Fox 5

Zoe FoxHONR Social FilmJulie Hicks07 April 2015DeparturesIn the 2008 film, Departures, directed by Yojiro Takita in Okuribito the Japanese culture is brought to attention. We gain insight on the lifestyle of a both a musician and an encoffiner in this type of culture. Unlike most American Traditions, we see that this culture emphasizes the importance of recognizing someones death and properly experiencing closure between the death and the family. The loss of one job foreshadows the lifestyle that the main character, Daigo, will be diving into. Only by fate does he end up in this profession that he otherwise would have avoided at all costs. Just like the main character, Daigo, I assumed from the title of the film that the film was going to be focused on something involving traveling, not death. When the film first showed the practice of encoffinating it actually made me really uncomfortable. I guess that because of our culture here in America, this idea of being personal, touching, and preparing a dead body in front of the family was strange to me. As the film played out and I witnessed more of the actual services of encoffination, I began to understand the meaning of the ceremony. Not only did it bring peace to the departed body, but it provided a sense of closure to the family of the loved one. This was an intimate ceremony that these loved ones had the privilege of experiencing as their last moments with that person. This is a ceremony that I believe many Americans would benefit from practicing in. The immediate family and loved ones would have that opportunity to say their final goodbyes in a personal setting rather than at a funeral in front of many other people.As I grew to accept the ideas of this encoffination ceremony, I began to think about how well this type of ceremony would go over here in America. I believe that we have been brought up so deeply in ways that teach us to rid of a dead body as quickly and painlessly as possible. Weve never put major attention on having that intimate moment with death. We almost treat the dead as if now they are useless and we need to get them out of the way as soon as possible. Our funerals here do still celebrate the person and allow us to have that closure but we dont experience that closeness with the body. Its almost as if we have someone else, such as an undertaker, do what we see as the dirty work by handling the dead body and preparing it for burial. I feel that most Americans would have that same initial response that I experienced when watching the movie. Our culture is so unlike this encoffinating experience and I dont feel as though Americans would pick up on this tradition anytime soon. We respect death and want to honor that step in life but almost from a distance. We are also very hard headed and dont like to admit that we might being doing something wrong. Because of this, I believe Americans will not be willing to change their lifelong traditions to a new custom such as encoffinating. In my own personal experience I am extremely grossed out by dead bodies. Being so close to one and being in contact with it disgusts me and gives me the creeps. Now I understand that my viewpoint on this concept is a lot different than many other Americans, but it shows how our culture can have such a grand impact on our lives.Throughout the film we experience many different aspects of the Japanese culture. Two of these main aspects are the food and the public bath. Food plays an important role in this film by acting almost as an act of celebration. Every time something good happens with one of the characters they celebrated with some sort of food. Takita also used food to show different parts of the Japanese culture and how they celebrate different holidays. In one scene in the movie it is Christmas time and Daigo, Mr. Sasaki, and Ms. Eumura are all partaking in eating a bucket of fried chicken. In Japan, most families dont celebrate the holiday of Christmas yet a bucket of Christmas Chicken is always used to celebrate the big day thanks to a marketing campaign in 1974 for Kentucky for Christmas (Smithsonian). Food is also used many times in the film to show the appreciation for life and that life goes on.One of the biggest cultural aspects that caught me off guard in the movie was the public bath. In our American culture we obviously have no experience with this concept especially in todays time. In Japan these public baths originated because most homes were not equipped with a bath tub. They were used as a place for people to wash themselves, soak in a tub and socialize with neighbors (japan-guide). Including this concept in the film allowed the audience to see an insight into different cultural practices that make Japan the country that it is and sets its culture apart from ones like our own. This public bath was a childhood memory for Daigo that once he was older was used to cleanse himself of his the smells associated with his job and to also be a release for his emotions. Near the end of the film we learn that the reason behind this public bath being so special to Daigo was because he always came there to cry out his feelings towards his dad because he didnt want to disappoint his mother. This public bath works both to give an insight into the Japanese culture and to dually work as an outlet for the characters in the film.This film was so unlike any other film that we have watched this semester, and that is exactly why I loved it. I have never been the emotional person whether reading books or watching films. Even though Im not an outwardly emotional person, this movie still spoke to me internally in so many ways. I made a huge connection with the main character and his separation from his father. My story is a little different because I have this separation due to a divorce rather than just my dad running away. But just like the main character I have completely shut my dad out of the picture because of decisions and actions that he made. The ending scene with the main character encoffinating his dad made me really think about my own situation and how the resentment and long years could have an effect on my life. I also really enjoyed the connection represented by the stones throughout the film. It begins as a subtle figure that is special to Daigo. We eventually figure out that these stones represented a story of how you feel about someone and he carries one around as a memory of his father. At the end of the film we learn that Daigos father held onto his stone as his last dying possession. And I was moved when Daigo gives the stone now to his unborn baby as a symbol of his love. Overall I thought the movie was produced very well. It really opened up my eyes to the differences between cultures and how we treat death. Sometimes we become so wrapped up in our own culture that we dismiss the possibility of other cultures doing anything differently.

Works Cited

"Job Description of an Undertaker." Work. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

"Public Baths." In Japan. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

"Why Japan Is Obsessed with Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas." Smithsonian. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.