A foundational narrative is the fundamental theme or idea which underlies the discourse at hand. Whether a film, a book, a painting or other medium of expression, a foundational narrative not only helps us frame the ideas being discussed or expressed, but puts them in a specific time or place, so that we can have a fuller understanding and experience of the work. This essay will seek to illuminate the foundational narrative of post-war Japanese society as seen through the eyes of Patlabor IIs director, Mamoru Oshii and writer, Kazunori Itoh, as well as seen through the eyes of Yoshikuni Igarashi, the author of Bodies of Memory.
Foundational narratives are crucial towards understanding a cultural artifact or work of art which originated from a specific historical context. How we view a work of art-- the lens through which we look to gain meaning and learn its true import-- is made possible by a strong foundational narrative. In the case of the film, Patlabor II, the foundational narrative is a complex mix of characters interacting in post-war Japan. As Igarashi sees it, The demonstration of the unprecedented power of the nuclear weapons provided the impetus for the U.S. and Japan to reconfigure their collective memories (Igarashi, 11) There is a political theme to the movie, detailing the economic and technologic rise of Japan after being occupied by the Allied forces after the end of World War II. Patlabor 2 takes place in the future, in 1999, and examines the unique status of Japan in the modern world. Since it is set in the future, it lets filmmakers explore current events with a what-if future hindsight. (Yuki, 23)
Patlabor differs from other anime because of its foundation of true-to-life characters and situations. (Ruh, 3) Patlabor II is filmed in a mecha subgenre of Japanese animation, which places an emphasis on mechanical elements. (Ruh, 2) The effect is such that one is able to view the film from a more unbiased frame of reference, since the characters seem robotic given their graphic production-- yet Patlabor manages to overcome the limitations of the genre due to the strength and infamy of the foundational narrative. The strength of Japans post-war foundational narrative enables Patlabor to explore history, politics and culture (Ruh, 2) in the anime medium, without the medium diluting the story of its significance.
Many of the characters in the film are unable to let go of the devastation suffered during the war, and they lived in a sort of limbo, not able to move on and grow up with the rest of Japanese culture.
There is an undertone to the effect that the characters who are in perpetual mourningwhether they are aware of it or notare bidden to bind together again and face a threat that could mean the difference between a Japan ruled by civilian authority or by fear and paranoia. The fear and paranoia is engendered by the reaction to the Emperor Hirohitos divine decision to terminate the war, (Igarashi, 11) which managed to cloak Japans defeat in the guise of strategic necessity and concern for humanity at large. (ibid, 11) By supporting the Emperor, the United States leadership participated in the reinforcement of this narrative. (ibid, 11) Yet I imagine that the Japanese had to block out all of the other possibilities before they could believe that the impetus for the surrender was a divine inspiration. As Hayles writes, the ego has become so distended, so inflated, that it blocks out everything else. (Hayles, 9) Yet Patlabor is successful in breaking through that grand ego which Japan constructed as a coping mechanism immediately after the war. The markers of mental distress . . . the dreariness, the hopelessness, the deadness inside are all alluded to in Patlabor, and lead to the terrorist uprising against the foundational narrative which has outlived its use. Much like an addict is first helped and later destroyed by its substance, so was Japan first helped and then undone by the narrative it chose to swallow.
Cracks and fissures appeared in the Japanese psyche, and there was a collective uprising of doubt and a desire to begin to mourn the devastation of the country. Yet first the narrative had to be destroyed, and those who lived by itthe police force and the military, who needed it to suffuse their egos on an existential levelwere unfortunately in charge, and needed to be overthrown by a civilian leadership who wanted to face the truth, however painful, in order to overcome it.
Part of the political foundational narrative of Patlabor II is that, due to a constitution drafted by the Allies after WWII, Japan immediately forbidden to have a military presence outside its borders. Brian Ruh writes that one of the most contentious parts of the new constitution is the peace clause. (Ruh, 6) Japansarguably impotent--military is the Japanese Self-Defense Forcethe same military which was just destroyed a little while ago by Godzilla. Igarashi points out that the bomb represented the Unites States, gendered as male which rescued and converted Japan, configured as a desperate woman. (ibid, 11)
While watching Patlabor II, It is important to understand that in 1992 the legislative branch of Japans government passed the U.N. Peacekeeping Cooperation Lawthe law that permitted the SDF to participate in U.N. operations under limited conditions. The separation of police from military authority is dramatized by the efforts of both to determine the location of sovereignty with respect to Japanese security. (Anderson, 2) Opportunistic factions and the amorality of the civilian leadership of Japanese security are called to the fore as illustrations of the breaking down of the foundational narrative of post-war Japan.
There is a strain of terror and confusion throughout the movie which are directly related to the efforts of the U.S. and Japan to render understandable the experiences of the atomic bomb and the ensuing transformation of their relationship. (ibid, 11) Both countries were complicit in the maintenance of this narrative, and citizens of both countries took on this narrative as their own, convincing themselves of its veracity as a way to move on with their devastated lives. Yet in Patlabor, the heroes must fight people within their own organization in order to combat terrorist threats. (Ruh, 5) The turn of the screw in Patlabor II is that the terrorist organization comes from within the country, and is led by a former hero of the first Patlabor. These terrorist activities are really the wish of the Japanese to eradicate the foundational narrative from within, and to do so the terrorists must annihilate some of their own forces--forces who stubbornly hold on to the narrative as a means to understand and justify their existences.
The films main storyline begins with an air-dropped bomb destroying the Tokyo Bay Bridge, and the culprit is later identified as a Japanese Air Force fighter. There is a disagreement between who has jurisdiction in this case, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department or the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. A power struggle ensures, which results in the military occupation of the city and a declaration of martial law. Soon, however, it becomes clear that a terrorist groupled by the embittered and enigmatic Tsuge, is simply manipulating them for his own purposes. Tsuge, however, plays the role of the good enemy, much as the role of the U.S. in the post-war narrative was that of the good enemy. This melodrama of conversion and rescue is played out in the confusion as to which of Japans own forces are good and which run counter to the countrys best interest. Patlabor is a narrative which contrasts the experience of the humanity of individual Japanese against the hierarchical Tokyo police system. (Ruh, 5) The film also criticizes how humans are changed by the rapid advancement of technology, which can be de-humanizing, yet a large part of the restoration of the dignity of the Japanese people post-war.
One gets the sense that the foundational narrative was spoon-fed to many Japanese, who accepted it as a way to immediately get over the devastation and demoralization of their people and their country immediately after the war. Patlabor II is not the first nor the last film in Japanese cultural history to address the incongruousness of the rise in technological advancement and the too-quick burial of national devastation and demoralization. It is, however, arguably the most successful because of the amount of people it reached, and the turbulent world political climate (the end of the Soviet Union and start of the Gulf War) in which it was released.
Foundational narratives are crucial towards understanding a cultural artifact or work of art which originated from a specific historical context. How we view a work of art-- the lens through which we look to gain meaning and learn its true import-- is made possible by a strong foundational narrative. In the case of the film, Patlabor II, the foundational narrative is a complex mix of characters interacting in post-war Japan. As Igarashi sees it, The demonstration of the unprecedented power of the nuclear weapons provided the impetus for the U.S. and Japan to reconfigure their collective memories (Igarashi, 11) There is a political theme to the movie, detailing the economic and technologic rise of Japan after being occupied by the Allied forces after the end of World War II. Patlabor 2 takes place in the future, in 1999, and examines the unique status of Japan in the modern world. Since it is set in the future, it lets filmmakers explore current events with a what-if future hindsight. (Yuki, 23)
Patlabor differs from other anime because of its foundation of true-to-life characters and situations. (Ruh, 3) Patlabor II is filmed in a mecha subgenre of Japanese animation, which places an emphasis on mechanical elements. (Ruh, 2) The effect is such that one is able to view the film from a more unbiased frame of reference, since the characters seem robotic given their graphic production-- yet Patlabor manages to overcome the limitations of the genre due to the strength and infamy of the foundational narrative. The strength of Japans post-war foundational narrative enables Patlabor to explore history, politics and culture (Ruh, 2) in the anime medium, without the medium diluting the story of its significance.
Many of the characters in the film are unable to let go of the devastation suffered during the war, and they lived in a sort of limbo, not able to move on and grow up with the rest of Japanese culture.
There is an undertone to the effect that the characters who are in perpetual mourningwhether they are aware of it or notare bidden to bind together again and face a threat that could mean the difference between a Japan ruled by civilian authority or by fear and paranoia. The fear and paranoia is engendered by the reaction to the Emperor Hirohitos divine decision to terminate the war, (Igarashi, 11) which managed to cloak Japans defeat in the guise of strategic necessity and concern for humanity at large. (ibid, 11) By supporting the Emperor, the United States leadership participated in the reinforcement of this narrative. (ibid, 11) Yet I imagine that the Japanese had to block out all of the other possibilities before they could believe that the impetus for the surrender was a divine inspiration. As Hayles writes, the ego has become so distended, so inflated, that it blocks out everything else. (Hayles, 9) Yet Patlabor is successful in breaking through that grand ego which Japan constructed as a coping mechanism immediately after the war. The markers of mental distress . . . the dreariness, the hopelessness, the deadness inside are all alluded to in Patlabor, and lead to the terrorist uprising against the foundational narrative which has outlived its use. Much like an addict is first helped and later destroyed by its substance, so was Japan first helped and then undone by the narrative it chose to swallow.
Cracks and fissures appeared in the Japanese psyche, and there was a collective uprising of doubt and a desire to begin to mourn the devastation of the country. Yet first the narrative had to be destroyed, and those who lived by itthe police force and the military, who needed it to suffuse their egos on an existential levelwere unfortunately in charge, and needed to be overthrown by a civilian leadership who wanted to face the truth, however painful, in order to overcome it.
Part of the political foundational narrative of Patlabor II is that, due to a constitution drafted by the Allies after WWII, Japan immediately forbidden to have a military presence outside its borders. Brian Ruh writes that one of the most contentious parts of the new constitution is the peace clause. (Ruh, 6) Japansarguably impotent--military is the Japanese Self-Defense Forcethe same military which was just destroyed a little while ago by Godzilla. Igarashi points out that the bomb represented the Unites States, gendered as male which rescued and converted Japan, configured as a desperate woman. (ibid, 11)
While watching Patlabor II, It is important to understand that in 1992 the legislative branch of Japans government passed the U.N. Peacekeeping Cooperation Lawthe law that permitted the SDF to participate in U.N. operations under limited conditions. The separation of police from military authority is dramatized by the efforts of both to determine the location of sovereignty with respect to Japanese security. (Anderson, 2) Opportunistic factions and the amorality of the civilian leadership of Japanese security are called to the fore as illustrations of the breaking down of the foundational narrative of post-war Japan.
There is a strain of terror and confusion throughout the movie which are directly related to the efforts of the U.S. and Japan to render understandable the experiences of the atomic bomb and the ensuing transformation of their relationship. (ibid, 11) Both countries were complicit in the maintenance of this narrative, and citizens of both countries took on this narrative as their own, convincing themselves of its veracity as a way to move on with their devastated lives. Yet in Patlabor, the heroes must fight people within their own organization in order to combat terrorist threats. (Ruh, 5) The turn of the screw in Patlabor II is that the terrorist organization comes from within the country, and is led by a former hero of the first Patlabor. These terrorist activities are really the wish of the Japanese to eradicate the foundational narrative from within, and to do so the terrorists must annihilate some of their own forces--forces who stubbornly hold on to the narrative as a means to understand and justify their existences.
The films main storyline begins with an air-dropped bomb destroying the Tokyo Bay Bridge, and the culprit is later identified as a Japanese Air Force fighter. There is a disagreement between who has jurisdiction in this case, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department or the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. A power struggle ensures, which results in the military occupation of the city and a declaration of martial law. Soon, however, it becomes clear that a terrorist groupled by the embittered and enigmatic Tsuge, is simply manipulating them for his own purposes. Tsuge, however, plays the role of the good enemy, much as the role of the U.S. in the post-war narrative was that of the good enemy. This melodrama of conversion and rescue is played out in the confusion as to which of Japans own forces are good and which run counter to the countrys best interest. Patlabor is a narrative which contrasts the experience of the humanity of individual Japanese against the hierarchical Tokyo police system. (Ruh, 5) The film also criticizes how humans are changed by the rapid advancement of technology, which can be de-humanizing, yet a large part of the restoration of the dignity of the Japanese people post-war.
One gets the sense that the foundational narrative was spoon-fed to many Japanese, who accepted it as a way to immediately get over the devastation and demoralization of their people and their country immediately after the war. Patlabor II is not the first nor the last film in Japanese cultural history to address the incongruousness of the rise in technological advancement and the too-quick burial of national devastation and demoralization. It is, however, arguably the most successful because of the amount of people it reached, and the turbulent world political climate (the end of the Soviet Union and start of the Gulf War) in which it was released.
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