Feminist Film Criticism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Feminist Film Criticism - Essay Example The movie stars Zhang Ziyi, as the female protagonist Nitta Sayuri2, who, through a relentless desire to achieve her one and only goal in life3, has made it to the peak of her pursuit to be a geisha and eventually to become the mistress of the oki-ya4. The social position of the geisha is best described as something peculiar to the society of its source. This is so because their status in the traditional civilization is to some extent considered as indeterminate. This undefined portrayal of a geisha was successfully clarified in the film. As manifestly illustrated in the film, a geisha was given an unsurpassed status in the Japanese society. It evidently gave justice to the frequently mistaken position of a geisha with respect to their status in the populace. More often than not, a geisha is mistakenly perceived and identified as a "prostitute". However, this misconception was effectively dismissed as the film nearly reached its conclusion. The viewers correspondingly learned that a geisha is far more different from a prostitute. Although seen as somewhat rundown, the oki-ya is viewed as a house having significantly acceptable structure in the society. Comparatively similar to a boarding house, oki-ya is where the geisha and the geisha trainees stay and settle. As seen in the movie, a Geisha House is not as terrible and horrific as that of a brothel house where prostitutes are maintained. Its social structure as traditionally acknowledged in the Japanese culture gives a clear view how oki-ya is boldly accepted in the society. One becomes a geisha after an extensive training from the time she enters the oki-ya where she eventually turns into an apprentice, serving the mistress of the house by doing the domestic chores. Sayuri entered the oki-ya at the age of nine (9) and started as a servant for the "mother" of the house and to Hatsumomo5, the only geisha in the house. She was then prepared and trained to become a geisha with Pumpkin in a training school, learning the arduous arts of a geisha, which include, among others, dance and music; elaborate make-up of pale white faces and their enthralling red lips; wearing the kimono, pouring sake to reveal just a slight touch of the inner wrist, and the remarkable struggle with jealous rivals for the attention of men of the higher class. As the American anthropologist Dalby stated in her book, a geisha's position in the society is unavoidably vague. She wrote: "(m)arked as [a geisha] is by both high and low prestige, the Geisha and her place in Japanese culture remain elusively ambiguous." [172] The fundamental role of a geisha is to entertain men in business and politics in Japan. They were trained to function as the very amusing and gracious hostess, usually, in an important gathering which prominent men would throw. An essential part of bringing entertainment is through music and dancing where they show their talents as developed by the extensive training they underwent. "Each geisha is highly accomplished in particular skills such as playing the koto, dancing or singing, but they all train for years in the more general arts of caring for their guests (or, strictly speaking, clients). [Hendry, Taylor and Francis, 201] The geisha house or the oki-ya is controlled by