When you put it down, it seems has ruined your life. The dance scene in shall we dance is permeated with western style of passion which is totally different from orientalism elegant slow style in the Japanese Version. I hold the belief that it reflects different attitude towards life. In general, Asian people like a peaceful life style and follow the ancestors』 way of life of their family. The reason that people hold this belief is owing to in the Asian culture, to a family, family’s glory and father’s edification is inviolable. Thus, people like a peaceful life and appreciate orientalism elegant slow dance style. On the other hand, American is a young country and it absorbs a lot of difference culture. That leads American dream with advocate a sprite of adventure as it shown in the dance in shall we dance.

The comparison between Japanese film Shall we ダンス and American film shall we dance is a powerful testament to the struggle of Human freedom vs. constraint. It attempts to both depict an inner struggle of American Characters to deal with the constraint in their life, as well as the hesitating acts of the Japanese characters. By the comparison, we can easily find out that people in American leading by American dream can break constraint more easily than Japanese. Not only from these two cases but also what happened over the world can we see a lot of hierarchs using their power to limit people’s freedom. It is not about opposite the limits anymore. It is all about fighting against controllers in the society and regaining freedom. Hopefully, people in those societies could stand up and fight against the evil power in order to acquire freedom physically and mentally which is what a modern society should be.








Works Cited
Kumiko Fujimura-Fanselow. Japanese men's attitudes towards work. University of New York. 1995. 231-246. Print


Masayuki Suo. Shall we ダンス. 1996.

Peter Chelsom. Shall we dance. 2004.

 TODD MCCARTHY. A film review of the American remake. Sun. 2004. Print.