The second
film in my analysis of the Chambara films of Akira Kurosawa, is the epic
masterpiece Seven Samurai. Consistently touted as both Kurosawa’s best
film, and one of the greatest films in the history of cinema, a lot has been
written about this genre redefining classic that bears repeating. Through a deeper
sociological analysis, looking at the context of the film’s production, and an
analysis of its social themes: that touch on ideals of Marxist populism, the
ebb and flow of social and class mobility, and the elimination of protective
enforcement, I will show how this film not only revolutionized cinema, but
became the quintessential example of a period drama as a stage by which to
comment and criticize contemporary social issues.
PLOT
In 1587 Japan, during
a period of civil war, a poor farming village is beset by roaming bandits. Yearly,
the bandits raid and pillage the town for all they have, with little
resistance. But when the bandits begin to increase their raids and how much
they take, the villagers decide to fight back by hiring samurai to defend them.
Class dynamics, codes of honor, and social solidarity are tested as the need of
the hired samurai for protection, clashes with the embedded class-based fear
and trauma experienced by the farmers.
As the samurai fortify the village, and teach its denizens to fight,
class walls are broken down, so that by the time the final battle arrives, they
are one…until their victory, or ultimate defeat.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Released
in 1954, Seven Samurai was the first jidaigeki/ Chambara film to be
released Post World War II during reconstruction. This was due to the cinematic
restrictions put in place during the US occupation of Japan from
1946-1952. Every film script was
reviewed and sanctioned by the Japanese government, and thereby the US
occupying forces. Nothing was approved for production that, in the mind of the
US western colonizers, would revitalize the revolutionary fighting spirit of
the Japanese people and lead to rebellion. This was a direct result of Samurai
class values being a culturally valuable
inspiration during World War II[1].
Therefore, during the occupation period, every samurai film proposed was
stonewalled. Ironically, it was
Kurosawa’s western romanticism of the Samurai, that brought him and the
Principles of Bushido to international acclaim.
The
Principles of Bushido
Bushido is
the moral code of the Samurai class. There are seven basic principles
that a Samurai must follow:[2]
Integrity (GI)
This is being acutely honest in all of your dealings with
other people. Demanding justice in yourself and your actions, making sure that
all points of view are considered.
Respect (REI)
This is being courteous to others, even the ones
that you don't like. Having respect means not "showing off"
your strength, being humble. The true strength of a person is in their
actions during difficult times
Courage (YU)
This is living life fully and completely. To
understand fear as having a natural existence, but not being ruled by
it. The ability to do "the right thing" even when it
is unpopular or difficult. You need to have the courage to explore and
live within the world.
Compassion (JIN)
This is the practice of empathy. To have
compassion, is to care deeply about other people and act from that level of
care, with an individual’s best interest in mind. Compassion is not
always being soft or giving in, but giving individuals what they need
(physically, emotionally, spiritually) when they need it.
Honesty/Sincerity (MOKOTO)
Saying what you mean and meaning what you say.
To be honest is to speak truths, not falsehoods. By always doing what you set
out to do, there is no need to promise, there is just what is done.
Duty and Loyalty (CHU)
Anyone who is under your care you have a fierce
loyalty towards. There is a truth and commitment in all actions that does not
waver.
Honor (MEIYO)
A person's actions and decisions reflect who they are. This
is the apex of the Samurai code. Shame and regret are the opposite of
Honor. One needs to be truthful to oneself...you cannot hide from who you are.
While applied and embraced by all people, these
principles can be a strong egalitarian belief system. Thus, in their
romanticism, these are principles that have been consistently given to heroes
in all areas of global cinema. This unfortunately masks the fact that during the
height of Samurai rule in Japan (for around 500 years) these principles were
used to segregate and stratify the Samurai class from others; believing,
because of these ideals, they were morally and spiritually superior. The
realities of the Samurai do not match up with the benevolence afforded to them
throughout popular culture. This modern misconception of the Samurai that has
permeated throughout all of global pop culture, can be laid directly at the
feet of Kurosawa as he infuses the principles of Bushido into his Samurai characters.
The
Samurai as Bushido allegories
One of the marvelous
things in Kurosawa’s Magnum Opus is the texture and layering of its characters.
Every character is moved beyond a simple trope based upon their class status or
motivational plot mechanics. Each of the Samurai, and a few of the farmers,
have a complex pathos that keeps them from being a two-dimensional caricature. It
is this three-dimensional characterization fueled by the hero/villain schema in
the western cinema of John Ford, Kurosawa sets his samurai above the
rest of their compatriots.
As the farmers begin looking for help among
the samurai class, there is an extended sequence of the farmers being bullied
and rejected by Samurai whom they have asked for assistance. To add a bit more
context, historically this was a period of civil war. Many individual Samurai were released by their
daimyo, or their Daimyo surrendered to their enemies, leaving them to become roaming
ronin (masterless samurai) who would often be just as penniless as farmers,
albeit with a higher social status. Thus, as this montage plays out, Kurosawa
makes sure that the audience realizes, through costuming and interactions, that
the rejection of the farmers is based upon the elevated class status of the
samurai at the time, and the pride that goes along with it. One samurai clearly
stating that “their ambitions are higher” than working for food. This is
presenting the audience with a general understanding of the Samurai at the time,
therefore, anyone that is willing to help the farmers is ultimately
viewed by the audience as more altruistic. Here begins Kurosawa’s romanticization
of the samurai that has carried through into our modern pop culture. Kurosawa’s
‘Benevolent Seven’ is not only an anachronism to the Samurai of their time, but
also becomes a template for the image of the samurai moving forward.
While each of the Samurai
characters have shades of all the seven principles of Bushido, it is no
coincidence that there are ‘Seven Samurai’ and Seven principles of Bushido.
Kurosawa has each of his Samurai embody the essence of one of the seven
principles mentioned above:
Kambei-
(Honor- Meiyo)
The de facto leader of
the group, Kambei, is the quintessential Samurai. He closely follows the
Bushido code, but applies it to everyone, Samurai, merchant, and farmer
alike. He is a brilliant swordsman, tactician,
and philosopher. He, like the principle
he represents, knows who he is, and upon taking up the farmer’s cause, ritualizes
his payment in rice and graciously thanks the farmers; saying that he “will not
spill one single grain”. Kambei, speaks plainly and directly, equally praising,
and chastising people as needed, without bravado. He is a man who understands
when words are needed and when action is warranted.
Shichirōji (Duty and Loyalty- Chu)-
The only Samurai with a
previous history, Shichiroji and Kambei fought
together (and lost) in a clash with a rival Daimyo clan. By the simple act of
asking Shichirōji joins the group, having a sense of duty and loyalty to
Kambei. Throughout the film, those feelings of duty and loyalty get extended
out beyond just the other samurai to the villagers under his command; including
Manzo the cynical farmer who warns the village to the dangers inherit in hiring
samurai for protection. One of the few Samurai assembled that has practical
battle experience, Shichirōji never falters in his charge;
loyal to Kambei, the samurai, and the rest of the villagers until that loyalty
is released by the end of the film.
Heihachi (Compassion-
Jin)
After convincing Heihachi
to join the mission, Gorobei describes Heihachi to Kambei as being “a mediocre swordsman
but will be uplifting in troubled times.” Hehachi is the samurai that has the
most compassion for the villagers, getting Rikichi to open up about his fears,
and the loss that he has suffered. Heihachi is also the greatest champion for Kikuchiyo
and Katsushiro to join the group. His
light jovial nature hides his admitted inexperience and penchant for avoiding
conflict. He, along with Kikuchiyo, pressure the rest of the samurai to give up
social class platitudes and treat the villagers like equals.
Kyuzo (Courage-Yu)
Kyuzo is the most
disciplined of the Samurai. Only really concerned with the testing and
improvement of his skills, he is terse, direct, and willing to get the job
done. Without a second thought, he volunteers to capture a rifle by himself to
help level the playing field against the bandits. Gone throughout the night, he
returns at dawn with a rifle and quietly mentions that he killed two more
bandits. Through this action, and
countless others throughout the film, Kyuzo represents Courage. He fully lives within
himself and the moment. He understands the fear of battle but does not let it
control him. His actions are usually what needs to happen, regardless of their
popularity. He gets the rifle because it is what needs to be done; whereas
Kikuchiyo gets a rifle for glory and to “prove” he is just as good as Kyuzo.
Kyuzo was based on Legendary Samurai Miyamoto Musashi.
Kikuchiyo
(Honesty/Sincerity-Makoto)
Being born the son of peasant farmers,
Kikuchiyo fits in this in-between space. Though not born into the Samurai class,
he aspires to be one. While there is some dishonesty in his claim that he is of
Samurai lineage (because his “proof” makes him only 13 years old), his anachronistic
dressing down of the Samurai and the situation with the farmers, reveal the truth
of this classist hierarchy they all participate in; equally blaming both the
samurai and the farmers for their contributions to this toxic system.
Katsushiro (Respect- Rei)
The youngest of the group,
Katsushiro reveres the Samurai (especially Kambei and Kyuzo), always
prostrating himself before them. Of the seven, he is also the one that bows the
most, which superficially, is showing the most respect. Yet, respect often
masks his inexperience, and perceived shame, especially for sleeping with Shino. That mask is much needed at the end of the
film when Shino rejects him. It is
unclear if he would have given up his Samurai status and become a farmer with
Shino, but as he takes a few steps toward her after she passes him, we can
imply that he was contemplating it. Whether that be his actual desire, or one
born out of Respect for her and his actions, is unknown.
Gorobei
(Integrity- Gi)
Second in command,
Gorobei understands battle strategy and instinctively knows what Kambei is
thinking. He does not desire to fight, Instead, he is fascinated with Kambei’s
decision to help the farmers. He is seen
to council the other Samurai and be counseled by Kambei. He knows all aspects of what they need and
has the ability to admit when the Samurai were wrong. After the discovery of the farmers horded
food and weapons, rather than want revenge as Kambei does; Gorobei contemplates
this revelation and Kikuchiyo’s speech, then decides how best to move forward.
He along with Kikuchiyo is then shown redistributing the rice among the farmers’
children.
The anthropomorphizing of
Bushido through his principal characters, not only began the romanticism of the
Samurai as a popular cultural icon, but it began the revitalization of the
Samurai spirit in cinema from 1952-1970.
This led to a stronger national identity and the incorporation of Buddhist
and Samurai principles into all aspects of Japanese life (Particularly in
Business). We saw another resurgence of Samurai films in the first two decades
of the new millennium, where 17 films were produced and released over those 20
years. Some of them, embraced the traditional values of the Samurai (the loose
Trilogy by Yoji Yamata) while others bridged the gap between eastern and
western sensibilities (The Last Samurai and Unforgiven). Yet, all
of these films of this new era are clearly paying homage to Kurosawa (e.g.Takashi
Miike’s 13 Assassins). One could argue that what was feared during the
post war occupation of Japan, eventually came true despite the efforts of the
US colonizers. I am not suggesting that the actions of the US occupiers were
justified or correct; suppression and oppression never are acceptable. Instead,
it was the restriction on this expression that eventually led to its fulfillment.
Michel Foucault (1978) acknowledged that
with greater constraint, equals greater desire; in that the more people try to
exercise their power over others, the more the subjugated seek its avoidance. Thus, the occupiers put so much value on
depictions of the Samurai, that it inevitably caused its romantic resurgence.
Production
The epic Seven Samurai
was written in 6 weeks by Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto and
Hideo Oguni. Kurosawa, who was not interested in making an epic chambara film
at the time, read the historical evidence of farmers actually hiring samurai as
bodyguards in the 1500’s. He thought this was an original angle and got
interested in the project. The three men sequestered themselves in a hotel room,
not allowing visitors and phone calls. According to Hashimoto, in and interview
through The Criterion Collection, the process of writing was far from equal. He
and Kurosawa did the bulk of the writing and plotting, while Oguni would be
their quality control critic. Kurosawa and Hashimoto would hand him a scene and
if he liked it then they would move on, if not they had to rewrite it.
Even in the writing stage,
Kurosawa and Hashimoto began to reinvent the chambara film genre. Film scholars
consistently agree that Seven Samurai is the first instance of a lot of
plot elements that were never seen before, or at least, never seen together.
This includes a sequence of getting a team together for a mission, a hero being
introduced through an action that has nothing to do with the film’s plot (Think
every James Bond Film), the reluctant hero, the fearful citizens, and the
romance between the hero and someone under their protection. Since their debut/collective
reintroduction in Seven Samurai, many of these plot points are now
industry action film standards, becoming tropes in less capable hands. Hence, Seven
Samurai unofficially is regarded as the first modern action film[3].
Principle Photography
After 3 months of
pre-production, principal photography began, lasting over 140 shooting days
spread out over an entire year. Kurosawa had created detailed family lineages
for all the farmers in the village and based several the Samurai on actual
historical figures. Kurosawa would edit the film throughout shooting. While
this was semi-common in the early 50’s, the shooting schedule was so long, that
Kurosawa would finish editing whole sequences, before filming was complete.
Even today, most directors only edit that quickly for “dailies,” rather than for
the final cut.[4]
Kurosawa would also go on to establish camera angles (the use of wide lenses),
transitions (the wipe from one scene to the next) and filmmaking techniques
(the use of multiple cameras to shoot action) that have become a benchmark in
the industry.
As innovative as Kurosawa
was in the film’s production, this innovation came at a variety of costs. The production, particularly the principal
photography, was also rife with problems, setbacks, and miserable conditions. The film went drastically over budget
ballooning to $500,000 in US dollars which was over 3 times its initial
estimate. The actress that played Shino (Keiko
Tsushima) suffered permanent eye damage due to retakes of a lighting effect
that was trying to make her eyes “sparkle” on camera. In the scene where the
Samurai engage in a pre-emptive strike against the bandits by burning down
their fortress, there was supposed to be a fire truck on hand to douse the
blaze if it got out of control. Unfortunately, on the day of filming, the fire
department was using all their trucks to fight fires. The inferno that was
caught on camera, burned longer and hotter than expected, scorching the side of
the mountain above the set. The Fire was
so hot that the actor playing Rikichi (Yoshiro Tsuchiya) sustained burns.
Due to the long
complicated and costly photography, some of the shooting days needed to be
rearranged. While this is common on any production, the way shooting was
rearranged for Seven Samurai meant that the climactic battle, originally
slated to be shot in July, was now going to be shot in February. On the first
day of shooting this sequence, in near freezing temperatures, water was used to
melt the snow that had fallen overnight. Additionally, for rain to show up on
film, the actors and the set need to be drenched with an enormous volume of
water with huge droplets. This caused
the ground to turn to mud that would typically freeze between takes. Many of
the actors and crew have mentioned that this was a miserable experience, so
much so that Kurosawa lost his toenails to frostbite.
Score
The score for Seven
Samurai, composed by Fumio Hayasaka is one of the quintessential film
scores of the 20th century. Not only epic in scope, but the music retains
aspects of its principal characters being somber and operatic in one minute, to
bouncing and jovial the next. Some
characters like Kambei and Kikuchiyo even get their own specific instrument
associated with them (the trumpet, and the oboe respectfully). Because this
film “slaps and a half” as the kids say these days, with an indelible impact on
all film scores moving forward, it is remarkable that this score was originally
discarded by Hayasaka. The theme only resurfaced because Kurosawa was not happy
with the music that Hayasaka originally selected. This truly was a moment of
musical serendipity.
The Film’s Legacy
Typically, in film
criticism, a film’s directing, acting, plot, writing and cinematography are
critiqued around the depth of thinking, emotional impact, authenticity in
relation to what is being depicted, wit or cleverness of the writing, and
originality. However, regardless of its frequent use in reviews, the term “classic”
has never clearly been operationally defined, regardless of the commonalities a
lot of these same pop cultural products share. This is partly do to all things
existing in a capitalist system and its manufactured vagaries (Nostalgic, Fast etc.)
as a part of a culture industry that results in unending consumption (Arditi 2021). So, it makes sense that both the term
“classic” would be used, there would be similarities, and we would understand
and accept the use of the term with minimal interrogation. Like so many other things in our culture, we
know a “classic” when we see it; at the same time being a cultural and social
construct. The question remains, if we were to operationally define the
criteria of a classic, could or should Seven Samurai fit that
definition?
The use of the term
“classic” is so ubiquitous across mediums, genres, and a variety of contexts,
it would seem near impossible to generalize enough to encompass all its uses. Yet,
in the name of order and consistency, consider that the term “classic” has the
following criteria:
1. Generational Transmission: The cultural
product needs to be acknowledged and known across generations. It is not
required that the product be passed down from one generation to another, it can
also be rediscovered by a future generation.
Broad age demographic popularity and the number of times a film is
remade can be used as an indicator.
2. Reinvent
the Genre: The cultural product needs to provide a
change to the medium or category of products that it is a part of. This
innovation makes the cultural product both stand out and cements itself as an
important work moving forward. This is
usually accompanied by the phrase “This was the first time ___ happened” as a
gauge.
3. Icon
Status: The cultural product, or its creator is elevated by
the populace as being a paragon of whatever industry generated it. This can
happen to characters in the story, the story itself, or anyone involved in its creation.
This can be easily identified by a large group of people able to identify a
cultural product without having consumed it themselves
4. Embody
the cultural Zeitgeist: This is when a cultural product
becomes representative, or of the age in which it was created. So much so, that
when people think of a particular era, they think of these specific cultural
products. Usually, this is representing the historical context in which the
cultural product was created. However, there are some cultural products that,
regardless of when they were made, embody the spirit of the time period in
which they were set.
5. Become
a part of the Structure: This is when the cultural product is
enveloped into the bureaucratic social structure of a society. This can usually
be identified if the product becomes a standardized example in formalized
social learning (i.e, through schools).
The enduring power of Seven Samurai, the way it
redesigned the way we think about film, made an icon of Toshiro Mifune’s Kikuchiyo,
(and the director himself), clearly represents post US occupation Japan, and
Kurosawa’s work being taught in films schools, all point to Seven Samurai fitting
this “criterion” of a classic. In fact, modern filmmaking, especially the
American cinematic new wave that began in the 1970’s (Epitomized by Scorsese,
Lucas, Spielberg and Coppola), would not have been possible without Kurosawa.
Each film by these directors, and even their own cinematic progeny, have been
borrowing from Kurosawa, and will continue to borrow from him for generations.
It
could be argued that Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai has become so influential and
so much a part of the way films are made, that it has lost credibility and
recognition in the 67 years hence. Here
is where complete generational transmission can work against the film. Since
its release in 1954, Seven Samurai became so popular and influential in
the filmmaking community, that everyone wanted to replicate it in their own way.
A
lot of Kurosawa’s work has been remade, none more remade than Seven Samurai.
There are 6 official remakes of Seven Samurai (including The Magnificent 7
and A Bug’s Life). However, if you include films with similar plot point
and themes, the number of films that are inspired by Kurosawa’s second jidaigeki
is much higher. From different mediums: TV:
(Samurai 7, season 1 Episode 4 of The Mandalorian,) Video games
(Seven Samurai 20XX) and a variety of other film genres: Comedy (Three Amigos)
Sci-fi (Galaxy Quest, Star Trek: Insurrection, Rogue One) Sword and Sorcery
epics (13th Warrior), and of course Modern Jidaigeki (13 Assassins).
The problem comes when these derivatives of Seven Samurai gain their own
cult following and take on a life of their own. Someone enthralled by the quick
cuts, gore, and death traps in 13 Assassins or the 13th Warrior,
may find Seven Samurai boring and a slog to get through. The comedy of The
Three Amigos, Galaxy Quest or A Bug’s Life, may make the
gritty somber parts of its spiritual ancestor less appealing. Unfortunately, so much time has passed since
its release, and more films and other forms of content continue to draw inspiration
from Seven Samurai, that it may end up tarnished, and pale in unfair
comparison to its children.
SOCIAL ANALYSIS
Any chambara
film dealing with the Samurai class is inherently dealing with class conflict. Kurosawa
not only put an anachronistic spin on his romanticized depiction of the Samurai
class, but he was the first director to consider the lives of peasants by making
them the main characters in several of his chambara films. Some of these
actions can be attributed to Kurosawa’s dabble in Marxism in the late 1920’s-early
1930’s, when he joined a Proletariat Artists League which spurred his
compassion and plight for the lower classes (Chiao 2016).
Brief
Marxism interlude
Marx’s critique of Capitalism
revolves around three points. For this review, it is most effective to only
discuss the first point: That the conflict within society is between what Marx
deems the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat, or as they shall be subsequently referred
to for clarity: “Owners and the Workers”. The Owners own the mode of
production, which is a combination of the means of production and the social
relationships of production. The difference is that the means of production are
the components of the production process which allows production to take place
(buildings, raw materials, tools, and machinery), and the social relationship
of production means that they control the social relationships between
themselves and their labor force. For example, when a person is granted a
position in an organization, government, or company, they do not have ownership
of that position. Instead, they have been given that position at the whim of
the” Owners”. Additionally, this allows the Owners to gain wealth through the
labor power of other people.
According to Marx, all
that The Workers have is their labor, which they sell for wages. Therefore, workers, because of their social
class position, they cannot gain wealth through the labor power of other
people, only themselves. This is akin to prostitution. Additionally, the cultural and social
norm/desire to have children is instilled in individuals (as a form of legacy/
immortality for the individual) so that the labor force can be reproduced. Thirdly, childhood is a investment in future
labor, and the cost of creating and maintaining a worker will never be equal,
and in fact will always be far less than what it cost to create them.
Unfortunately,
this is not quite successfully analogous to the Samurai and the Peasants in Seven
Samurai, as in this era of Japan, individual samurai could themselves loose
title and wealth and standing when they leave or are released by their Daimyo
and become “Ronin”. Even if they were penniless, Ronin were still awarded
status due to their Samurai lineage. In this way, the Samurai lineage acts as a
form of privilege, like white, male, cis het able-bodied privilege that often weakens
the barriers put in place by a lack of income. This makes the Samurai the white
cis het middle-class men of ancient Japan, whom, like the non-disabled, middle
class, straight, white dudes of today, are also negatively impacted by
cavernous disparities in wealth acquisition and social class mobility, often
without their realization. Yet, their samurai status was used to maintain a
class hierarchical system. Much in the same way that the color line was drawn
between poor whites and people of color in 1680 (Zinn 2000).
This point is dramatized
in Seven Samurai through a particularly shrewd plot point at the
beginning of the film. When the peasants overhear that they will be raided by
bandits once the grain is harvested, they go to the village elder for advice.
The village elder suggests hiring Samurai to protect them from the bandits. Manzo,
one of the villagers, points out that since the bandits were once Samurai loyal
to a Daimyo, but they were released as Ronin, and finding the penniless life
too hard, turned to crime. He raises the
legitimate point that since they will be culling their protectors from the same
barrel as their perpetrators, and because they have no money to pay (can only
pay in rice), what is going to stop the protectors from raiding them as well?
The elder quips: “Find hungry Samurai.” That simple statement is the first
indication Kurosawa gives that the Samurai that do decide to join the farmers
are moral paragons above others in their station.
The opening scenes of Seven
Samurai touch on the emotional trauma and cost of being a farmer in Feudal
Japan. Attempting to weigh the cost of enduring another bandit raid with the
assumed costs of protecting themselves, speaks to the constant state of fear
and panic the peasants find themselves in. This fear leads them to hording
food, hiding family members and murdering potentially innocent Samurai just
because of their status. Additionally, upon hearing of the bandits return, one
of the farmers suggest that they burn all their crops and hang themselves, as
she believes that is the only way to act against the bandits, by taking away
what they want. Emile Durkheim (2007) describes this as fatalistic
suicide, when someone decides to end their life due to too much societal
regulation. In this case, it’s the regulation from their class status, the ignoring
of the criminality by the Governor, and the Bandits themselves. Both of the scenes are examples of class
based trauma; defined
as an acute and/or chronic situation wherein the individual experiences
personal threat to his/her social status and position; at the time of the
experience, he or she is unable to escape from the threat or modify the
situation. It is this trauma that weighs on the farmers throughout the whole of
the film, pushing them to emotional breakdowns and potential desertion. It is
only until the bandit threat is eliminated, and the remaining Samurai cast
aside, is the trauma able to be moved past for something brighter.
Class Mobility and
Socialism in Seven Samurai
As mentioned above, the
character that is the most anachronistic, and the one that is used as a commentary
and criticism of the Feudal system, is Kikuchiyo. One of the reason’s Kurosawa wanted to set
this Chambara film in the late 1500’s, rather than using the typical Meji era
where the samurai are in decline, was the unique fluidity of social class
positions in the 1500’s that gets rigidly solidified 300 years later. It is
only in this period of civil war and unrest that a son of a farmer could aspire
to become a Samurai. Throughout the film,
Kikuchiyo vacillates between embracing the Samurai, wanting to be acknowledged
by them, and berating both them and the farmers for their role in maintaining
the class divide between Peasants and Samurai when, in the end, both groups are
human.[5] This speech not only is a
character reveal for Kikuchiyo, that he understands the realities of the world
far better than the class based courtesies that get thrown around by Samurai
and farmers alike, but shifts focus of the entire film. Moving forward, they
all realize that the repelling of the Bandit attack is more important than the maintenance
of class status.
As the samurai adjust to
sharing food and resources with the farmers, so too must the farmers begin to
take more responsibility for the defense of their village. Each of the villagers are assigned to a squad
that is headed by either Shichiroji , Kyuzo, Heihachi or Kikuchiyo[6]. Each Samurai trains the
villagers in pike warfare and has them defending different vulnerable access
points in the village to bandit attack. When
it is suggested that the village needs to be consolidated and the outlying
houses outside of the main square will need to be abandoned, there is a near mutiny.
The owners of those houses, in an act of desperate individualism, throw down
their spears and abandon their posts lamenting: “Why should we help save the
village if they are going to let our houses burn?” Upon hearing this, Kambei
draws his sword and chases after the would-be deserters. Once they are back in
line, Kambei gives a rudimentary declaration of socialist collectivism stating:
“By protecting others, you protect yourself- By only thinking of yourself, you
destroy yourself.” While this may be another anachronistic criticism of Feudal
Japan, like Kikuchiyo’s speech, it also succinctly embodies the messaging of
populist socialism and the spirit of the current social justice movement.
Seven Samurai and Abolishing
the Police
The murder of George
Floyd in May 2020 reignited the call for police reform, and its outright
abolition. This has been oversimplified into two separate but similar mantras:
“defund the police.” and “abolish the police”. One mantra, focusing on a
reformation of the police, seeks a redistribution of police funding into more community-based
programs; ones that focus on outreach, mental health services and alternative
first responders that are trained non-violent intervention specialists. From
this perspective, it is not a
divestment in police so much as an investment in other programs
and services, designed to unburden Police Officers from being councilors,
mental health professionals, homeless shelters, and addiction experts.
Additionally, Radley Balko (2021) suggests
other reformations beyond just austerity:
1. Ending
the Drug War and moving to a Public Health Model: By
decriminalizing all drugs (like Oregon) this may cut off federal funding tied
to drug enforcement and permanently end the 1033 Program, which allows weapons
gear and training to easily flow from the military to local law enforcement.
2. Ban
No Knock Raids: This means that there needs to be a ban on
all forced entry (except when they can prove a person is an eminent
threat.) Balko (2021) notes that if police need to arrest someone who
is known to be dangerous, they don’t tend to use aggressive tactics. All
departments should increase wait times when knocking to being long enough for
people to answer the door.
I personally don’t like
the way the phrase ‘eminent threat’ is worded, as it can be too subjective and
be used much like Police discretion in shootings. So many police shootings have
been justified because the officer “feels threatened”, due to unconscious bias,
then they pull their weapon and fire. The “eminent threat” phrase could be used
the same way, allowing cops to define the term however they want, regardless of
policy, only to be “sorted out later” after someone has died.
3. Increase
Police and Government Accountability: Rather than operate
under qualified immunity, this would require cities and states to institute
policies that would hold police more accountable, and be better trained in de-escalation
conflict resolution, and respecting constitutional rights.
I am still skeptical that
any amount of (re)training of police is going to do enough to make any type of
substantive change. Especially if they continue to
use action films in their training
4. Curb
Police Unions: The power of police unions needs to be dispersed.
Not only do 15 states have a version of a police officer “bill of rights,” most
other cities and states have additional police officer rights written into
their constitution. Also, the phrase “assaulting
a police officer” is broadly defined and prosecuted with impunity. Balko (2021)
also states that departments with a police union are 40% more likely to commit
violent misconduct, and those that have a “officer’s bill of rights” are more
likely to kill unarmed citizens (p 429)
What I think Balko (2021) misses, is an intersectional
analysis of the interlocking of racist systems between state policy, and local
policing; not to mention a historical perspective on the creation of the police
out of slave patrols after the Civil War (Dunbar-Ortiz 2018). This history of
racism and anti-blackness in the United States, especially in policing, is so
prevalent that blackness becomes the “the weapon” that police fear (Anderson 2021).
Because this history is often ignored or obfuscated, calls for greater
accountability and training is only placing a bandage on a festered gapping
wound. Instead, let us consider abolition.
The
initial calls for the abolishing of the police did not mention the disbanding
of police departments. Rather, the first steps taken towards abolishment, publicly,
was on Jun 1 2020 when several senators
put their name on a bill that sought to end the qualified immunity of police
officers. This then snowballed into many people questioning
the value, and community need of the police and prison; especially given the
harm they have done historically and collectively to the poor and people of
color, Black people specifically. Derecka Purnell (2020), in her article “How
I became a Police Abolitionist” articulates this
beautifully:
Police
couldn’t do what we really needed. They could not heal relationships or provide
jobs. We were afraid every time we called. When the cops arrived, I was
silenced, threatened with detention, or removed from my home. Fifteen years
later, my old neighborhood still lacks quality food, employment, schools,
health care, and air—all of which increases the risk of violence and the
reliance on police. Yet I feared letting go; I thought we needed them.
Until the Ferguson,
Missouri, cop Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown. Brown had a funeral. Wilson
had a wedding. Most police officers just continue to live their lives after
filling the streets with blood and bone.
Similarly, the Samurai class in Feudal Japan had the
right to kill peasants with impunity and hide behind this practice as a form of
self-defense. The practice was known as Kiri-Sute Gomen, and
was invoked for the modest of transgressions. “The right to use such action was
permitted when cases of extreme rudeness, hindrance of a samurai’s official
functions, slight or slur, defamation, deliberate attack on, or conflict with a
samurai arose.” The punishment for the Samurai, like
many police officers involved in the shooting of unarmed Black people,
was minimal. Samurai who invoked “Kiri-Sute Gomen” received just 20 days house
arrest and their sword would be confiscated during the investigation, but then
returned. However, if convicted, which was rare, The Samurai may be forced to
commit seppuku (ritual suicide) to allow that even in death, they would be able
to retain their honor.
In the light of these
similarities between police and samurai perhaps it is time for the police as we
know it to be abolished. The disbanding of the Samurai during the Meji era did
not eliminate the Samurai completely, just in the form that they had been
known. Samurai lineage today is still a point of social class pride among Japanese
people, Kurosawa himself being one of them; and still, he recognizes the
importance of change at the end of Seven Samurai. In the film’s final scene
at the foot of the graves of the fallen Samurai and villagers, Kambei laments:
“In the end, we lost this battle too. The real victory belongs to the farmers.”
With that statement he realizes and resigns himself to the fact that the time
of the Samurai is coming to an end, that there may not be a place in the world
for Warriors anymore.
There are some that might
consider this comparison between Samurai and modern police to be a logical
fallacy of false equivalence because the Samurai were not officially the police
of Feudal Japan. However, the growth of police militarization since the Civil
Rights movement of the 1950’s in the United States, has not only included access
to military style weaponry and gear, but a paradigm shift in training from
seeing police officers as guardians, to a more warrior-style
training model that is far closer to the Samurai than we
should be comfortable with. Even police officer’s themselves, overtaken by the
romanticism of the Samurai, particularly in popular culture, encourage
an even closer connection between the two groups.
These parallels between
the Samurai and police are easily visible and rooted in TV and film. Just as the
Samurai have been romanticized in Japanese Cinema post World War II, beginning
in the 1970’s, cop films and TV shows romanticize the violent aspects of Police
work. Audience’s cheer when the protagonist police officer must go beyond, or
“Above” the Law in order to get “Justice”, which to be clear, usually involves
violence and murder. Modern films and TV
seem to be merging the two groups[7], having police with a
“Samurai Spirit”. From: Showdown in Little Tokyo, End of Watch, Heat,
and The Raid, to The John Wick Series, there has been an easy
melding of these two genres into one. However, these modern films often end up glorifying
the violence and destruction that the police/Samurai create, rather than agonize
over it. In Seven Samurai however, Kurosawa spends more time with the
Samurai talking with each other, interacting with the villagers, and
cultivating relationships than he does depicting them in violence. It is a far
more humanistic (albeit idealized) version of the warrior; and if the most idealized
version of these warriors (Kurosawa’s Samurai) can conclude that they are
obsolete, maybe we can convince our own “warriors” of their own obsolescence. [8]
CONCLUSION
Seven
Samurai is one of the greatest films ever made. It is a focal point for
understanding the history of cinema and allows for ripe sociological analysis on
a range of issues regarding poverty, politics, and policing. This film is abysmally deep, rewarding each
repeated viewing with a new comparison or allegory to think about. As Kurosawa
once described, “[Seven Samurai] is a movie as rich as buttered steak
topped with grilled eel.” Everyone should see it at least once. Film fans will appreciate
its technical craft for sure, but if you let it sit with you, and contemplate
its themes, messages, and their application in a modern context, what you will
find is cinematic art…with an abundance of riches.
REFERENCES
Anderson,
Carol 2021. The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America New
York: Bloomsbury Publishing
Arditi, David
2020. Streaming Culture: Streaming Platforms and the Unending Consumption of
Culture United Kingdom: Emerald Publishing
Balko, Radley
2021. Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces
New York: Public Affairs
Chiao, Peggy 2016.
“Kurosawa’s Early Influences: Literature, Painting, Kendo, and Marxism” In
Seven Samurai (Publication Copy) New York: Criterion Collection
Durkheim, Emile 2007.
On Suicide New York: Penguin Group
Dunbar-Ortiz 2018.
Loaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment California City of
Lights Books
Foucault, Mchel
1978. The History of Sexuality An Introduction: Volume 1 New York:
Random House
Zinn, Howard 2003.
A People’s History of the United States 1492-Present New York: Harper
Collins
[1] Kamikaze
pilots took a lot of inspiration from the Bushido code
[2]
The Bushido code was originally published on the blog in the essay “The Way..” July 28th
2013
[3] I
am so enamored with Seven Samurai that every movie I see that has
aspects or elements of it, that reminds me of this brilliant film, I give it a
higher rating. What I refer to as “The Seven Samurai” effect.
[4]
The most recent film I remember doing this is Peter Jackson’s team on The
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
[6]
the
other three acting as General (Kambei), Second in command (Gorobei), and
Apprentice (Katsushiro)
[7]
No, I am not just taking about the schlocky 90’s flick Samurai Cop
[8] It
should be noted that the elimination of the Samurai class during the Meji era coincided
with the outlawing of the wearing and use of the sword. Similarly, any calls
for the abolishment of the police should also be in tandem with the elimination
of Guns and a repeal of the second amendment.
