I'm back. And I'm feeling Lazy. L-A-Z-Y. End of exams. No more stress. Freedom. F-R-E-E-D-O-M. And it's so much easier staying awake now. I think books ( that are examinable) have a hypnoptic effect on me. Now that they're no longer examinable...I feel this little urge to read them... ( yeah, my 4 fat lit books).

Did nothing much today, except watch the Last Samurai... and Suddenly, I was a lit student and half a movie critique again.

JT, the half-a-lit student's criticism of The Last Samurai:

1) Orientalism. The first thing they did was to portray Japan as 4 honorable little islands that were actally droplets of water that fell off some sword of some God. Makes the Samurai sound somewhat legendary, unreal. Enigmatic. Cool. Sleek. Fierce looking. Got 'seh'.
The West was portrayed as the superpower,with all the high tech weapons vs the "silk-like" swords and the way of the Samurai. The scientific vs the traditional. And... the scientific wins. And the last Samurai standing was ... Tom Cruise the American. Well, at least the Emperor didn't sign the treaty in the end...
2) Honour and Bravery. Honour's about feeling no shame... about killing the defeated ( even if it's urself). No lah. more than that. Bravery: living for your destiny. It is an honour to die in battle. wah.
2.1) Tom Cruise the prisoner reminds me of Waiting for the Barbarins by J. M. Coetzee. The Japanese called him a barbarian. And the Americans think the Samurais are the backward people. Unlike the Magistrate in WFB, Cpt Algren learnt the Jap language. The barbarians speak each others language. UhUH! So this is no allegory. (ok, I'm suffering from the exam aftermath. Nvm if I don't make sense.)
3)Woman. Japanese men in the show did not do women's chores. But Tom Cruise helped this elegant, reserved Jap woman coz " [he] is not a Japanese man". hmmm. The term MCP wasn't coined yet. But then again. MCP's not the word to describe Samurai's in the show...there's a kind of respect between the people and their duties and their willingness to do their duties to perfection that deserves *salute salute*.
4) I thought in war, the leaders don't really charge up front with the men? or do they?
5) The heroes in the show can always take on MaNY MANY men by themselves. Even when HE is the ONLY ONE LEFT.
6)Why does the show end with Tom Cruise looking upon the smile of this elegant lady? They should show the little boy. Hey, he can be the real last Samurai when he grows up. (uhUH! A sequel: The ReaL Last Samurai)
7)I think the Japanese emperor in the show acted in the play Oedipus the King. (GEK1000, EN1101 students, remember??)
7.1) Katsumomo's ( or errr... you know, that Samurai leader) son reminds me of Legolas. His arrows are faster than the guns.
8) I like this show coz it DOESN'T USE EXPLETIVES.
9) I think I'm the kind who'll cry in movie theatres. Even if I'm watching Finding Nemo.
10) I think i'm going out of point. That's why I'm only half a lit student and half a movie critique.
11) Disclaimer: all the above are my personal opinions. You can beg to differ and tell me about it... when I find out how to put up a tag board or some comments thing.

*end of story*