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American Geisha: A TV Peek at the East
| Article
# : |
10302 |
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Section : |
The Arts
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| Issue
Date : |
12 / 1986 |
1,810 Words |
| Author
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Mark Williams
Mark Williams is pursuing a graduate degree in cinema-TV
critical studies at the University of Southern California. |
Why am I so drawn to the geisha?
To those mysterious creatures who whisper
secrets to each other,
And hide their laughter behind parasols?
So wonders Gillian Burke (Pam Dawber), the heroine of the television movie American Geisha, as she arrives in Japan to study the geisha society. Based on the experiences of Liza Dalby, a former Stanford graduate student of anthropology and the first foreigner to study and train as a geisha, the telefilm, which aired September 11 on CBS, adopted as its premise the personal and cultural conflicts that could arise from such an endeavor. Lushly produced on location in Japan, it evidences an exacting attention to detail about the geisha traditions. However, adapted and fictionalized into dramatic television fare, it speaks more, perhaps, about the culture that produced it than the culture it portrays. Although the geisha tradition portrayed in the program sometimes conveyed sexual implications, in its purest and original form, its main function in Japanese society was simply to provide an atmosphere of chic and gaiety. Indeed, exquisite dress, contemporary gossip, and musical ability play a predominant role in geisha life, rather than sexual favors.
America's relationship with Japan is, of course, decidedly complex. But whatever else Japan means to us politically and economically, whatever the particular exigencies of the moment, romantic notions about that country's geisha pervade our popular culture. Japan's traditions are depicted as a kind of eternal Eastern Other, readily identifiable, to be feared or held in wonder, but associated with
... (1993 of 11142 Characters)
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