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| An Emergent Feminism | |
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 An Emergent Feminism At the end of Adolescence, the Revolutionary Girl Utena movie, the two main protagonists have freed themselves from the male dominated world and have entered the "real" world where they are released from the make-believe world's cycle of pain that they had hitherto been subjected to. As an expression of an emergent feminism in Japan, the TV series and movie of Revolutionary Girl Utena make the point that woman is no longer willing to be dominated by a male vision of the world. This show can be seen as a reaction against other anime shows that present weak female characters, as well as hentai that perverts them into representations of male pleasure only. Japanese culture as a whole has long had a history of female subjugation, and thus it is interesting to see shows such as Utena, which are beginning to speak out against gender distinctions. The reason I have chosen to focus on Utena is because I feel it has one of the strongest methods of presenting its message through the guise of a homosexual relationship between the two female characters. By taking that extra step into portraying them as not only fighting against a patriarchal world, but also renouncing the company of men for the pleasure inherent in recognizing another woman as an object of love. |
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 To begin with, I would like to explain some of the aspects of the show that make it feminist in nature. One of the first things is the revealing of the female body as her own choice. In Japanese pornography the female is generally violently portrayed by body parts: "they are often reduced to being body parts, toys, and slaves in the male fantast world," (Kinko, Ito 128), "close ups of body parts, especially of large breasts, crotch and bottom, are abundant in these stories," (Kinko, 129). In contrast to this, in an article written on the Modern Girl of the early 1900's pre-war, there is a discussion of the modern female as being reflected in her body, specifically her legs: "the legs of the Modern Girl were a product of the ability of the human spirit to shape the human form; her legs symbolized the Modern Girl’s growing ability to create a new life for woman," (Silverberg, 242). In this context the author is discussing the way in which the Modern Girl was specifically defined by her "short hair, and long, straight legs" (Silverberg, 242). No longer though were these piecemeal representations of a violent sexual nature, but now in the 'modern' age they had become a symbol of her fight to change social norms. In Utena, the main character Utena Tenjou devises a school uniform for herself that displays her long perfect legs to perfection. In the series she has long hair, but in the movie, which is far more forthrightedly feminist, she has short hair. Utena thus becomes the perfect symbol of a Modern Girl. She is taking on the appearance of one who is no longer bound by ancient traditions of the ideal female. Furthermore, this Modern Girl should also change her dress, "women's bodies, and the messages that clothes can add, are the repository of the social definitions of sexuality," (Silverberg, 242). In Revolutionary Girl Utena, Utena creates her own school uniform as a combination between the male and female ones. As a message about her sexuality, the clothing that she wears displays her ability to straddle the line between male and female depiction of gender. Utena's sexuality is thus called into early question in the show as her clothing bridges the gap. Then in the movie Adolescence, Utena comes to school in a wholly new uniform that far from displaying her legs, as in the Modern Girl symbol of progress explained above, completely cover her legs. In this uniform Utena seems to be standing in new position of feminism on a level above that of the 1920's Modern Girl. The uniform of the movie, is black and white and constitutes and jacket and pants with a beret on her short cropped hair. There are a lot of things that can be said on the color schemes of the movie, but I would prefer not to get into that here, as it would detract from my main theme. Moving on then, the idea of Utena in a masculine garb that one finds in the movie is impressive as a statement of change even from the series. Along the way of developing the character, the artist and the director have coalesced the vision of Utena into a feminine symbol of change, through her clothes, her attitudes, and what is accomplished in the two different patterns of series and movie. |
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 I think the thing I find the most interesting about the change from series to movie is in the ay that it can be seen as a progression from the beginning of the series to the end and from there into the movie. The creative vision has progressed from early feminism in Japan to a new emergent feminism being explored in the relationship between male/female and female/female dichotomies. I compare the entire Utena line to the history of feminism in Japan based on an article by Miriam Silverberg, in which she writes: "The cerebral New Woman has been romantic rather that realistic; she had wielded ideas, not economics; she had imitated male habits instead of attempting to create a separately bounded life for women. In contrast, the Modern Girl was more interested in shaping the materiality of everyday existence." (248) |
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 The New Women were some of the earliest feminist thinkers in Japan. They wrote magazines dedicated to the freedom of all women as well as pioneering the way for women to be independent of common cultural stereotypes. The Modern Girl was depicted as the daughter of the New Woman by some (Raicho, for example), and in her behavior she displayed a continuation of some of what the New Women has been espousing on the ideal of gender equality. By taking over masculine dominated language, wearing clothes chosen for her own self-expression, aggressive sexuality, speaking her mind in public, etc. The Modern Girl was almost an actualization of the New Woman goals. However, some critics disagreed that the Modern Girl was really even in existence, that rather she was a media product with no actual social goal in the struggle for female liberation. Silverberg also wrote: "Hiratsuka Raicho's two versions of the heroine appeared in "The Modern Girl as She Should Be." The first was a young woman with time and money to fashion herself a brightly colored ensemble of Western clothing with matching hat in order to attend the cafes on Ginza. This seemingly liberated woman, however, was not free: she was the object of men's physical desires, and while she might appear upbeat, she was in fact depressed. The real Modern Girl, in contrast, would have a social conscience." (249) This ties back into the above quote, in that with this "social conscience" the real Modern Girl would actually be able to achieve the reshaping of "the materiality of everyday existence." In relation to Utena, the beginning of the show could be read as Utena following the guidelines of the New Woman, in that she imitated male fashion and speech without actually trying to create something new. She became a product of the male world instead of refashioning a female one that allowed freedom of expression. Then as the show progressed, Utena became more a realization of the Modern Girl as she proclaimed more herself as fighting for a feminine reason, in the show this would be the bond of friendship that develops between her and Anthy Himemiya, the other female protagonist. In the beginning, Utena fought for the desire to become a 'Prince,' however her desire to protect Anthy because of a female friendship eventually overrode her desire to only be a prince. By doing so Utena began to dissolve the shackles that had tied her to only imitating the masculine world, and instead she began to fight for a revolution of the value system between male and female. However at the same time, as Silverberg paraphrases Raicho, Utena was still the object of men's physical desires, particularly in the person of Touga who wants Utena to be his. Finally at the end of the series, and then even more so in the movie, Utena became a realization of the true Modern Girl who has the ability to recreate everyday existence; to revolutionize the world. The title then for who Utena ultimately becomes could be termed the Modern Woman, a grown up version of the Modern Girl, no longer so interested in clothes or the body, but in the actual release of her true self; her real feminine nature in the recreation/rediscovery/revolution of the world. |
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 The idea of Utena revolutionizing the world comes from the actual text of the series, in which a duelist will come, who will achieve the power to revolutionize the world. A common refrain in the movie is when the Student Council Members speak the following lines: "If it cannot break out of its shell, the chick will die without ever being born. We are the chick, the World is our egg. If we do not crack the World's shell, we will die without truly being born. Smash the World's shell. . . . . .For the Revolution of the World!" |
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 The image of birth in this process is also an important one, as from the quote above; they need to cause the revolution in order to be born. In a way, everyone in the make-believe world has not truly been born yet. They are for the most part still existing in coffins where they are incorporated into Akio's creation, but are not really themselves. By freeing Anthy, Utena actually pulls the top off Anthy's coffin and tries to pull her out. At the end of the movie, the character of Utena and Anthy must force their way out of a grinding metal device that is slowing squeezing inwards on them, and by the time they are free of it, they have been reduced to nudity. The process is very similar though, to that of a birth. They are being squeezed out of the make-believe world in order to be born into the real one. |
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A final point that I would like to make in the connections between feminism and Utena is that of the use of music. In an advertisement for the Feminist Movement in Japan the following was written: "Women have already kicked off their heavy shackles and escaped form the dungeons of their darkened hearts. What lies before us now is for us to pour into the streets like rain in a sun-shower. What is left is the deafening roar of the factories, the tips of the spires of thought attacking the heavens. Lining up with people we move forward into the world of all living things. Friends, at times like this we need a song that will sing, exhort, exalt, and push forward for us." (Silverberg, 253) If this issue was addressed to Revolutionary Girl Utena, I think that the theme song of the TV show would answer the call: Heroically, with bravery, I'll go on with my life, But if the two of us should get split up, by whatever means... Take my revolution In the sunny garden, we held each other's hands, drew close together and soothed each other with the words, Neither of us will ever fall in love again." Into this photograph of us smiling cheek to cheek, I took a bit of loneliness, and crammed it inside. Even in my dreams, even through my tears, even though I'm being hurt, reality is approaching now, frantically. What I want now is to find out just where I belong, and my self-worth, up through today Heroically, I'll throw away my clothes 'til I'm nude, like the roses dancing all around me, whirling free. But if the two of us should get split up by whatever means, I swear to you, I will change the world. |
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