The three films we have seen and discussed in this unit, Metropolis and Suburbs, are noticeably different pieces of cinema with a variety of character types set in different relationships with Tokyo. The settings of these films were a particularly important topic in our class discussion, which is a given considering the title of the unit. Tokyo is the metropolis and the suburbs can refer to what lies on the fringes of the metropolis. Very often in our discussions, what appears on the periphery of the metropolis are the characters and how they are influenced or reflected by the metropolis. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Woman in the Dunes does not show Tokyo at all, but describes it through words as the urban city that is juxtaposed in contrast to the desert landscape in which the characters are placed. Niki is desperate to return to Tokyo to make a name for himself, but finds himself constantly bewildered by the new environment from which he cannot escape. In It's Tough Being a Man, a specific area of ​​Tokyo, Shibamata, which had yet to be transformed into modernity, compliments Tora's characteristics of being stuck in the past. His motivations, expressed in an examined traditional role of masculinity, clash with the future mindset of the other characters. Finally, The Man Who Stole the Sun portrays Tokyo as the city context in which Kido manipulates the government, which gives nuance to the way Kido bends the will of Japan for his own intentions, be they entertainment or power. Because Kido sees himself as a nation, the setting of Tokyo – particularly because the National Diet, the bicameral branch of the Japanese government, is based in Tokyo – causes Kido to be presented as a nation threatening another nation. Ultimately, our class discussions about the environments in these films revealed how much they reflect the characters, and I've noticed more now that the effects settings reflect on the characters in other films. Another consistent topic of discussion regarding these films that we've examined is gender roles. Once again, the three films feature three different representations of male and female roles. Woman in the Dunes depicted a young widow living in the desert, left unnamed to the audience, which created an interesting nuance to her role in the film. She has a character and an identity, yet she is repeatedly objectified throughout the film, especially considering the scene Keira pointed out in which she lies sleeping naked in limited lighting, which frames her in Williams' pornographic frame. In It's Tough Being a Man, the issue of masculinity was the main focus regarding Tora, who repeatedly fails in the role of masculinity due to his problematic history and current rough nature. He desires, in his own way, to be a good male role model (as seen in his verbal vow to support and do right by his sister in a yakuza meeting), but continues to be an unpleasant character due to his domineering and hateful actions. crudeness. This stifles the film's female characters, and although the sister and aunt show opposition to Tora's actions on several occasions, the sister in particular does not serve a female empowerment role by being too lenient towards Tora's harmful actions. This issue transitions to the female lead in The Man Who Stole the Sun, who had a sense of independence from the males in the film. She eventually sided with Kido and followed him to his death, but didn't seem to be as affected.