Read a silly
Slate column on the use of the word kabuki in American political commentary.
I'm just amused, of course. But I do have to wonder what sort of drama would be more appropriate?
Noh? It's even more stylized. They say President Grant saw a performance in Japan -- his hosts, casting about for something to impress this quintessentially Western guest, took him to a
noh performance in desperation, fully expecting him to be bored by the stunning inaccessibility of the form. Instead, he apparently loved it -- it's said that he turned to his hosts and said "You must preserve this!" So maybe
noh theater wouldn't be an appropriate rhetorical replacement for
kabuki.
Bunraku? It's puppet theater with three puppeteers per character, who perform in full view of the audience. All parts are recited by a single chanter, with a single shamisen for accompaniment. In a landscape of weird and inaccessible art forms, this one stands out. (
See also.) The only problem with using
bunraku in this comparison is that it's actually quite well-liked in the West -- bizarre enough to be captivating.
No, I think that the perfect Japanese form to compare to American politics would have to be
manzai. It's got the two sides, the fast-paced repetition, the
boke and
tsukkomi (map these to political parties as desired.) It's totally bewildering to foreigners, and consists largely of ritualized posturing. There you go. (
See also.)
words from chris, 2010-04-15 23:20:30, los angeles
