The Shapes of Otherness: the Representation of the Ainu People in Brodsky’s Travelogues 1918-1919

Centeno, Marcos

Abstract

The origins of cinema coincided with the growing interest in Ainu culture in the West. It is not surprising that the Ainu people appeared in the first images filmed by the cinematograph in Japan. This essay focus the analysis on the Ainu sequences included in Brodsky’s travelogues, tour documentaries: Beautiful Japan (1918) and A Trip through Japan with the YWCA (1919). His Western look projected an image of an «other», different to the Japanese, contrasting with the assimilation period suffered by the Ainu people at that time. It was an exotic construction which showed a primitivism in decline.

Citation

Centeno, M. (2015). The Shapes of Otherness: the Representation of the Ainu People in Brodsky’s Travelogues 1918-1919. Kokoro (Cáceres), 14-22

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 1, 2014
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: May 21, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 2, 2115
• Print ISSN: 2171-4959
• Electronic ISSN: 2695-9844
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Issue: 17
• Pages: 14-22
• Keywords: ethnographic documentary, Ainu, Benjamin Brodsky, japaneseness, ethnic minorities
• Related Public URLs: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/revista?codigo=14793; https://www.academia.edu/23678609/LAS_FORMAS_DE_LA_OTREDAD_LA_REPRESENTACI%C3%93N_DEL_PUEBLO_AINU_EN_LOS_TRAVELOGUES_DE_BENJAMIN_BRODSKY_1918-1919_THE_SHAPES_OF_OTHERNESS_THE_REPRESENTATION_OF_THE_AINU_PEOPLE_IN_BRODSKY_S_TRAVELOGUES_1918-1919_
• Additional Information: Additional Information : Kokoro Journal Prize for the Dissemination of Japanese Culture 2014