A social critique of post WWII Japan, I Will Buy You shows how baseball became corrupted and how athletes became commodities in the 1950s. Directed by Masaki Kobayashi, I Will Buy You shows the machinations surrounding a college baseball superstar’s entry to pro sports. The story focuses on Kishimoto, a driven scout who’s hellbent on signing Kurita, a hot college hitter. To do this he needs to woo Kurita’s greedy family, his girlfriend who’s leery of the materialism that’s taken over Japan and finally his deceptive, self-centered mentor.
Kishimoto (right) with his boss
I Will Buy You is in the shomin-geki genre, which consists of dramas about the problems of ordinary society. Here Kobayashi takes on the world of Japan’s most cherished sport, baseball. (I had a student who insisted that the Japanese invented baseball.) Kobayashi brilliantly challenges viewers to see how calculating, conniving and avaricious it’s become.
People think the Japanese are oblique and indirect, but in I Will Buy You characters are explicit in what they want and how they feel about Kurita, who’s rarely on screen and he’s objectified like no other film character I can think of.
The film had a compelling story and covered sports in a way an American film wouldn’t. The end surprised me. With so many characters standing in the shadows, the masterful cinematography reminded me of film noir minus the murder or crime.
This week’s prompt sent me searching for nostalgic photos with mechanics. I was surprised that my Flickr Commons search yielded so many women fixing cars and planes.
National Library of Scotland 1918
University of British Columbia, 1914-18?
U.S. National Archives, 1942
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1. Each week, we’ll provide a theme for creative inspiration. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog (a new post!) anytime before the following Wednesday when the next photo theme will be announced.
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Based on a popular manga series, March Comes in Like a Lion and it’s sequel March Goes Out Like a Lamb takes viewers inside the world of shoji, Japanese chess.
Orphaned at 8 years old when a car accident kills his parents and sister, Rei Kiriyama is adopted by his father’s friend, who’s a competitive shoji player. The only way to get love or at least attention in the house is through shoji. Red soon proves to have a knack for the game, which is a mixed blessing because his adoptive sister and brother become hostile towards him when he beats them and they can’t take it.
Rei’s talent leads to his winning and becoming pro before he graduates high school. With his winnings he’s able to support himself and move out. Yet his evil step sister hounds him like a vicious ghost who won’t go away no matter where Rei tries to run.
Rei is soon taken in by three sisters who’ve lost their parents. The girls and their grandfather run a traditional sweet shop and provide the warm family life Rei craves.
The story does not require knowledge of the rules or ins and outs of shoji.I know nothing of the game, but did get caught up in the competition as Rei strives to dethrone the champion, an adulterous egotist that his stepsister has been dating.
A friend has a friend who’s considering changing careers and teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. My friend wants me advise her friend and we’ll meet on Tuesday.
I have enjoyed all the students I’ve worked with — from kids in Japan to university students to college professors in Indonesia to adults on up to 90 years old in Japan. Like a lot of teaching work, you get to connect with interesting people and to be creative. However:
There are only a few countries where American’s can get jobs without to much difficulty: South Korea, China, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. Japan has become hard to find work in. Europe requires an EU passport. South America has few opportunities.
It’s not a job that welcomes older people as you near 60, as we all do, no country I’m aware of wants you.
In the US most jobs are part time. The place to work and have job security and decent benefits is the K-12 realm. If that’s not your ballgame, you’ll be stuck stringing together a few part time jobs.
Adjunctivitis has become the norm and it’s exploitive.
That’s the reality. I pity friends who went and got Masters degrees thinking EFL would be a second career for when they get older. It isn’t.
I used some points to stay at the Sofitel in Kunming. Although they were extremely busy with a meeting between Yunnan and Taiwan, the staff went out of their way when I checked in and whenever I was in the lobby to see to it that I received good service and my questions were answered.
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My room was sleek, modern and comfortable. I even had a TV in the bathroom, which seems to be a Sofitel standard on the club floors. (N.B. If you belong to the Accor loyalty program and travel regularly, you’ll soon earn Gold status which offers upgrades.)
I was on the club floor and had access to the lounge, where guests can indulge in afternoon tea and then in cocktail hour. The sweet and savory options were delectable and while there was a lot of seafood, which I don’t eat, there was no excuse for going hungry.
Since there was a big meeting between Taiwanese government officials and Yunnan provincial big wigs the club was off-limits for regular guests. The Chinese required that the Taiwanese delegation be sequestered and watched at all times. So breakfast was only offered in the main restaurant which is large and offers the biggest variety of quality cuisine that I’ve ever seen for a breakfast. In fact the breakfast deserves its own post.
As spectacular as the food was, I think the personal attention that Sofitel offers is what I liked most about my stay. At every meal or any time I asked for directions, the staff were warm and informative. They know how to show that they care.
I’m so happy to have time to participate in Sepia Saturday after months of overwork. Now I can breath and live.
This week’s prompt shows and ordinary person is the prompt. However, I’ve decided to find photos of women in profile. They’re far from ordinary, aren’t they?
I enjoyed this video which explains the economics and history of economy, business and first class seating on airplanes. I now understand a little more about the mysterious pricing of airline fares.
Since this blog started as a replacement for one of my blogs that some miscreant deleted and that Google won't replace, it's sort of like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
smkelly8
