#2

In the reading, it put a focus on Japan's apparent emphasis on the post-apocalyptic society. The statement which traced the origins of this fascination to the actual atomic bombings, is of course natural and obvious. However, beyond the historical origins of the portrayal of the post-apocalyptic, I believe that a new possibility for narrative stories is born in the post-apocalyptic world.

In a near totally post-apocalyptic world (if it was total, there would be no one left and no story), there is a certain beauty and simplicity to those individuals who remain. The people, go back to the most basic of human characteristics and flourish in a manner that tickles at our sense of nostalgia. This sense of nostalgia and individualistic purity may be some of the aspects that pull Japanese audiences to this kind of world. In a post-apocalyptic society, all the "unnecessary" things have been taken away, thus leaving the characters to weave out the most essential of their being and grasp it by the end of the narrative. I think there is something inherently gratifying about that. It may be a Japanese sensibility, but there is something immensely attractive about a woman in simple dress, standing still in the middle of nature.

In many novels and manga that I have read, and also within some of my own screenplays, the idea of the post-apocalyptic has been present. I chose to adapt a screenplay from the short story "Kami-no Kotoba" by Otsuichi. The story was compelling, but in considering the choice of the post-apocalyptic once again, I think it was that the environment allowed characters to start in a sense of absolute solitude. This solitude, which most stories accomplish sometime around the second act, allows more time to see and develop the characters' psychology. The stakes are higher, at least for interpersonal relationships because there is no going back.

Finally, I think that why Japan is the most active in using these themes is because it has the claim on this post-apocalyptic reality. True, other nations have experienced a sort of apocalypse, but not like Japan. If the US were to make a post-apocalyptic (post-nuclear) film, there is a paradox (at least from a Japanese mindset). As these types of film automatically treat the "event" as horrible and wrong, if America took this stance, it would be stabbing itself in the foot in a very obvious manner. Hollywood, with its emphasis on the "happy ending" will not ruin its face with this kind of dilemma.