China vs. Japan

Comments by me are made in red.

Memoirs of a Buzz
Saturday December 03, 2005 9:00PM PT

Ziyi Zhang

An American writes a novel set in 1930s and '40s Kyoto, based on the accounts of a true-life geisha. The geisha later sues the novelist, but the book tops bestseller lists in the U.S. and even makes an appearance on The Sopranos. A bunch of bigwig Hollywood producers get interested and cast three prominent actresses in the movie version of the tale. But the actresses aren't Japanese; they're ethnically Chinese. I'm glad someone noticed that. Once I heard Zhang Ziyi was in the film, I automatically thought, isn't it obvious that her accent is a Chinese accent and not a Japanese one? Accents matter when differentiating between a Chinese and a Japanese since personally I'm Chinese. Given that things are especially touchy between Japan and China right now, that an American man composed this very womanly and quintessentially Japanese tale, and that Hollywood's never been known to stick much to historical or cultural accuracy anyway, this cross-cultural mix quickly ignites scorn from politicians and, naturally, bloggers. Well I think generally, not talking about Memoirs of a Geisha specifically, that it's good to unite China and Japan because it'll help to ease any conflicts. Sure Hollywood has never really been historically and culturally accurate, but they've never really been accurate anyways in any type of film based on a novel.

But then, as they say, there's no such thing as bad publicity. In that case, Memoirs of a Geisha, the new film directed by Rob Marshall (of Chicago fame), which stars Ziyi Zhang, Michelle Yeoh, and Gong Li, will be a smashing international hit. I think it looks like a beautiful film. I've never read the book though. From our seat overlooking the Search box, we're already impressed by the buzz. Searches on the film and its lead actresses have soared. Queries for "geisha" and "japanese geisha" have shot off the chart, and "sayuri," the main character and the film's title in its Japanese release, rose dramatically in advance of the movie's Japanese premiere.

Perhaps the Tinseltown treatment of high costs, lavish costumes, and beautiful women will charm audiences in Tokyo and Shanghai as well as Detroit. In the meantime watch for more buzz, more blog posts, and, this being an American venture after all, an extensive line of tie-in face-wash, green tea, and handbags. I like green tea.