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Faculty of Arts University of Helsinki, Finland SCIENTIFIC MASCULINITY AND NATIONAL IMAGES IN JAPANESE SPECULATIVE CINEMA Leena Eerolainen DOCTORAL DISSERTATION To be presented for public discussion with the permission of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Helsinki, in Room 230, Aurora Building, on the 20th of August, 2020 at 14 o’clock. Helsinki 2020 Supervisors Henry Bacon, University of Helsinki, Finland Bart Gaens, University of Helsinki, Finland Pre-examiners Dolores Martinez, SOAS, University of London, UK Rikke Schubart, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark Opponent Dolores Martinez, SOAS, University of London, UK Custos Henry Bacon, University of Helsinki, Finland Copyright © 2020 Leena Eerolainen ISBN 978-951-51-6273-1 (paperback) ISBN 978-951-51-6274-8 (PDF) Helsinki: Unigrafia, 2020 The Faculty of Arts uses the Urkund system (plagiarism recognition) to examine all doctoral dissertations. ABSTRACT Science and technology have been paramount features of any modernized nation. In Japan they played an important role in the modernization and militarization of the nation, as well as its democratization and subsequent economic growth. Science and technology highlight the promises of a better tomorrow and future utopia, but their application can also present ethical issues. In fiction, they have historically played a significant role. Fictions of science continue to exert power via important multimedia platforms for considerations of the role of science and technology in our world. And, because of their importance for the development, ideologies and policies of any nation, these considerations can be correlated with the deliberation of the role of a nation in the world, including its internal and external images and imaginings. In Japan, narratives of the weird, fantastic and horrific have been present for centuries, culminating in the popularity of Japanese horror cinema with the worldwide success of Ringu (1998). In Japanese cinema studies, however, the study of these narratives is still limited, especially with regard to scientific narratives. This thesis is an attempt to remedy this situation. I will look into the way images of Japanese nationhood are mediated through male characters that are associated with science and technology. I argue that by analyzing these characters within their respective contexts and the general framework of both the history of science and technology as well as Japan’s postwar policies, it is possible to understand how the films deal with various, sometimes contradicting self-projected images of the Japanese nation. My study is located at an intersection of four particular fields: the study of Japanese cinema, the study of horror and the fantastic, the study of Japanese masculinities and the study of the history of Japanese science. The following films will be analyzed: Gojira (1954), Chikyū bōeigun (The Mysterians, 1957), Bijo to ekitainingen (The H-man, 1958), Densō ningen (The Secret of the Telegian, 1960), Gasu ningen daiichi-gō (The Human Vapor, 1960), Matango (1963), Tanin no kao (The Face of Another, 1964), Kairo (Pulse, 2001), Sakebi (Retribution, 2006), Doppelgänger (2006), the Tetsuo series (1988, 1992, 2009) and the three HAYABUSA films (2012). I will start by redefining “horror” and “science fiction” as “speculative cinema” (kaiki eiga), a cross-generic mode that as an umbrella term enables the analysis of both supernatural tales and more scientifically inclined works. In order to theorize the concept, I will draw from previous literature on the weird and the fantastic. Torben Grodal’s (2009) biocultural framework will be also utilized in order to provide one possible explanation for the prevalence of certain motifs worldwide. Next, I will highlight the role of men as functional tools for the mediation of national images. This is done by theorizing the notion of “scientific masculinity,” a type of masculinity that contributes to the creation of knowledge, as defined by Erica Lorraine Milam and Robert A. Nye 3 (2015). Scientific masculinity is a trope with a function—to mediate images of nationhood by calling for advancements of science and technology. The Frankenstein myth is present in almost all of the fictions, as manifested in Sharalyn Orbaugh’s (2007) so-called Frankenstein Syndrome. Shimura Miyoko’s (2008) concept of otoko no kaijin, the male phantom, is also useful. In order to understand scientific masculinity, I will draw both from the history of science and from studies on masculinity. Understanding the role of hegemonic masculinity (Connell, 1995) is particularly important, as it works as an ideological reference point for the fictional, non-hegemonic characters. This creates an interdisciplinary theoretical model that contributes to the understanding of the function of scientific masculinity as a representation of a certain national image. The results of this thesis suggest that Japanese speculative cinema engages in the process of dissecting national images—and ideals—on screen. This is accomplished by the use of scientifically minded masculine agents which subvert, challenge and negotiate ideologies that have contributed to Japan’s postwar history. Because of the importance of science and technology for social policies at various points in history, they provide a fine context for the dissecting of these ideas. It is clear that kaiki eiga actively participates in negotiating a multitude of salient national images—imperialist, pacifist, racial, technological, economic and, last but not least, patriarchal. These images reflect the changes that Japanese society has undergone since the Pacific War, as well as those that the society should undergo, according to the filmmakers. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Japan has been a part of my 36-year old life for more than two decades already. It all started innocently enough in the 2nd grade of junior high school when my dear friend Katri introduced the world of gaming to me. As an avid fan of fantasy literature, I soon went on to buy Final Fantasy VII. This was the point of no return – I was hooked on the absolutely wonderful world of the gameplay which led to the discovery of anime and manga back in the days before the spread of Japanese popular culture around the world. One thing led to another and I soon found myself as a high school exchange student in Funabashi, Chiba, and finally as a Japanese language and culture major at the University of Helsinki in 2004. Since then, my interest in anime and manga has spread into a vast interest in the contemporary Japanese society itself. I became interested in the workings of the family and gender in Japan in general and, more particularly, in cinema. During this process, the interest in the family structure of Japan has transformed into a large-scale interest of the development of science and technology in Japan, and how this discourse is tied with notions of gender, nation and popular culture. If I was to play Final Fantasy VII now, I suspect the experience would be all the more tremendous and stunning because of my understanding of the underlying themes. My research has been funded by the Kone Foundation, The Finnish Concordia Fund and the Japanese Association for University Women. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to each and every one of these institutions for giving me the chance to pursue this path. I am grateful for all the conversations and warm meetings with the members of JAUW in Tokyo. I am privileged to have been able to present my research to the finest of Japanese female scholars and share my thoughts with them. At Waseda University I would like to thank Professor Morita Norimasa, with whose support I have been able to continuously conduct research there as a visiting researcher. This has also been made possible because of the support of Doctoral School for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, and the Chancellor at the University of Helsinki. The process of writing a thesis monograph can be simultaneously exciting, tedious, frustrating, exhilarating and downright absurd. My two supervisors, Professor Henry Bacon and Docent Bart Gaens, have always been there for me, guiding me through the process with their insightful comments and a healthy dose of much-welcomed criticism. The process has been at times tiring for all of us, so I am very grateful for all the time and effort that you have put on this thesis. You have shared my joys and sorrows and I have greatly enjoyed our conversations. Henry, thank you for always pushing me to further develop my argumentation and critical thinking. It is because of you that I have been able to keep much of nonsense (that I am quite fond of myself) out of this scholarly 5 work. Bart, you have been my valuable support in Japanese studies, being a mirror to my ideas about contemporary Japan. In addition, I must mention that I would not have been able to achieve this doctorate had it not been for my younger years: the piano lessons taught by Liisa Ukkonen, and the Japanese classes taught by Uemura Yukako. Liisa and Yukako, you have taught me that perseverance leads to amazing results. This is now a skill that I value above all. I have also had the pleasure of having two sharp minds as my preliminary examiners. Emeritus Reader Dolores Martinez and Associate Professor Rikke Schubart, thank you for going through my manuscript and taking the time to provide me with useful comments and criticism in order to make this even better a thesis. Knowing that you have read this work with a critical eye and yet come to the conclusion that it is a useful and valuable work gives me great pleasure and confidence in my future. I am also deeply grateful for Professor Martinez for finding the topic of such an interest as to have promised to serve as my opponent. I hope the experience will be memorable for both of us during this time of a coronavirus pandemic.

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