Download Kabuki Theatre and the Geisha Imagery in High and Popular

Kabuki Theatre and Geisha Imagery in
High and Popular Western Culture
Eisenstein’s grotesques;
Memoirs of the Geisha
Kabuki Theatre
Kabuki Theatre
• Classical Japanese theatre, dance drama.
• Dates back to early 17th century.
• First was all female, then became all-male
theatre (onnagata, cross-dressed actors).
• Late 17th-mid 19th century – the “Golden age”
of Kabuki: elaborate costumes and makeup,
artful performance, accent on drama; specially
written plays in place of improvisation.
Kabuki Theatre
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Mask-like make-up, wigs
Exaggerated body language
Codified make-up and performance
Plays based on history and legends
Traditionalism in dance and music
Special effects: revolving stage: trap doors,
footbridge to the audience
• Popular subject for ukiyo-e prints.
Make-up conveys emotions
Kabuki Actors
Expressiveness
“Masks,” grotesque
in Ivan The Terrible (1944)
by Sergei Eisenstein
Love, Heroism, Moral Codes
Dramatic Plots
Kabuki Theatre
Ivan the Terrible
Dancing scene
Emotions through make-up and
lighting
Eonnagata (2009) by Robert Lepage
• Based on the life of an
18th-cent. French crossdressing diplomat and
spy Chevalier d'Éon.
• The plot and emotions
are shown through
costumes, make-up,
and dance.
• Drum music, japaneselooking props (swords,
fans, etc.)
Memoirs of a Geisha
(dir. Rob Marshall, 2005)
• Based on a 1997 historical
novel by Arthur Golden.
• Academy awards for: best
costumes, art direction,
cinematography.
Controversy:
• Casting;
• Disrespect for geishas and
maiko; stereotyping;
• Inaccuracies in costumes,
dances, cultural facts, and
daily life details.