Kill Bill meets Yojimbo meets the Man With No Name Trilogy = Sukyaki Western: Django

We watched a film called Sukiyaki Western: Django the other night and quite enjoyed it. “Sukiyaki” is a style of Japanese hotpot, which I think is an intended riff off of the “spaghetti western” genre. It definitely plays with the spaghetti western style, which shared its influences with old Japanese westerns. The film however, was released in 2007, so it is quite modernized and probably shares more of a likeness to Quentin Tarrantino’s Kill Bill movies. Quentin Tarrantino also has a role in this film.

Check out a trailer for this film here.

The film takes place in an old Japanese town where rival factions are competing to find a legendary treasure and have all but crippled the town. Aside from its ties to other films, its story is rooted in Japanese history and makes reference to Shakespeare’s rendition of the war of the roses. Check more detailed info on the film here.

What is interesting about the film is that it exoticizes Western culture in the same way that Asian cultures are represented in Western films. In a film like Kill Bill, the narrative takes place mostly in North America and the roles are all played by Western actors; it is a Western film. Much of the appeal in this film however, is how it plays off of Japanese influences: kung-fu/samurai films, the presence of several big Asian characters, fighting styles, décor, colours, weapons, language, etc. What sets many of the characters apart from everyday Western viewers is the fact that many of them were trained to fight in Japan. More specifically, the source of the main character (the Bride)’s powers that separate her from the other characters is the fact that she is able to acquire a piece of knowledge/skill in Japan that no other character managed to attain.

In Sukiyaki Western Django however, the narrative takes place in Japan, with mostly Japanese actors, foods, costumes, etc. In the same way that Japanese culture is idealized in Kill Bill however, this film holds western culture in a more favourable light. All of the major battles are fought/won with western style gunfights involving revolvers. Also, the major wild-card character has more of a western attire, and even looks like he might have some Caucasian blood in him. Another of the major characters also draws her proficiency in gunfighting from a Caucasian man who she spends an extended amount of time training with. These scenes draw quite similar parallels to when the Bride trains with her Japanese master.

It is interesting how the idea of something (or someone) different becomes focused upon and idealized. This idealization has to do with the idea that what others are doing may be better, or at least something we can learn from. Is it because we are afraid of the other that we see them as more powerful? Does the fact that we do not understand others contribute to these impressions? Or does building an understanding reinforce these attitudes? Also, do these representations of a culture promote better understanding between cultures? or do they reinforce racial stereotypes and prejudices?