Upon watching the Tunnel segment from Kurosawa's Dreams, I found that there is a ton of imagery in this clip. The video starts out with an officer walking upon a beaten and cold path. This could be seen as a little bit of foreshadow, due to the fact that the mud and fog could give off some military imagery, the true gritiness of the situation. The officer does not look very well pleased, and upon entering the tunnel, a dog is barking. The dog could be a metaphysical wake up call to what is about to happen.
Shinto in a way can be related to Taoism, both have "The Way" in the essence of the philosophical religions. Shinto is the Way of the Gods, and in this clip, there could be some imagery in that. The soldiers that meet him upon the tunnel are dead, and in Shinto, to have dead spirits and ghosts around is somewhat of a normal occurrence just like in religious Taoism. The incorporation of these spirits may seem more of a Western thought, but for Shinto and religious Taoism, it is very important, for example the creation myth with the separation of the heaven and earth.
The reason the soldiers could of been following him is because of their loyalty and discipline. Shinto is only possible because of the people who follow it. Discipline is a very important trait to the Japanese, and to have that loyalty and discipline attention to detail and to the detail of believing is possible with Shinto. The soldiers did get a sense that they were actually dead and that it was all right for them to move on, this idea is about when someone dies unexpectedly, that spirit may act like it is still alive and try to remain on this earth, and it may take a real living person to tell them that they are dead or everything is alright for the spirit to move on.
I like the idea of the dog being a metaphysical "wake up " call. I could not figure out what the point of the dog was but I could see it to be used to get the commander to wake up and notice whats about to happen. And your right about when people die and quick and horribly, that there is a chance they may not realize they are dead. And thus, hang around where they should not be. The commander had to tell them to return or they would have continued to be lost.
ReplyDeleteI think you did an awesome job comparing Shinto to Taoism. Also, a really good job explaining the imagery in the dream. I also agree in the soldiers following him due to a sense of honor and "bushido". I also agree with the comment above me about the Dog being the "wake up" call to what is happening. Overall, great post!
ReplyDeleteI found your comparison of Shinto to Taoism to be interesting and on point. I didn't watch this segment but it's nice to see that Kurosawa also did segments that were grimmer/darker in nature.
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