In his 1932 film, I Was Born, But
, director Yasujiro Ozu draws a comparison between social problems experienced by two different generations and explores the concept of childhood serving as a transitory gateway into the seemingly more bleak and severe period of adulthood. Ozu uses a minimalist style of filming and editing to offer a more objective perspective on growing up and to subtly highlight certain themes that exist throughout the film, such as family relationships and childhood. By cross-analyzing certain events and characters' behaviors from I Was Born, But
with several academic essays that evaluate Ozu's film style, there are several conclusions to be made regarding the film's ability to evaluate social issues from several perspectives, especially that of a child, and how the film is able to communicate the hardships associated with growing up.
The first scene of the film opens up to a shot of a truck that is intended to move the film's main characters, a family of four, to their new home for the father's new job, yet the vehicle appears to be hopelessly stuck in the mud. Despite the family eventually being able to get the truck out of the mud, this scene, which shows the twin boys scrutinizingly watch their father struggle with the vehicle, is an early indicator of one of the film's themes of childhood and the abstract perspective that children hold of their parents. In this telling scene, Ozu subtly hints at the stagnant and somewhat-low social status of the father which his sons have yet to discover about him later on in the film. This scene also serves as evidence of Ozu's poetic, minimalist film style in which he refrains from using more than a simple cut between actions to progress the story and relies on the audiences' ability to interpret the meanings behind certain objects and subtle gestures without saying it outright with dialogue ("Yasujiro Ozu: The Syntax of His Films", 16).
Later on in the film, when the father is seen in his place of work, the audience witnesses him be openly ridiculed by his new coworkers when he steps into his boss' office. This particular scene, in contrast with earlier scenes that show the twin sons being bullied by their fellow students, serves to reflect the existence of unwarranted judgment and taunting some people face, regardless of their location, occupation, or age group. Following the criticism of the coworkers, there are several shots of the adult workers sitting at their desks which are followed by a panning shot of children sitting at their desks in school. The similarity in imagery and close proximity of these two shots serve as further evidence of Ozu using his minimalist style to suggest that the young school boys will grow up to replace the working-class men and that they are destined to enter and remain in the society's middle class ("Yasujiro Ozu: The Syntax of His Films", 13-14).
One of the film's most critical scenes takes place when the father's associates and boss convene to watch home movies he has made, in which the father deliberately makes a fool of himself in order to impress his boss by making him laugh. While watching their father's foolish behavior, his twin sons experience an embarrassing realization that their father is not as high on the social ladder as they expected him to be and therefore experience a sense of disappointment when they see what he has to do in order to earn more respect from his peers and superiors ("YASUJIRO OZU: A Biographical Filmography," 7). This scene captures the essence of the film and Ozu's underlying intention, which is to offer a trivial view of what it means to be a working-class adult from the perspective of a child. The twin boys epitomize the same idolizing view that children tend to have of their parents which is usually eventually tarnished once the child begins to mature and acquire a more knowledgeable view of those around them and how they function in society.
Yasujiro Ozu's film, I Was Born, But , seeks to explore the existence of social issues as they occur in both childhood and adulthood and reveal the sometimes adverse effects of these issues on relationships. The place of a working-class adult in society can be a permanent status, as indicated by Ozu's use of minimalist editing techniques that subtly suggest an underlying meaning to certain imagery and events, such as a truck stuck in the mud indicating a cemented social status. This film also seeks to raise awareness of the existence of various types of bullying that, as indicated in the film, takes place in all different walks of life. Most importantly, Ozu successfully presents the concept of adulthood from the perspective of a child, which is often skewed to be in the parents' favor. The subtle analysis of the differences between the innocence of childhood and the harsh reality of adulthood culminate into Ozu's commentary on the bittersweet facets of growing up.
Work Cited: Richie, Donald. "Yasujiro Ozu: The Syntax of His Films." Film Quarterly 17.2 (1963): 11-16. Web. Richie, Donald. "YASUJIRO OZU: A Biographical Filmography." Film Comment 7.1 (1971): 4-17. Web.
The first scene of the film opens up to a shot of a truck that is intended to move the film's main characters, a family of four, to their new home for the father's new job, yet the vehicle appears to be hopelessly stuck in the mud. Despite the family eventually being able to get the truck out of the mud, this scene, which shows the twin boys scrutinizingly watch their father struggle with the vehicle, is an early indicator of one of the film's themes of childhood and the abstract perspective that children hold of their parents. In this telling scene, Ozu subtly hints at the stagnant and somewhat-low social status of the father which his sons have yet to discover about him later on in the film. This scene also serves as evidence of Ozu's poetic, minimalist film style in which he refrains from using more than a simple cut between actions to progress the story and relies on the audiences' ability to interpret the meanings behind certain objects and subtle gestures without saying it outright with dialogue ("Yasujiro Ozu: The Syntax of His Films", 16).
Later on in the film, when the father is seen in his place of work, the audience witnesses him be openly ridiculed by his new coworkers when he steps into his boss' office. This particular scene, in contrast with earlier scenes that show the twin sons being bullied by their fellow students, serves to reflect the existence of unwarranted judgment and taunting some people face, regardless of their location, occupation, or age group. Following the criticism of the coworkers, there are several shots of the adult workers sitting at their desks which are followed by a panning shot of children sitting at their desks in school. The similarity in imagery and close proximity of these two shots serve as further evidence of Ozu using his minimalist style to suggest that the young school boys will grow up to replace the working-class men and that they are destined to enter and remain in the society's middle class ("Yasujiro Ozu: The Syntax of His Films", 13-14).
One of the film's most critical scenes takes place when the father's associates and boss convene to watch home movies he has made, in which the father deliberately makes a fool of himself in order to impress his boss by making him laugh. While watching their father's foolish behavior, his twin sons experience an embarrassing realization that their father is not as high on the social ladder as they expected him to be and therefore experience a sense of disappointment when they see what he has to do in order to earn more respect from his peers and superiors ("YASUJIRO OZU: A Biographical Filmography," 7). This scene captures the essence of the film and Ozu's underlying intention, which is to offer a trivial view of what it means to be a working-class adult from the perspective of a child. The twin boys epitomize the same idolizing view that children tend to have of their parents which is usually eventually tarnished once the child begins to mature and acquire a more knowledgeable view of those around them and how they function in society.
Yasujiro Ozu's film, I Was Born, But , seeks to explore the existence of social issues as they occur in both childhood and adulthood and reveal the sometimes adverse effects of these issues on relationships. The place of a working-class adult in society can be a permanent status, as indicated by Ozu's use of minimalist editing techniques that subtly suggest an underlying meaning to certain imagery and events, such as a truck stuck in the mud indicating a cemented social status. This film also seeks to raise awareness of the existence of various types of bullying that, as indicated in the film, takes place in all different walks of life. Most importantly, Ozu successfully presents the concept of adulthood from the perspective of a child, which is often skewed to be in the parents' favor. The subtle analysis of the differences between the innocence of childhood and the harsh reality of adulthood culminate into Ozu's commentary on the bittersweet facets of growing up.
Work Cited: Richie, Donald. "Yasujiro Ozu: The Syntax of His Films." Film Quarterly 17.2 (1963): 11-16. Web. Richie, Donald. "YASUJIRO OZU: A Biographical Filmography." Film Comment 7.1 (1971): 4-17. Web.