Waves At Genji's Door

by Joan Mellen

A critical study of the Japanese film, placing it in its historical, social, and political context and assessing its historical significance and its attractions for Western audiences

Genres: Japan, Film, Asia

463 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Joan Mellen is the bestselling author of twenty books, including A Farewell to Justice, her biographical study of Jim Garrison s New Orleans investigation of the Kennedy assassination. She has written for a variety of publications, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Baltimore Sun. Mellen is a professor of English and creative writing at Temple University in Philadelphia.

(from http://www.booksandbooks.com/book/978...)

Reviews

[Patrick McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit that I've become a big fan of Joan Mellen's criticism, I really enjoyed Voices From The Japanese Cinema, in which she interviewed several of the major players in Japanese cinema. In The Waves At Genji's Door (1976-out of print) she uses Japanese film as a means of analyzing Japanese society. I think she makes some very insightful observations and commentary on the films, the culture, and history of Japan. There are some recurring themes throughout the books like the undying feudal tradition of Japan that still infuses the way Japanese think and interact with each other. Traces of this can be seen in the way the genders interact, the zaibatsu business culture, in governmental practices, as well as interaction between the genders. Perhaps, Mellen is a child of the 60s since she likes to discuss the politics, economics, and gender inequality as it is represented in the films of the golden age of Japanese cinema. There are several sections that are worthy of attention but some of the more interesting ones for me were: (1) The Feudal and the Modern, (4) Kurosawa's Women, (7) Celluloid Samurai: The Protest Film in Disguise, (9) From Chambara to Yakuza, (14) Mizoguchi: Woman As Slave, (18) Shohei Imamura: Woman As Survivor, (19) Ozu: The Family Upheld, (22) The Structures of Oshima, (25) The Political Cinema in Japan, and (26) Japan's Revolutionary Documentarists. I think this is essesential reading for anyone with an interest in Japanese culture or cinema

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thorough guide, engagingly written, but her insights into some films are implausible and bizarre.