Tong: The Harp of Burma

'The Harp of Burma' is a short, two-part adaptation of a famous Japanese novel of the same name. It revolves around a Japanese battalion during World War II. The men are unique in that they are also a choir group. Their leader has taught the entire battalion how to sing, and one of the men plays a harp during each song. The men sing in order to boost their morale during such dark times as war. When every single day is a day fearful of death, it's very calming to just sing.

The thing about death is it's something no one wants. Death can be accepted and given into by people who are dying, but it's never something people truly want from the beginning. I think this is so because life is such a wonderful thing. To live, breathe, socialize with others, fall in love... these are things most precious to life and our humanity. No one wants to lose any of this. The concept of death, however, is dealt differently between some countries, like Americans and Japanese for example.

In America, it's typically taboo in our culture. A few decades ago it was rare to see any death depicted on television, at least the death of a major character. But then this slowly changed when the Star Trek television series killed off a major character. At the time it was something the country wasn't used to. I think this has to do with the whole concept of good vs. evil, and how good always wins over evil, thus the good never die. There are so many shows that depict good people dominating the bad, especially in children's shows. But it's something that isn't exactly accurate.

In Japan, death is accepted and can be seen all throughout their anime shows and movies. Major characters can die at any time in anime, which is probably why anime is so interesting and appealing. The fact that major characters can really die adds drama, tension, and emotion to anime. A strong concept of death is a powerful aid in storytelling. The Japanese's dealing with death, especially in their anime, is a more realistic approach than the American way. In real life bad things can happen to good people. In real life good people don't always win, and bad people may end up surviving. There is no rule or regulation with real life. But I guess that may be why American culture depict the domination of good over evil - to bring optimism and hope to its audience.

In keeping with this week's topic of death, here's a little humorous YouTube video of a bunch of kids killing each other animated style.

Image #1: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c5/Animated_Classics_of_Japanese_Literature_-_The_Harp_of_Burma_-_Season_of_the_Sun_-_cover_image.png

Image #2: http://www.veronicabelmont.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/star-trek-tng1.jpg