Wednesday, April 22, 2009
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 Tokyo Story can you better understand this concept? What were your emotional feelings at the end of the film? What were you thinking when you saw the final image: the old man alone in the house fanning himself?
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After watching Tokyo Story I do feel as if I better understand Mono no aware because I was able to see how the parents were able to accept and be happy with life and what it had dealt them, even if it did not turn out the way they wanted it to. The mood towards the end of the movie was bitter and gloomy because the old man was left by himself and his children did not care about anything but themselves. The final image was heartbreaking because the old man had no one left in the world and was just going to spend the rest of his life alone even though he had many children who could have taken care of him.
ReplyDeleteI feel a better understanding of this phrase because we see the parents find beauty in their children and in their lives and their influnce in having raised them. But then we see their sadness in realizing that they are no longer a part of their childrens lives, but more of a burden. this is the sadness of life, almost a loss. And we feel this loss in the film when the mother dies and the father is left alone with no children to care for him, there is an aweful sadness because the beauty of his life, his wife and his children, have left him and he is left alone.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the final scene with the old man sitting alone, I thought one thing: acceptance. And I think that is what mono no aware is all about. Life throws good things and bad things in everyone's direction, and all we can do is accept them as they come our way. I feel as though "sad" would not be the right word to describe the final image of the movie, but rather "somber". Sad, awful, horrible things aren't so bad when you accept them, which the old man has. The beauty of life is that, while there may be sadness, life continues on regardless. It is somewhat depressing to think of it in this way, that we are so inconsequential and mean nothing to the world, but at the same time it is heartening, to know that there is no greater power that is out to get us, that our fate is in our hands. Moral of the story: shit happens. You can wallow in self-pity and fall into further depression, or you can accept it, and rise above it.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this movie I learned to look at things in a different way. We all take so much for granted on a daily basis because we're too busy with this and that. We never seem to have a moment where we simply take a second and stop to look at what is really around us. Life is passing by so fast and if we don't take a moment now and then to appreciate it, it'll be too late when we finally do stop and look around. This movie made me feel sad in a happy way. Sad in the sense that life is filled with sadness and tragedies, but happy because if those sadnesses and tragedies didn't exist then the the meaningful and happy things in life wouldn't be as special. Sadness and death is enevitable, but the good things in life you have to search for and you have to appreciate everything. You can't wait until the beauty of life finds you, because in most cases it won't, you have to go out searching carefully. The man sitting, fanning himself has lost a lot, but he accepts the fact that what he had was great and is okay with that. And that is what we all need to do--except the things that can't be changed and love the things we have at that moment.
ReplyDeleteThe film Tokyo Story highlights the idea of Mono no aware, which is the transience of beauty and the sadness of life. At the end of the film, the final image of the old man alone in the house conjures up these exact feelings. The father is disappointed with his children, because they took him and their mother for granted. The children could not even sacrifice one day for them, while a non-blood relative Noriko manage to show them around and take them in. However, the father accepts this idea, because his children now have lives of their own and have their own agendas with their own families. The beauty lies in the passing of one generation to the next and the accomplishments of the new generation. The sadness is the growing detachment and void experienced between the parents and the children. Furthermore, one must view this film in context of Asian culture and heritage. From a traditionalist perspective, a great deal of respect was always paid to parents. It would not be unusual for a child to live with their parents until their 30’s or getting married and living with the husband’s parents. However, a common theme explored in many Asian films is the Western influence on traditionalist eastern culture. Therefore, a type of generation gap and culture shock is experienced between the parents and the children. So, another way to look at Tokyo Story through Mono no aware is the beauty of how progressive and successful the children are. Although as a result, the children have become shallow, selfish and distant with the parents and lost their traditional cultural identity.
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