Psy
6th August 2010, 15:20
Remember when I made a threat about feudalism in Disney films? Well I recently ran across a essay the better explains the phenomenon Animating Hierarchy: Disney and the Globalization of Capitalism (http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/OldSiteBackup/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/fall2002/artz.htm)
In comparison look one might want to look at Jungle Emperor where it seems Disney lifted scenes from. If true we can see the lengths Disney goes to transforming a story into one with ridged class hierarchy disproving the notion that Disney's films have such ridged class structure because of them being primary fair tales
I have also noticed when pointing out these issue to the general public a common response is Disney is just innocent with fulfillment ignoring that Disney is indoctrinating kids to be class unconscious more then other capitalist kids media.
For those unfamiliar with Jungle Emperor here is a essay on it
http://tezukainenglish.com/?q=node/300
n the preface of one of the volumes of Adolph ('Half Aryan') we find a summation of Tezuka's 'vision' (this may be the only place to find it in English):
(1) A critique of the tendency to exclude that which is different (that is, discrimination)
(2) a deep suspicion of faith in absolutes (that is, ideology)
(3) a conception of existence as cycles of destruction and rebirth
(4) an ecological view of the interdependence of all living things.
It is these four points I would like to consider as they work as guiding principles for nearly every major work by Tezuka and further demonstrate (as I have suggested elsewhere) that Jungle Emperor represents the first, fully fleshed out work by the author.
A critique of the tendency to exclude that which is different (that is, discrimination)
Like Astroboy, Leo as a cub is used to explore this subject through analogy. The separation from parents and the further suffering of caged animals should hardly be seen as just story telling. Tezuka makes frequent use of innocent childhood figures brought to full awareness of their inequality, but it appears here first.
Throughout the story there are also countless examples of distrust between humans of different races (European, Japanese, African, American) and this distrust brews for chapters until the combination of politics and cultural differences bring many people's lives short. In many books of Phoenix we see war (century upon century) bring countless lives needlessly to an end, and those themes are here too. Tezuka masterfully constructs an always-present tension between the perfect world Leo strives for and a world where animals and humans senselessly kill each other.
A deep suspicion of faith in absolutes (that is, ideology)
Once again, Tezuka examines this theme in both the animal and human community. Our suspicion that the author is in fact telling the same story twice (or mirroring one within the other) may indeed be justified.
Within the animal world there is faith so to speak in an animal law. Panja's followers have broken from it, but they have done so because they are the weak animals which cannot defend themselves. Leo's triumph is to break down the Law of the Jungle for all. He must smash the fear of humans and the conventions of the old to bring forth a new age of reason.
Amazingly, Tezuka goes so far as to show how much these -isms (or any static law) originate from fear and ignorance. The elephants know nothing of humans but refuse the ideas of humans out of fear. We also see Leo's internal struggle between instinct and reason; once again another -ism that must be dealt with. In Tezuka's view, the goal of a perfect society cannot be accomplished through static ideologies but only through an evolving system which we can foster, yet cannot set in law.
This is expressed in its highest form with the passing of the torch to Lune and Lukio. No single generation of 'Leos' can possibly be the single answer to the many problems of the world or attain forever the perfect society. Instead, one generation upon the next grows closer to an evolving ideal.
This theme is recapitulated in the world, where governments send their best against each other to find and return the power of the Moonstones. Ultimately, this vortex of distrust and corruption sentences Leo (an innocent outsider) to his demise. Whether government or religions, these are inescapable -isms which Tezuka mocks directly by naming these forces Nation A and B. Ultimately there is no difference to be found between them and their ideologies, though they find war amongst themselves inevitable (and think nothing of our main characters!)
A conception of existence as cycles of destruction and rebirth.
Jungle Emperor is without question a story of orphans with visions shattered, who become what they are to be at first in part because such has been ordained by the community and then because it is their role, or their karma so to speak. This is not an issue of happy endings but of the Tezuka mode of story-telling. Rune is meant to come home to the pelt of his father, to the role of leadership, knowing nothing other than despair and confusion; which is to say, in precisely the same place as his father.
Yet through this cycle of orphaned Lion cubs, the community has advanced; it has grown with Leo's sacrifice. This is to my knowledge the first work by Tezuka where a cyclical pattern emerge, not just at the beginning and end, but various segments within Jungle Emperor work as variation upon themes from before, as though even within the primary cycle (Leo's life), there are cycles to be found within those.
To be certain, Phoenix is Tezuka's most profound exploration of this premise of death and rebirth or karmic cycles, yet it is prevalent throughout his writing. To find it emerge first in Jungle Emperor however is not surprising to me, since it seems to be his first, bold step forward as a story teller.
An ecological view of the interdependence of all living things.
It would be easy to argue that more than anything else, this is what Jungle Emperor is about. Although Leo is clearly the hero of our story, we must not forget that what he is, and what he has become rests squarely upon the community. It is important to recall that when Leo reaches Africa he wants nothing to do with the animals his father protected. We must also recall Leo's decision to abandon those animals and stay with the pygmies (fortunately Lyre intervenes.) Leo is not painted (at least in the manga) as flawless, but rather as an extension of the animal community which both he has shaped, but in equal regard, has shaped him.
In too many cases we are reminded how every friendship is invaluable. Ultimately it is Mustachio who saves the community because of his old friendship with Leo. And it is only because of this friendship that Mustachio lives to see the story through. Through this 'principle', we see Tezuka at last achieve some degree of hope through his vision. These expressions of great compassion or selflessness intercede quite unexpectedly in a world that is both 'red in tooth and claw' on one hand, and mired in corruption on the other. This is the invisible trail that Leo seems to be after, and the one that leads him to his own death at the conclusion of the story.
In conclusion, I find that Jungle Emperor is one of the earliest, fully-fledged expressions of Tezuka's vision, and thus of enormous importance. Jungle Emperor may very well be the template from which dozens of other works were derived; the first story where Tezuka may have said, "This is the kind of story I want to tell."
Regardless of the actual historical events, Jungle Emperor reads very much like a road map to the publications which would follow. Even in his most mature period (late 60's and beyond), the themes which play a role in Leo are still under active exploration (see Phoenix: Future for instance). It would seem folly then that Jungle Emperor remains unavailable in English, and thus I'd like to spend the last section of this paper exploring the reasons that it has never been published in English, and why this situation may remain so indefinitely.
In comparison look one might want to look at Jungle Emperor where it seems Disney lifted scenes from. If true we can see the lengths Disney goes to transforming a story into one with ridged class hierarchy disproving the notion that Disney's films have such ridged class structure because of them being primary fair tales
I have also noticed when pointing out these issue to the general public a common response is Disney is just innocent with fulfillment ignoring that Disney is indoctrinating kids to be class unconscious more then other capitalist kids media.
For those unfamiliar with Jungle Emperor here is a essay on it
http://tezukainenglish.com/?q=node/300
n the preface of one of the volumes of Adolph ('Half Aryan') we find a summation of Tezuka's 'vision' (this may be the only place to find it in English):
(1) A critique of the tendency to exclude that which is different (that is, discrimination)
(2) a deep suspicion of faith in absolutes (that is, ideology)
(3) a conception of existence as cycles of destruction and rebirth
(4) an ecological view of the interdependence of all living things.
It is these four points I would like to consider as they work as guiding principles for nearly every major work by Tezuka and further demonstrate (as I have suggested elsewhere) that Jungle Emperor represents the first, fully fleshed out work by the author.
A critique of the tendency to exclude that which is different (that is, discrimination)
Like Astroboy, Leo as a cub is used to explore this subject through analogy. The separation from parents and the further suffering of caged animals should hardly be seen as just story telling. Tezuka makes frequent use of innocent childhood figures brought to full awareness of their inequality, but it appears here first.
Throughout the story there are also countless examples of distrust between humans of different races (European, Japanese, African, American) and this distrust brews for chapters until the combination of politics and cultural differences bring many people's lives short. In many books of Phoenix we see war (century upon century) bring countless lives needlessly to an end, and those themes are here too. Tezuka masterfully constructs an always-present tension between the perfect world Leo strives for and a world where animals and humans senselessly kill each other.
A deep suspicion of faith in absolutes (that is, ideology)
Once again, Tezuka examines this theme in both the animal and human community. Our suspicion that the author is in fact telling the same story twice (or mirroring one within the other) may indeed be justified.
Within the animal world there is faith so to speak in an animal law. Panja's followers have broken from it, but they have done so because they are the weak animals which cannot defend themselves. Leo's triumph is to break down the Law of the Jungle for all. He must smash the fear of humans and the conventions of the old to bring forth a new age of reason.
Amazingly, Tezuka goes so far as to show how much these -isms (or any static law) originate from fear and ignorance. The elephants know nothing of humans but refuse the ideas of humans out of fear. We also see Leo's internal struggle between instinct and reason; once again another -ism that must be dealt with. In Tezuka's view, the goal of a perfect society cannot be accomplished through static ideologies but only through an evolving system which we can foster, yet cannot set in law.
This is expressed in its highest form with the passing of the torch to Lune and Lukio. No single generation of 'Leos' can possibly be the single answer to the many problems of the world or attain forever the perfect society. Instead, one generation upon the next grows closer to an evolving ideal.
This theme is recapitulated in the world, where governments send their best against each other to find and return the power of the Moonstones. Ultimately, this vortex of distrust and corruption sentences Leo (an innocent outsider) to his demise. Whether government or religions, these are inescapable -isms which Tezuka mocks directly by naming these forces Nation A and B. Ultimately there is no difference to be found between them and their ideologies, though they find war amongst themselves inevitable (and think nothing of our main characters!)
A conception of existence as cycles of destruction and rebirth.
Jungle Emperor is without question a story of orphans with visions shattered, who become what they are to be at first in part because such has been ordained by the community and then because it is their role, or their karma so to speak. This is not an issue of happy endings but of the Tezuka mode of story-telling. Rune is meant to come home to the pelt of his father, to the role of leadership, knowing nothing other than despair and confusion; which is to say, in precisely the same place as his father.
Yet through this cycle of orphaned Lion cubs, the community has advanced; it has grown with Leo's sacrifice. This is to my knowledge the first work by Tezuka where a cyclical pattern emerge, not just at the beginning and end, but various segments within Jungle Emperor work as variation upon themes from before, as though even within the primary cycle (Leo's life), there are cycles to be found within those.
To be certain, Phoenix is Tezuka's most profound exploration of this premise of death and rebirth or karmic cycles, yet it is prevalent throughout his writing. To find it emerge first in Jungle Emperor however is not surprising to me, since it seems to be his first, bold step forward as a story teller.
An ecological view of the interdependence of all living things.
It would be easy to argue that more than anything else, this is what Jungle Emperor is about. Although Leo is clearly the hero of our story, we must not forget that what he is, and what he has become rests squarely upon the community. It is important to recall that when Leo reaches Africa he wants nothing to do with the animals his father protected. We must also recall Leo's decision to abandon those animals and stay with the pygmies (fortunately Lyre intervenes.) Leo is not painted (at least in the manga) as flawless, but rather as an extension of the animal community which both he has shaped, but in equal regard, has shaped him.
In too many cases we are reminded how every friendship is invaluable. Ultimately it is Mustachio who saves the community because of his old friendship with Leo. And it is only because of this friendship that Mustachio lives to see the story through. Through this 'principle', we see Tezuka at last achieve some degree of hope through his vision. These expressions of great compassion or selflessness intercede quite unexpectedly in a world that is both 'red in tooth and claw' on one hand, and mired in corruption on the other. This is the invisible trail that Leo seems to be after, and the one that leads him to his own death at the conclusion of the story.
In conclusion, I find that Jungle Emperor is one of the earliest, fully-fledged expressions of Tezuka's vision, and thus of enormous importance. Jungle Emperor may very well be the template from which dozens of other works were derived; the first story where Tezuka may have said, "This is the kind of story I want to tell."
Regardless of the actual historical events, Jungle Emperor reads very much like a road map to the publications which would follow. Even in his most mature period (late 60's and beyond), the themes which play a role in Leo are still under active exploration (see Phoenix: Future for instance). It would seem folly then that Jungle Emperor remains unavailable in English, and thus I'd like to spend the last section of this paper exploring the reasons that it has never been published in English, and why this situation may remain so indefinitely.