Thursday, April 5, 2018
Mono No Aware
Mono no aware is the Japanese idea of the awareness of the transience of beauty and the ultimate sadness of life. After watching Early Summer can you better understand this concept? Where there scenes that evoked both feelings of joy and sadness, moments of beauty and tears? What were your emotions at the end of the film? What did you think about some of the images we discussed in class: the waves, the photograph, the child's balloon? Are there moments when you felt the sadness and the beauty of life?
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ReplyDeleteMono no aware can be seen all throughout the film. The idea of all beauty fades can been seen in the family. The family is a great show that beauty is never lasting when it comes to the family splitting up and Noriko getting married. Mono no aware can be seen when the family is splitting up. When the family takes the picture this can be seen as trying to capture the moment that is not going to be there anymore. Which is very sad when you think about it because the beauty of that family will never be the same because they are all about to split up. The family split up also shows that beauty is fleeting because the family will never be together again and things will always be different. Noriko is a great example of how beauty is always fleeting because she is shown as this girl that will seemingly never get married. However, as the movie goes on she can be seen changing from what is a more childish state into a more of an adult. Showing that the childish state is something of beauty and something that people must cherish while they have it. Noriko also shows the viewer that the idea Mono no aware is when it comes to leaving family behind. Noriko and her family are splitting up and that shows that family although it will last until you die there is the idea that the beauty of getting to live together will not be forever.
ReplyDeleteThroughout Early Summer there many scenes that have themes of mono no aware. One that stuck out to me the most was the family picture. The reason someone takes a picture is to document and keep a certain moment in their life. Often to remember a time when one was happy so they can look back and experience that moment again. In Early Summer that is very much the case. The movie revolves around the family and their experiences, and the family picture represent when they are all happy and together. They take this picture because they know that their family cannot be together forever. The beauty of each other’s company will not last, so they wish to capture it. This is very much mono no aware because they know their family’s happiness is fleeting and will be gone soon as they all take their own paths in life. Also in the family picture when the boys are taking off their baseball caps and putting them back on that represents mono no aware in Japanese culture. As western culture slowly merges with their own it is symbolized with the baseball caps that their culture will never be the same and will change. The boys do not know what to do. Should they be like their family and stay true to traditional Japanese culture? Or embrace the western influences in their lives? As an individual Noriko represents mono no aware. She is a valuable part of the family in the film and everyone seems to be very proud of her. She is happy to be a single woman in the film and doesn’t seem like she is going to get married anytime soon, and everyone is happy about that. But when she suddenly decides to get married, her family is in shock and can’t believe what happened to Noriko and their beautiful intact family. They are devastated that their family will never be the same. The theme of mono no aware in this film makes it very unique. It is both happy and joyful, but sad at the same time.
I understand Mono No Aware as moments that are great but are also sad at the same time. It is a concept that shows that the most beautiful things are that way because they do not last. There are many moments throughout the movie that capture this element usually through the family. There are small moments such as the expensive cake. While the cake tastes good and it’s expensive, it is not a treat that could be afforded all the time. Part of the reason why it is so good is because of the fact that it is rarely brought home. Another moment is when the grandparents are sitting together and watch as a balloon slowly floats away. In this moment they speak of how happy they are and it seems as if this will be the climax of their happiness. This happiness is due to the fact that the whole family is together for now. While it is beautiful, it is not meant to last as the young adults and children grow up they gradually move out of the house and move on with their lives. The final moment was the picture scene. This represented a final happy moment when the whole family was together. The family used this moment to capture and remember when they were together as a family. While this moment is happy because of the nature of family photos, this photo as represented the moments before the young adults started to spread their wings and move out of the house.
ReplyDeleteThe film Early Summer really helped in strengthening my understanding of Mono No Aware as well as allowing me to gain a deeper understanding of the concept. As portrayed throughout the film, Mono No Aware is basically the idea that things are beautiful because they are fleeting. We see this idea in many instances throughout the film. For example, their family. It is not until the end of the film after they realize that their family is about to be split apart forever, that they start to really appreciate and cherish how wonderful and beautiful it has been. It is in their moment of realization that as a viewer, you are not sure what to feel – on one hand, you feel happy as they are such a nice and happy family but on the other hand you feel sad because you know that this will be the end for their many dinners, and late nights up together. However, at the same time still you are excited for them in that very moment because they now have exciting new lives and opportunities ahead of them that were not there before and will not be there forever. Another example where we see Mono No Aware is with the waves. First, we see the waves brushing up on the shore, then again at the end of the film we return to the waves and the two sisters walking along the beach. And honestly, without even realizing why at first, to me the waves at the end seemed to be so much more beautiful, and then when I thought about why that was, I realized it was because I knew it was the last time I was going to see them as a viewer of the film. In addition to that, I knew it was the last time that she was going to be able to see them for a long time.
ReplyDeleteEarly Summer is a textbook example of Mono No Aware and displays a common real life instance of it. This movie connects to the viewer’s emotions through a family being separated by time passing and people entering new stages in their life. As the daughters grow older, they begin to look for husbands and in a way, a completely new life with someone new. It is customary during this period in Japan that the wife moves in with her husband. In Early Summer, Noriko finds a suitor for her but must move away from her family for a few years. This separation of family is part of growing older but still evokes the emotions of sadness in a close family breaking apart. The scene where everyone is taking a family portrait creates the feelings of the sadness in the joy of moving forward. Photographs are used to capture moments and memories at a specific time. In this instance, this might be the last time the family is together in the same room. Noriko is leaving for a few years and the elderly uncle may not be there when she returns. This sense of advancement is enhanced with the use of camera movement. The camera moves only a few times throughout the movie. One important scene is at the end of the movie when the two sisters are walking on the beach. The camera follows them as they walk along the sand. This signifies the moving forward of their lives and entering a new phase. Famous 1982 hit rock song, Jack and Diane, by John Mellencamp illustrates this with the lyrics of, “Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone.” After something, that has been a main supply of happiness or comfort leaves, life still moves forward and people must look towards to future for a new outlet of these emotions. There is sadness in the departure but in the end, it is for the better. I have two older brothers and I grew very close to them during their senior year of high school. Everywhere they went, I was went as well. As time passed, they graduated high school and went on to college. They are my best friends and I miss them every day but I know that them going off to college is for the better and I could not expect them to stay home just because I wanted them. I am very proud of my brothers for all the success they are having in life even though I am sad that I do not get to see them every day as I did before they left.
ReplyDeleteMono No Aware is a concept described as a transient happiness found in fleeing beauty. After viewing “Early Summer”, a film directed by Ozo, I am able to understand this concept on a deeper level. “Early Summer” is a film which shows a typical family’s day to day life. Many of the moments within the family show the concept of Mono No Aware. For example the first scene where you see this concept is when the family starts to split up. One of the men is able to be a doctor and takes a job far away. Due to this man fleeing the family realizes how special they really are. Another scene where you can see this is when they take a family photo. They are all so happy in this picture because it is such a beautiful thing to have the whole family in one spot at one time. However, it is no longer beautiful once it ends because it must end for it to be beautiful. Another example of something needing to end to be beautiful is when the family consumes a very expensive cake. They delicacy is very precious and brings a lot of joy to the family because it will be there only for a short time and once again it will leave. If the family were to have this cake everyday it wouldn’t have the same beauty because it would never be beautiful. The film “Early Summer” has opened my eyes to what Mono No Aware means by showing me and viewers how things must end and last a short amount of time for them to be beautiful.
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