{"id":864,"date":"2021-02-03T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/?p=864"},"modified":"2021-02-03T18:05:22","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T23:05:22","slug":"864","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/03\/864\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimmy&#8217;s Notes on &#8216;Episode 33: Submersion of Japan (feat. Adam Noyes)&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"783\" height=\"327\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/JIMMYS-NOTES.jpg?resize=783%2C327\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-607\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/JIMMYS-NOTES.jpg?w=783 783w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/JIMMYS-NOTES.jpg?resize=300%2C125 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/JIMMYS-NOTES.jpg?resize=768%2C321 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 783px) 100vw, 783px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s an easy week for Jimmy\u2019s Notes today. These \u201cextended mini-analyses\u201d tend to be that way. I could\u2019ve asked Adam Noyes for his leftover notes, but he was busy doing his health inspector work for MIBOD (Monster Island Board of Directors), so I figured I should social distance and not interrupt his work. I like my job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That being said, I do have a few of my own notes from <a href=\"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/27\/episode-33-submersion-of-japan-feat-adam-noyes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the <em>Submersion of Japan<\/em> episode.<\/a> They are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Toho was adapting Komatsu\u2019s books into movies, Mr. Noyes, and not the other way around.<\/li><li>\u201cMie\u201d is pronounced, \u201cMee-ay,\u201d Mr. Noyes.<\/li><li>The film had two cinematographers, Hiroshi Murai and Daisaku Kimura, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Daisaku_Kimura\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the latter winning the award for best director at the 33rd Japan Academy Prize for <em>Mt. Tsurugidake<\/em>.<\/a><\/li><li>It\u2019s not the first time you brought on someone you\u2019ve referenced as a source, Nate. How could you forget John LeMay\u2014especially when he\u2019s going to be on the show later this month!<\/li><li>For the hell of it, I did do a YouTube search for \u201cSubmersion of Japan 1973,\u201d and Mr. Noyes\u2019s video was the fourth video down.<\/li><li>I\u2019m shocked you guys mentioned the 1970s TV show but not the new anime, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/80993018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Japan Sinks 2020<\/a><\/em>. Your \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CrystalLadyJes1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sister<\/a>\u201d would be disappointed, Nate. \ud83d\ude1b<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now for Nate\u2019s leftover notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><u>Submersion of Japan<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>This was definitely following in the trend of disaster movies in the 1970s. There were plenty of them. Like those disaster movies, it spends much time with the characters.<\/li><li>The film begins with a slow progression of the continental drift. Then it zooms in on Japan and shows its formation. Starts 200 million years ago.<\/li><li>The music was composed by Masuaru Sato. His score is remarkably subdued compared to his Godzilla scores. <em>(He was a composer with great range. \u2013Jimmy)<\/em><\/li><li>The opening scene is a montage of many activities in Japan. A street fest, hose races, baseball, office work, car show, traffic jam, the beach, the harbor, the subway, water park. <em>(The apocalypse is always a surprise. The destruction and later reformation of Venus were surprises. But that\u2019s a story for another day. Perhaps in the pages of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaijuramenmagazine.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaiju Ramen<\/a>. \ud83d\ude09 \u2013Jimmy)<\/em><\/li><li>They dive north of Ogawasara. <em>(This reminds me that we should go scuba diving sometime, Nate. \u2013Jimmy)<\/em><\/li><li>What\u2019s interesting is the scene where the scientists are watching video from the sub of the sea floor and discussing what caused the island to sink could easily be in the beginning of a kaiju film. It shows that kaiju embody natural disasters, which makes sense coming from japan. There\u2019s even a line from Tadakoro about a \u201cmonstrous slug.\u201d<\/li><li>Interesting that the ship\u2019s name is Hercules.<\/li><li>Here\u2019s the <em>From Here to Eternity<\/em> scene\u2014but it gets interrupted by a lightning strikes and a volcano. It comes after Onodera tells Reiko he\u2019d get married to have a baby and she says, \u201cHold me,\u201d and they start to make love.<\/li><li>There\u2019s a scene that goes into extensive scientific exposition. It almost feels like a college lecture.<\/li><li>Like <em>Godzilla<\/em> 1954, it shows the aftermath of the casualties (if only briefly).<\/li><li>Numbers are frequently quoted to indicate the gravity of the situation. The casualties act as something of a reverse: it makes the personal stories and situations bigger.3.6 million missing or dead. <em>(I appreciated this as an engineer. I \u201cmath\u201d well. \u2013Jimmy)<\/em><\/li><li>Tadokora loses his cool on national TV talking about the impending disaster because the host doesn\u2019t believe him.<\/li><li>The government decides to practice occupation-era tactics and censor the media to avoid a panic.<\/li><li>Reiko tells a story about slipping into the dark ocean while diving. She describes it as lonely yet calming. Foreshadowing. Microcosm. Onodera tells her to get transfer her money to foreign accounts. They will get married and run away together.<\/li><li>There is a scene at the UN where they deliberate on what to do about Japan sinking, and they find the situation impossible to resolve for 110 million people. It\u2019s a stark contrast to a Honda film like <em>Gorath<\/em> where they find a solution by coming together. This is steeped in realism and shows how difficult the situation would be.<\/li><li>The PM decides he will bypass the UN and go to countries himself to ask if they\u2019ll take refugees. 10 million to 1 million to 100,000 to 10,000, etc. Reminds me of Abraham asking God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah for decreasing numbers of righteous men.<\/li><li>It\u2019s interesting reading subtitles as English is interpreted into Japanese. Differences.<\/li><li>China agrees to help. Japan\u2019s old wartime foe.<\/li><li>Watari doesn\u2019t look 100 years old to me.<\/li><li>The evacuees are called \u201cKamikaze.\u201d That\u2019s a loaded name. <em>(It means \u201cdivine wind,\u201d but the cultural associations are\u2026complicated. \u2013Jimmy)<\/em><\/li><li>Watari tells his niece to find a Japanese man in another country but then corrects himself to say any man to marry and have children. It\u2019s a small concession to reality.<\/li><li>The final scene has the card \u201csomewhere on earth\u201d with a train going by transporting Japanese refugees. We see a one-eyed Onodera.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><u>Tidal Wave<\/u><\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It gives credit for the \u201cspecial effects sequences\u201d to the Japanese crew. And the director.<ul><li>The characters\u2019 names were changed. Tadokoro became Tanaka.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Adds dialogue where there wasn\u2019t any.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The weird thing is the dubbed dialogue for what footage was left is actually pretty close to the original.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>It takes nearly 46 minutes before the new footage with \u201cstar\u201d Lorne Green starts. Clearly filmed fast in one room. Green disregards the issue, calling it a \u201csmall problem(?!). The Japanese cast member has to make this a sign of a danger to other places other than Japan. There\u2019s talk of \u201castrologers and mystics\u201d predicting the destruction. 15 minutes later, he\u2019s injected into the UN scene. He gives a speech about the US accepting Japanese refugees. It\u2019s a decent speech. He touches on refugee issues that were debated a few years. Ten minutes later he announces to the UN that 34 million people were saved (much higher the original). 4 minutes later: he\u2019s reading the Newsweek article and commenting on Onodera. &nbsp;<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Onodera and Reiko are presented, at least implicitly, as being in an established relationship.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHas the Empire Sunk Yet?\u201d by Thomas Schnellbacher<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Japan itself is everywhere identified with the ephemeral, a recurring theme in interpretations of Japan both by Japanese and others.&#8217; Tadokoro compares the convection currents in the earth&#8217;s mantle to meteorological phenomena, leading the listeners to conclude that &#8220;[t]he Archipelago on which they lived was like a line of clouds that had taken form along the leading edge of a moving mass of warm air.\u201d It\u2019s strangely mythological.<ul><li>\u201c\u2026the computer scientist Nakata ironically quotes an old song from the Sino-Japanese War of 1895: &#8220;Hasn&#8217;t the Dingyuan sunk yet?&#8221; The Dingyuan was an enemy ship at that time; the joke is that, though incapacitating it at anchor was a key success for Japan in witining this war, the ship never did sink.'&#8221; The old songs may still survive even in the memory of those who do not share the militarist sentiment, it is implied, but they can take on a new meaning if that old sentiment is defused.\u201d<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The sunk Japan is mythologized as a new Atlantis or Mu.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>&nbsp;\u201c\u2026he began writing the book in 1964, his response to validations of Japanese imperialism beginning to be voiced, which he saw as symptoms of a society grown too wealthy. He is not critical of the achievements of the postwar Japanese economy, but of complacency about those achievements, especially if it goes hand in hand with a revival of imperialist thought.\u201d<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Okay, that was more than I was expecting. It was harder to make snide remarks because this is a serious film with heavy themes. That won\u2019t be a problem next time. Trust me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking of next time, Nate\u2019s friends Joe and Joy Metter, themselves a pair of <a href=\"https:\/\/mst3k.fandom.com\/wiki\/MSTie\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MSTies<\/a>, will return to watch the <em>Mystery Science Theater 3000 <\/em>episode featuring <em>Gamera vs. Barugon<\/em> while Nate watches the original Japanese cut (as per MIBOD\u2019s mandates). This will be part two of 12 (or 13?) of \u201cThe Year of Gamera.\u201d Then Nate is joined by John LeMay, as I noted, to discuss a <em>very<\/em> different disaster movie: <em>Prophecies of Nostradamus<\/em>. It\u2019ll be the second banned film featured on the podcast. (Is it just me, or are this month\u2019s guests all former nemeses of mine?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Follow me on Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NasaJimmy\/status\/1322791987213410305?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@NasaJimmy<\/a><br>Follow MIBOD on Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MonsterIslaBOD\/status\/1323267020641718272?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@MonsterIslaBOD<\/a><br>Follow Raymund Martin (The MIFV Legal Team) on Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MIFV_LegalTeam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@MIFV_LegalTeam<\/a><br>Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CrystalLadyJes1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@CrystalLadyJes1<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">#JimmyFromNASALives<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">#WeShallOvercome<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s an easy week for Jimmy\u2019s Notes today. These \u201cextended mini-analyses\u201d tend to be that way. I could\u2019ve asked Adam Noyes for his leftover notes,&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/03\/864\/\">Continue Reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Jimmy&#8217;s Notes on &#8216;Episode 33: Submersion of Japan (feat. Adam Noyes)&#8217;<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":33,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,114],"tags":[720,456,19,66,730,719,717,731,79,17],"series":[],"class_list":["post-864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-jimmys-notes","tag-adam-noyes","tag-blog","tag-jimmy-from-nasa","tag-jimmys-notes","tag-nate-marchand","tag-sakyo-komatsu","tag-submersion-of-japan","tag-tidal-wave","tag-toho","tag-tokusatsu","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":867,"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864\/revisions\/867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}