Bounce ko Gals

The film that I have chosen for this film analysis essay is Bounce ko Gals. It reveals the behaviour and attitude of Japanese high-school girls towards sex nowadays. A common description for the Japanese high-school girls is those wearing losse socks and short skirt and being materialistic. However, director Harada shows from a different perspective that it is not totally true.

In this essay, I will begin by giving a summary of the plots of the film and then examine the three key concepts (group orientation, individual expression and universal values) in the film. What the director trying to say about the Japanese society and politics will also be analyzed and I will end the essay with my comments on the film.

The Story

The film is mainly about the story of three Japanese girls – Lisa, Raku and Jonko. A high-school girl called Lisa escaped home from Sendai and was going to New York and she went to Shibuya, trying to make some more money before leaving but she got all her savings robbed. She met a girl Raku, who introduced her to Jonko, a high-school girl. Raku and Jonko set out to finance her trip. It is a difficult task as there were only a few hours before Lisa had her flight. But eventually they could make it because of the help of a young man Sapp and the owner of the panty shop. Although the three girls knew each other for only about twenty hours, they became good friends. They had to say goodbye when Lisa boarded the Skyliner train.

Group Orientation

The three key concepts emphasized throughout the course are group orientation, individual expression and universal principles. As described in the course notes, group orientation is the tendency of people in a society to see themselves primary as members of a group. Member in a group have to behave according to the values and rules of the group. In the film, we can find various groups and each group has their own behaviour and characteristics. The first group observed is formed by high-school girls. Almost all high-school girl wear losse sock and short skirt. That’s why when some little children saw Lisa and Raku in high-school girl dressing, they called them high-school girls. It is an expression of conformity and anti-conformity. After school, some high-school girls will go to café to chat with others on some topics such as which medicine can help lose weight effectively and what brand name products to buy. They would think having a mobile phone is better. That’s why when Raru’s friend Maru lost her mobile phone to Oshima (the Yakuza), the small group high-school girls got surprised. Another group is formed among Lisa, Raku and Jonko. They share happiness and sadness. When Raku’ friend Maru was seriously hurt, Raku was very sad as Jonko said she did not see Raku being so sad for long time. Lisa and Jonko tried to comfort her. When Lisa eventually got back her savings, Jonko and Raku felt glad as they can help Lisa to solve her problem. Although Lisa had to leave them, they had already become dear friends.

We can also observe that Japanese people form groups for the purpose of interpersonal skills of harmony. One example found in the film is the group form between Jonko and Oshima. Jonko wanted to get back the student identity card, the forty thousand dollars Yen and the mobile phone of Maru from Oshima. At first Oshima refused to do so. But as they discussed along why high gals have so good business, Oshima found that Jonko is a person that can trust with. A consensus is made, in which Oshima returned back the things to Maru but Jonko had to have dinner every month with Oshima, a “dinner of faith” but not paid date. Therefore a mutual trust is built between them. This example illustrates that the Japanese allows discussion and involvement by all in the decision making and try to avoid direct confrontation, and sought out a consensus before taking action, as suggested in the course notes.

On the other hand, Japanese people dislike bringing shame onto the group because that may threaten the reputation of the group. One example from the film is that a man in Shibuya Station asked Lisa if she would have a paid sexual activity, but he did not want his dearest know when his dearest had phone call to him. A more explicit example from the film is Roppongi, a man who seriously hurt Maru but said himself ‘self defense’, asking the police inspector not to inform to his family because he did not want his family to know that he hurt a girl. This is probably because it would cause damage to the reputation of his family.

Individual Expressions

All people have the common need to establish their own identity and pursue their own interests. This expression of needs is the individual expression. Each main character in the film has their own way to establish their identity and interests to pursue. Lisa escaped from home and went to New York because she thinks that she will have more freedom in New York. She worked very hard to buy an airplane ticket and the importance of the ticket to her is that she became on her own and no longer being controlled by her parents. Raru liked dancing and often danced with some people in the streets at night because dancing is the interest she pursues. The way to establish her identity may be helping others: she gave some money to Maru for abortion and helped Lisa to find ways to make up the loss. Maru interested in buying brand name products and fashion. To her, having brand name products gives her a kind of self-satisfaction. Sapp always tried to find and meet new pretty girls. When he met Lisa, he believed he had to strictly “hand off” because Lisa is the one he found beautiful. He saved her from the porn video workplace and gave five hundred thousand dollars Yen to her because he really wanted to help her. He often told others that he made four hundred thousand dollars Yen by being talent scout, in order to establish his identity. What Oshima interested in most is how to have better business for his date club.

Universal Principles

The common values and rules that bind the people of a society together are the universal principle. One example found in the film is that although high-school girls and those countryside girls going to Tokyo in summers involved in peddling, it is not against the law as the laws in Japan only prohibit women over twenty years old from prostituting activity. Another example in the film is that people in Japan society would consider ‘talent scouting’ not a proper occupation. Therefore the nurse insisted Sapp on putting somewhat ‘normal’ job rather than ‘talent scouting’.

Director Harada’s viewpoints on Japanese society and politics

In the film, director Harada reveals some key issues in Japanese society and politics nowadays. First of all, abortion is normal and legal in Japan. Even a girl with 16 years old can have abortion with parents’ signatures. But some clinics perform abortion for them regardless of whether they have signatures from parents. Abortion is common in Japan because the postwar Japanese government makes abortion legal so that it is easier for birth control. (Sugimoto, 1997, p.155) Therefore, high-school girls such as Maru in the film can have abortion even they got pregnant unexpectedly. The most important point is to have money for performing abortion.

Also, as what the film has shown, Shibuya seems to be a place where Japanese girls can have peddling easily. In the film, it seems that there are a lot of ‘love industry’ such as date clubs and love hotels. Males in Japan can find girls especially high school gals in those date clubs to have transaction for sexual activities in the love hotels. In fact, these date clubs and love hotels are prohibited by the Prostitution Prevention Law. However, date clubs and love hotels are still common and popular because the frequency of premarital sex and adultery is very high and that the police in Japan are not able to clear all those date clubs. The unfavourable housing conditions in Japan cities also partly enable the love hotels to exist. (Sugimoto, 1997, p.228) Therefore, what director Harada shows in the film is of grounds.

Another issue to be raised is groping. Groping is a form of sexual assault of male aggressiveness towards women. In the film, Jonko told to Oshima that many girls have ever been groped on the trains. In fact, it has now been internationally notorious that men wander their hand in the crowded trains in Japan. (Henshall, 1999, p.39) However, most females are reluctant to report and speak out, probably because they feel it is a shame.

Corruption is also an issued that has been pointed out. In the film, Oshima said that civil servants could get rich by padding their expenses. They received bribes when they went out with private company people such as construction companies. In fact, gift-giving has been a problem in the Japanese bureaucracies because this social customs lies in the graying areas between illegal acts and accepted informal exchanges. (Sugimoto, 1997, p.204) The problem of corruption in Japanese bureaucracies has not been dealt with by the Japan government effectively.

Conclusions

Indeed, the film has strongly impressed me. A point I would strongly agree with director Harada is that not all Japanese high-school girls today only concern materialistic things. Wearing losse socks is one thing, but many of them would consider friendship more important. They would help with greatest efforts if their friends have problems. I think it is what director Harada would impart on those watching this film.

As in many other countries in the world, there would certainly be some places where prostitutions and other porn activities can be found. In Japan, these kinds of ‘businesses’ can probably be found not only in Shibuya but also some other major cities such as Tokyo, and may even have partly contributed in stimulating the local economy. Although I have not ever been to Japan, I cannot conclude whether Shibuya is really so common for prostitutions and other peddling activities. However, I strong believe that director Harada is really reflecting the reality in the film.

(1740 words)

[References]

Yoshio Sugimoto

An introduction to Japanese Society

Cambridge University Press, 1997

Kenneth G. Henshall

Dimension of Japanese Society: Gender, Margins and Mainstream

London Macmillan Press Ltd, 1999

P.S. I got B- in SOSC146....

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