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Yakuza Culture in the Japanese Films in the 2000s. Social Essay

Essay Instructions:

Write this essay based on the attached "Final paper proposal".
The answers of the questions which professor asked in the attachment should be included in this essay.


 


This paper is about how Japanese films in the early 2000s portray the Yakuza culture that Japan is famously known of. Although the yakuza has existed for a long time, there have been a lot of gang-related violence that happened in the early 2000s, which could have sparked the interest for portraying the group once again in the movies. One example of such was the firebomb attacks against telephone dating clubs that the group has started, thereby leading to battles amongst different gangs (Hays, n.d.). The group is said to have influence on some of the largest companies within the county and have been involved in a number of crimes that is the reason for the interest towards them[MK1] . Nonetheless, this paper would focus on movies from any genre as long as it is portraying the said group. Some of the movies listed above vary from action, comedy, and crime, which would allow a much more holistic approach to the symptomatic analysis that is to be conducted. This would show that regardless of the kind of movie in focus, the yakuza has always been portrayed similarly. Specifically, I am planning on looking at any symbolisms and stereotypes that characterizes either the group or its members. This is in line with the usual portrayal in Western movies where the Yakuzas are violent, obsessed, and materialistic individuals who aims to achieve their desires through illegal means (Ito, 2015). Although, Western movies would not be the focus for this paper, I believe that by looking at such similarities in Japanese films’ portrayal of the group – in terms of the actors’ looks, role, and interaction – a symptomatic analysis of how Japanese view the Yakuza could be deduced.


 


Working Thesis: Movies of the early 2000s portrayed Yakuza and its members as a blood-thirsty and sketchy group, through symbolisms such as violence, drugs, and sex as well as stereotypes such as tattoos, formal attires, and fancy cars.


[MK2] 


Bibliographical references


 


Hays, J. (n.d.). YAKUZA VIOLENCE: BAR SHOOTINGS, MURDERS, GANG WARS. Retrieved from Factsanddetails.com: http://factsanddetails(dot)com/japan/cat22/sub147/item1787.html


 


Ito, Y. (2015). Identity, Ideology, and Cinema: Making Sense of Japan's Foreign and Security Policies in the 1950s and 2000s.






 [MK1]One way to look at this is to compare the earlier Yakuza movie boom in the 70s (Jingi-naki tatakai, etc.) and 2000s. 


 


If you just talk about the Yakuza’s violent characteristics, etc., then they are like that always so it is not very symptomatic.  But, if you add the ‘2000s’ and Yakuza, then it makes sense. 


 


https://en(dot)wikipedia(dot)org/wiki/Battles_Without_Honor_and_Humanity






 [MK2]Again, this is not very symptomatic, although it is a very local (Japan) topic. 


 


You might look into how Japan’s been squeezing Yakuza and how they have been responding to it in the 2000s.  Also, you might consider taking a peek at Itami Juzo’s Mimbo no Onna.


 


 


Cf.


https://en(dot)wikipedia(dot)org/wiki/Yakuza_exclusion_ordinances


 


This is 2010/2011, so 2000s must have been bad enough for people to want to have this.


 


 




Essay Sample Content Preview:
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Yakuza Culture in the Japanese Films in the 2000s
Yakuza group began in the Tokugawa Shogunate period and had two different groups. The first group was tekiya who moved from one village to other selling goods of low quality to earn a living. The second group was the bakuto who engaged in gambling as a primary source of income. Since then, the Yakuza group has been a dominant part of the Japanese culture and is negatively perceived by society; hence it is unsurprising that they involve in all manners of the criminal activities. The movies of the early 2000s portrayed Yakuza and its members as a blood-thirsty and sketchy group through the symbolism such as violence, drugs, sex as well as stereotypes such as tattoos, formal attires, and fancy cars.
Gambling is one of the features that best identifies the Yakuza group. The gambling activity of the group traces back to more than a hundred years ago to the bakuto group. It is one of the groups that constitute the Yakuza group, and it is primarily associated with gambling. In the early 2000s, the main gambling activities of the Yakuza group were to run the gambling joints in the entertainment centers (Hendry). At such places, they could easily attract and retain their customers, which was their primary goal. In Japan, gambling is prohibited; therefore, the gambling joints were frequently raided by the police. However, this did not stop the gambling culture of the Yakuza as they were professional gamblers that do not cheat and this would retain their customers. Apart from carrying out betting activities in a number of the activities such as Sumo Wrestling, and horse races, the group also included pachinko parlors in their dealings which have been profitable since pachinko is legal in Japan.
Prostitution is another feature that is identified by the Yakuza group. The group has largely invested in the business due to the profitability of the industry (Hendry). As a result of Yakuza investment in prostitution, it has led them to take part in human trafficking and pornography. Regarding the aspect of human trafficking, the group lures the foreign young women from abroad to Japan, and they are forced to work in the sex industry. Also, the Yakuza engage in pornography where they produce and sell pornographic material that even sometimes includes underage girls.
Violence also known as sokaiya in the Japanese culture, it is the act of disrupting the shareholders meeting using different means such as aggression or any other forms of disruption. In other cases, the shareholder members are forced to pay the Yakuza groups to stop them from disrupting their meetings. To access the meeting, the Yakuza buy shares in the companies of the interest, and they end up threatening to disrupt the meetings if they are not paid or even reveal the secrets of corporations. Due to the fear of unsightly revelations, most of the demands of the Yakuza are met by the corporations’ members (Varese 117). Extortions have proven to be some of the best ways to earn big and easy many by the Yakuza as the corporations that are humiliated are unlikely to report the incidences to the authorities due to the fear of Yakuza revealing their secrets.
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