Approaches to Silence through Scorsese's Silence Film: A Comparison between Western and Eastern Perspectives
Silence, the film, revolves around Christian missionaries who traveled to Japan in the 17th century to propagate Christianity and explores their interactions with the local population. The film portrays silence by strongly associating it with martyrdom and alludes to the suffering of Jesus Christ. T...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Hakan AYDIN
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Medya ve Din Araştırmaları Dergisi |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/3309321 |
| _version_ | 1797357144788434944 |
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| author | Kemal Çelik Mehmet Ali Aydemir |
| author_facet | Kemal Çelik Mehmet Ali Aydemir |
| author_sort | Kemal Çelik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Silence, the film, revolves around Christian missionaries who traveled to Japan in the 17th century to propagate Christianity and explores their interactions with the local population. The film portrays silence by strongly associating it with martyrdom and alludes to the suffering of Jesus Christ. This glorification of silence reveals findings related to Western perspectives and an Orientalist attitude. These findings will be analyzed according to Orientalist theory, a theory that investigates Western culture's tendency to exoticize and dominate Eastern cultures, in order to examine how the Western missionaries in the film observed and represented Japanese culture. The analysis will employ content analysis methodology to delve into the themes, symbols, and representations in the film. Additionally, it will draw upon Edward Said's theory of Orientalism and the concept of self-Orientalism. The film identifies instances where the Western representation associates silence with martyrdom and belittles Eastern culture. Examples such as the claim that the Japanese people do not understand Christianity, the depiction of Japan as a barren land, the presentation of Japanese characters as stereotypical figures, and the relegation of Eastern spiritual traditions to a lower status all demonstrate the denigration and marginalization of Eastern culture by the Western perspective. Furthermore, the fact that the film is based on a novel written by a Japanese author necessitates an examination of self-Orientalism. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:40:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-64c5504222844581953de291393756db |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2636-8811 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:40:42Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Hakan AYDIN |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medya ve Din Araştırmaları Dergisi |
| spelling | doaj.art-64c5504222844581953de291393756db2024-01-11T18:33:28ZengHakan AYDINMedya ve Din Araştırmaları Dergisi2636-88112023-12-0162233910.47951/mediad.13379902403Approaches to Silence through Scorsese's Silence Film: A Comparison between Western and Eastern PerspectivesKemal Çelik0Mehmet Ali Aydemir1İSTANBUL MEDİPOL ÜNİVERSİTESİ İLETİŞİM FAKÜLTESİMUŞ ALPARSLAN ÜNİVERSİTESİSilence, the film, revolves around Christian missionaries who traveled to Japan in the 17th century to propagate Christianity and explores their interactions with the local population. The film portrays silence by strongly associating it with martyrdom and alludes to the suffering of Jesus Christ. This glorification of silence reveals findings related to Western perspectives and an Orientalist attitude. These findings will be analyzed according to Orientalist theory, a theory that investigates Western culture's tendency to exoticize and dominate Eastern cultures, in order to examine how the Western missionaries in the film observed and represented Japanese culture. The analysis will employ content analysis methodology to delve into the themes, symbols, and representations in the film. Additionally, it will draw upon Edward Said's theory of Orientalism and the concept of self-Orientalism. The film identifies instances where the Western representation associates silence with martyrdom and belittles Eastern culture. Examples such as the claim that the Japanese people do not understand Christianity, the depiction of Japan as a barren land, the presentation of Japanese characters as stereotypical figures, and the relegation of Eastern spiritual traditions to a lower status all demonstrate the denigration and marginalization of Eastern culture by the Western perspective. Furthermore, the fact that the film is based on a novel written by a Japanese author necessitates an examination of self-Orientalism.https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/3309321japanchristianitysilenceeast-westorientalismjaponyahristiyanlıksessizlikdoğu-batıoryantalizm |
| spellingShingle | Kemal Çelik Mehmet Ali Aydemir Approaches to Silence through Scorsese's Silence Film: A Comparison between Western and Eastern Perspectives Medya ve Din Araştırmaları Dergisi japan christianity silence east-west orientalism japonya hristiyanlık sessizlik doğu-batı oryantalizm |
| title | Approaches to Silence through Scorsese's Silence Film: A Comparison between Western and Eastern Perspectives |
| title_full | Approaches to Silence through Scorsese's Silence Film: A Comparison between Western and Eastern Perspectives |
| title_fullStr | Approaches to Silence through Scorsese's Silence Film: A Comparison between Western and Eastern Perspectives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Approaches to Silence through Scorsese's Silence Film: A Comparison between Western and Eastern Perspectives |
| title_short | Approaches to Silence through Scorsese's Silence Film: A Comparison between Western and Eastern Perspectives |
| title_sort | approaches to silence through scorsese s silence film a comparison between western and eastern perspectives |
| topic | japan christianity silence east-west orientalism japonya hristiyanlık sessizlik doğu-batı oryantalizm |
| url | https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/3309321 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kemalcelik approachestosilencethroughscorsesessilencefilmacomparisonbetweenwesternandeasternperspectives AT mehmetaliaydemir approachestosilencethroughscorsesessilencefilmacomparisonbetweenwesternandeasternperspectives |