Screening Enlightenment: Hollywood and the Cultural Reconstruction of Defeated Japan (The United States in the World)
"Kitamura shows that Hollywood and SCAP [the occupying authorities led by General Douglas MacArthur] were at loggerheads almost as often as they were in harmony. . . . SCAP censorship caused problems for American films as various as Frank Capra's political fable,Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, unseen in Japan during the Occupation due to its portrayal of corruption in US politics, to the Tyrone Power swashbuckler,The Mark of Zorro, which in an era when samurai films were practically banned, was criticized for its portrayal of swordplay as a 'fine and fashionable art of killing.' . . . His book sheds new light on a neglected aspect of Occupation history."—Alexander Jacoby,Times Literary Supplement(5 August 2011)"In addition to his significant contribution to diplomatic history and U.S. relations with Japan, Kitamura adds to our understanding of Japanese history in the critical period after the war. . . .  What he details so carefully through his examination of the Central Motion Picture Exchange (CMPE) and the Eiga no tomo, among other organizations and entities, is how Japanese came to embrace the carefully scripted and edited manner in which American films were reintroduced to Japan during the occupation."—T. Christopher Jespersen,H-Diplo Roundtable Review(26 October 2011)"Hiroshi Kitamura has written an excellent overview of the role played by Hollywood films in shaping the cultural reconstruction of Japan during the American occupation. His book reflects wide reading in Japanese sources, the research of film scholars, and current scholarship of American occupation policy. . . . This fine book will be of value not only to diplomatic and military historians but also to persons interested in the American occupation of Germany, as so many parallels are implicit in it."—David Culbert,Journal of American History(September 2011)"Kitamura successfully uses case studies to explore the way in which American films were marketed and received in Japan, and how they shaped the Japanese postwar experience. . . .Screening Enlightenmentsheds new light on a neglected part of Occupation history."—Alexander Jacoby, Times Literary Supplement"Kitamura's thoroughly researched and immensely readable book mainly combines approaches of historical research and film studies. It is based on an admirable range of both US and Japanese source materials and consists of a concise methodological preface and eight thematically arranged chapters. . . . The fact thatScreening Enlightenmentundoubtedly will inspire such future studies that further examine the fascinating issues it raises, may very well be one of its most important merits."—Harald Salomon,Pacific Affairs"Kitamura's thoroughly researched and immensely readable book mainly combines approaches of historical research and film studies. It is based on an admirable range of both US and Japanese source materials and consists of a concise methodological preface and eight thematically arranged chapters. . . . The fact thatScreening Enlightenmentundoubtedly will inspire such future studies that further examine the fascinating issues it raises, may very well be one of its most important merits."—Harald Salomon,Pacific Affairs, (Dec 2013)."Hiroshi Kitamura offers an insightful consideration of the U.S. film industry's efforts in Japan. He is attentive to not only American cultural dealings with Japan but also Japan's engagement with and influence on the world's cinema."—Andrew Gordon, Harvard University, author ofA Modern History of Japan"In Screening Enlightenment, Hiroshi Kitamura investigates not only the ideologies driving U.S. policymaking but also their effects on those at the receiving end of those policies. Kitamura offers an excellent, deeply researched, and smoothly written combination of international business history, Japanese film history, cultural history, and diplomatic history."—Naoko Shibusawa, Brown University, author of America's Geisha Ally"Thoroughly researched and carefully crafted, this book provides the first comprehensive study of movie entertainment in post-1945 Japan. As a teenager then living in Tokyo, I remember being deeply impressed with such Hollywood productions asMadame Curie,The Yearling, andLittle Women. I am grateful that this book helps me understand how these and other movies were selected for showing in Japan, how Hollywood collaborated with U.S. occupation authorities in the process, and how Japan's postwar cultural elites looked to the Hollywood film as a crucial instrument for reconstructing their country and developing a close understanding of, and ties to, the United States.Screening Enlightenmentis a valuable addition to the literature on post–World War II history."—Akira Iriye, Harvard University"Kitamura's book is a new contribution to the field of cinema in occupied Japan in covering such diverse groups as the American film distributor, the Central Motion Picture Exchange (CMPE); Japanese exhibitors and movie theaters; 'cultural elites’ including critics, journalists, and scholars; and moviegoers. Attention to all these groups allows readers to see the complicated dynamics in which Hollywood films become the icon of democracy and modernity in occupied Japan. . . . It can be highly recommended to all scholars and students of the US occupation of Japan, film history, and Japanese cultural and intellectual history."—Yuka Tsuchiya,Social Science Japan Journal(Summer 2011)"American moviemakers had to tread carefully with the American military and governmental occupation authorities if they were to expect to be able to penetrate the newly opened market for their films in postwar Japan. In sum, filmmakers were secondary players in a game of very serious hardball. Kitamura provides vivid glimpses into what qualities in specific American movies appealed to Japanese critics and audiences. He describes how, as the Japanese spirit revived, lively movie discussion groups sprang up in Japan. Recommended."—Choice